Good mats are damned expensive... is it because of supply and demand, cost of materials, or what?
I love this question.
It is very true, just like anything in life - you get what you pay for. The construction/ type of multi density foam we use incurs a great deal of cost. We are the last remaining mat manufacturer that still makes their mats in Germany. All other competitors have succumbed to purchasing from China to level out the costs and make more money. Zebra refuses to sacrifice quality in our mats to make an extra buck. We have developed a sound reputation for quality and performance and refuse to tarnish it. Most if not all customers find our mats a joy to roll on. There are many instances where customers of our competitors (chinese mats) will contact us only a few yrs after their initial purchase with them, asking us to redo their matted area as they are already running into issues. There is a reason why we advertise a 10 yr warranty on our mats. We hold very skinny margins on matting but we make up for it with many happy customers which turns into larger volume.
The truth of the matter is that not all mats are created equal:
1). The China mats are made with a solvent based adhesive that bonds the vinyl to the foam. We have found that this type of adhesive does not offer even close to the same foam tearing bond as the heat activated/powder based adhesive that we use. This means that the vinyl on the China made mat will bubble after a short period of time making it an unsafe mat due to loose vinyl. Having the vinyl properly bonded to the foam core is one of the great safety features of the Zebra Mats. The solvent based adhesive also gives off a chemical odor. We send out samples of our mats as well as our competitors mats to many of our customers so they can hold them both and decide for them selves. We cut both mats so it is plain to see the differences. The Chinese mats also have sawdust mixed in in the foam. The adhesive on the Chinese mats really does not hold the vinyl to the foam very well, it peels off like a banana peel.
2). The China Mat is made with a veneer board sandwiched in the middle of the foam core. This not only affects the shock absorption of the mat, it allows them to reduce the density of the foam making the mat less safe and considerably shortening the life of the foam core. The solid foam core is another safety feature of the Zebra Mats.
3). The foam core in the China made mats has very low tensile strength, meaning it tears very easy. This is due to a couple of reasons.
They grind the foam up into very small pieces and they do not use enough of the rebond binding material to properly hold the foam pieces together. This again will quickly shorten the life of the foam core.
The story here is ROI (return on investment), Zebra Mats can be pricey - but when starting a club or training studio you need to be sure about a few things; you want to make sure your mats are going to last so that you are not replacing them every few years. In general our mats usually last 15-25 years before clubs replace them. And in the long run it is a much lower cost of ownership this way. Secondly, you want to make sure you are protected against injury as much as possible with good quality mats - you can be the nicest guy in the world - but you can still be sued if somebody's child gets injured on your mats.