****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
My daughter loves using this for her gymnastics!Kids are flipping out over this tumbling and wrestling everyday!Nice thick and firm mat. Works great for tumbling, yoga, or any kind of stretching and exercising!!! These mats were everything I was hoping for. They are durable and firm enough that my kids can jump onto them without risk of injury. I am an acrobatics teacher and wanted a matt for the house for my daughter and for private lessons I teach! There was absolutely no smell at all, I specifically paid attention to. I couldn't be happier with them. These Matts are of excellent quality. Would absolutely buy again and recommend to other teachers and to my students for at home practice on skills that I have approved they can do. I have 1 but since they are made to connect I will be purchasing another soon! Not only do they connect but they fold up easy, and are easily moved as they are not heavy. The company contacted me shortly after purchase to ensure that I was satisfied and that nothing was damaged during transit. Quality service and quality product, I would strongly recommend this company and these mats over cheaper brands. You get what you pay for! Theses mats are nice and thick and easy enough to move around that my 10 year old has no trouble with them. She choose the purple and it is a GREAT color. I was looking for a good quality mat that also didn't have the extra chemicals in them and these were the perfect Matts for me and my students.I purchased the 1.5" thickness for Acro and I personally think they are prefect, as I transition my students to work on the floor after they have well mastered a skill. It has 4 panels that fold up to one thick panel and they cannot be separated, but as stated above they can be connected with another matt.I currently own 2 - 1.5" thick 4x8 mats.They see heavy use at a minimum of 2x a week. Now I've only owned my first mat since February and recently received a 2nd last week, so I will attempt to update my review as time goes on. As of now, I couldn't be happier.When I say the mats see "heavy use" I'm refering to the training in which they are used. I have been using them mainly for Combat Strength Training (CST) - This is a form of practical fitness in which exercises mimic actions that might be found on a battlefield and focus mainly on every day movement/range of motion.Example - Use mats for low crawl while pushing 130lb duffel bag. Once reaching the end of the mat, stand up and buddy drag the duffel back to the other end and repeat. This in my opinion causes a great deal of stress on the vinyl mats, boots digging into the mats while attempting to gain traction to push the bag, then getting up and draggin the bag back to other end as fast as possible. *After a couple weeks of this I was expecting a tear or rip* so far, I have found none.On top of that, I've used the mats for mountain climbers, martial arts, sparring (again, lots of foot work and still no damage to mats), other low crawl variations, and high speed, high impact drills. The mat from February is unscathed, as is the new one.I would definately recommend these mats for any use. If they've held up so far for my purposes, you can expect them to last.Note: We Sell Mats customer service is unbelievably "customer centered" - They've proven to me that they actually do place their customers first (opposed to other companies where that's just a tag line on a label/receipt).I have looked through every mat on Amazon and I got this one and it is perfect for martial arts training....it's not too squishy where you sink into it. It is firm enough to train and soft enough to break your fall..I got the 1.5 inch thickness. It has 4 panels that fold up to one thick panel and they cannot be separated. But the size is very good for the price. One 4 panel mat could be enough for a small training session or for a children to do somersaults but two 4 panel mats would be more then enough room with some to spare. It has strong side velcro to attach multiple mats together. You could also fold the four panels in half so it's only two panels thick by two panels wide, for if you are short on space or want more cushion.It did have a plastic smell when I first opened it but the smell went away after a few weeks.These mats are more comparable to what you would find in a martial arts school or a gymnastics school. They are strongly made and will hold up well.A very small child around 3-4 years old may have a slightly difficult time with them since they are a little heavy but that's probably since they are strongly made and durable.Only one small thing I don't like is the company printed their logo name on the top of the mats which wouldn't be a problem if they had a cool name, but unfortunately the companies name is "We Sell Mats". It looks a little odd but it's something I can overlook by just flipping over the mat.Overall I still absolutely love this mat, but I wanted my review to be detailed and helpful to future buyers.Update: 5/12/15Mat still looks great! No fading or breakdown. I use it about 2 times a week for martial arts and break falls. I still love it and recommend it.Our 8 year old daughter was showing lots of interest in gymnastics to the point we were concerned that she might hurt herself on the floor/carpet. We looked at a variety of options, including things second hand on sites like Kijiji. In the end, we opted to buy these new on Amazon.This might be the largest product I've ever had Amazon ship to me and it went without issue. It was a Christmas gift for our daughter so I watched the tracking closely so I could get home early to collect it from our front porch. I was pleased how this worked out.In terms of the mat itself, she loves it and uses it regularly. It's still quite firm, it's certainly no pillow, but when we hear her doing flips in her bedroom we're less concerned that she's going to injure herself. :)Folds up very nicely and is stored under her bed. She can pull it out on her own and set it up. She loves to use it when she has friends over.I would recommend this as a starting point only for younger children.This mat is used for light tumbling in my house (cartwheels, rolls, back walkovers) and gets the job done. The size is good for one elementary aged child to be able to practice on and there are no complaints about being too hard or too soft. The folding seams of the mat have been durable over the past few months of use and the mat itself has withstood a 90 lb dog occasionally running around on it with no punctures.We have purchased the thinner mat from the same manufacturer and find this to be sturdier and of better quality. If you are looking for a mat for home gymnastics or tumbling this would be a good purchase for a younger athlete.We bought two of these mats ... mainly for my sons to practice wrestling, the girls to work on their gymnastics, and us adults to use after our morning workouts to do things like crunches. These are really good quality and remind me of the mats we had back in school. They are a good size and give enough room to do some basic practice moves in wrestling - and seem to cushion well for wrestling takedowns from standing, yet firm enough that there is no awkward sinking into these mats when performing moves. This does what we wanted and we are very happy with the products.Amazing mats, great for BJJ and kickboxing at home. I placed these directly on top of hard wood floor around my heavy bag for muay thai, these pads are firm and don't easily give way, providing a hard surface for me to push off of. The mats have a slightly matte surface that is not slippery.At the same time, they have enough cushion in them to protect you from a take down for BJJ, etc. I wouldn't suplex my training partner while on these mats, but they will serve for a good spar.These are seriously the cheapest mats I could find for the size in Canada. The only place I was able to find a comparable deal is Kijiji.Mats were as expected! My 3 girls haven't stopped dancing and practicing their gymnastics on them since the moment they arrived. They protect them well, they are firm enough for tumbling, but soft enough for comfort. The velcro is along all the edges so you can attach them side by side or lengthwise quite easily. They are not as heavy or floppy as some mats I've seen, so they are easy to maneuver and every bit as effective. My only complaint is the large "WE SELL MATS" logo that is unsightly and a little tacky - I thought I would try to remove it with acetone.... Well take it from me. Do NOT do that. I ended up scratching it and blurring the words and making it look a whole lot worse. The mats themselves though are great! I may purchase more in the future... and I'll never forgot where I got them... WE SELL MATS will always be taunting me with their logo. I guess that was the point!
