Best quality Mats available?

[sandmann]

Hey guys,

My gym is getting new mats and I was wondering in your experience what are the best mats available today? Maybe they are the ones in your gym or maybe they are ones you have grappled on somewhere else. Who were they made by and what did you like about them? Do you prefer a smooth finish or tatami style? Any input is welcome. Price isn't a huge issue, just trying to find the best mats possible.

Edit: Their primary purpose would be for gi BJJ but we do have MMA classes as well.

 

[GMathewsMMA]

Zebra.

 

[sandmann]

Thanks tips. They have a pretty wide variety of Mats that they sell. I am looking for more details on what type of mat people like best and for what reasons.

 

[Ice 9 Cobra]

Zebra, because I hate upkeep on mat tape. Vinyl mat tape doesn't last long and fabric tape takes forever to replace

 

[Uchi Mata]

If you really want to make people happy, invest in a raised floor with springs or old tires under your mats. Then you can actually train wrestling or Judo without killing each other.

 

[Saenchai]

SWAIN MATS. along with uchi mata's springs under. look up Gymnastic set up on youtube.

 

[SAMURAI SPIRIT]

If you really want to make people happy, invest in a raised floor with springs or old tires under your mats. Then you can actually train wrestling or Judo without killing each other.

Old tires! I have heard that one before. I understand that this would give a lot of shock resistance but what about foot stability? Would it not be like fighting on a trampoline?

 

[sandmann]

If you really want to make people happy, invest in a raised floor with springs or old tires under your mats. Then you can actually train wrestling or Judo without killing each other.

We have a sub floor now but over the years it has a lot of soft spots and has had to be repaired several times. I will look into the springs/old tires idea though thanks. For a BJJ gym we do a lot of Judo/wrestling so it would be nice to have that extra cushion. Thanks for the input so far guys.

 

[Hillary]

Dollamur/Swain. No years of public hair trapped in the cracks of the zebra mats, and soooo much easier to pick up and move with.

 

[Chalito]

We have the smooth Zebra mats and they are pretty good. The smoothness helps prevent mat burn but on nogi days and really hot days it gets super slippery. I've trained at other places with the Swain tatami finish mats and I like those for the extra grip but you will encounter alot of mat burn until your skin hardens up.

 

[Saenchai]

We have the smooth Zebra mats and they are pretty good. The smoothness helps prevent mat burn but on nogi days and really hot days it gets super slippery. I've trained at other places with the Swain tatami finish mats and I like those for the extra grip but you will encounter alot of mat burn until your skin hardens up.

TOUGHEN UP! haha

 

[Chalito]

TOUGHEN UP! haha

haha it hurts!

 

[sandmann]

haha it hurts!

Ya I roll at another gym from time to time and they have Sama Mats Tatami finish(Canadian company but along the lines of zebra/swain in quality) and they chew up your feet but maybe thats just because I dont train on them on a regular basis. I think the smooth finish would be good but like people say I would be worried about them getting to slippery on the hot days. I guess getting mat burn is better than slipping and blowing out a knee.

 

[Makhno]

You might want to look into making your own. Trumpet Dan is apparently doing that at his new gym and the Gracie gym was also custom made, i believe. Dan experimented with different foams also, so I would check out his thread and facebook page (brea jiu jitsu) before i committed to a purchase. You may even be able to save enough to install a subfloor.

 

[Im so Moldy]

I recently switched from a gym with textured mats to one with smooth mats. They're really slippery when sweat gets on them. Sometimes I try to stand up or post during rolling and I slip because of the mat.

 

[Cryomancer]

Dollamur/Swain. No years of public hair trapped in the cracks of the zebra mats, and soooo much easier to pick up and move with.

Wax much?

 

[flej]

Dollamur imo.

 

[CoachBenny330]

Old thread but resilite classic is the best.

 

[Your Noodly Master]

zebra. Get 2 inch, you can feel the difference from the 1.5.