Are all mats created equally?

[clowman]

Talking about anti fatigue mats. Is an anti fatigue mat an anti fatigue mat? Anything specific one should look for in a mat? Other than fatigue that is...

 

[Jonz]

Seems most of the interlocking ones I see are about the same. I have some in front of my TS that I'm taking out, they are a pain in the butt to keep clean and sweep around. I'll leave the ones by the bench probably since that's where I do the most standing.

 

[D L Ames]

Clay, I have a couple different types. I have a few that I picked up on sale at Woodcraft last year which are a cushiony dense foam with a slight taper on the edges. They are comfortable and seem to help my back and knees when standing for at the bench for a long time. The others I have are a couple of heavy, tough rubber mats almost an inch thick which are actually designed to be used in either horse stalls or trailers. They are big, 4' x 6', but I ripped mine down the center with a circular saw to give me a couple of 2' wide mats. I believe the LOML picked these ones up at one of those big agricultural stores. They work well to insulate your feet when standing on a cold floor but I don't believe they work as well as the cushioned mats when standing for a long time. Ditto Jonz comment about being a pain to sweep around at times. I have seen some mats that are rubber with an open grid pattern that I would recommend staying away from based on the fact that the grid would fill up quickly with all that saw dust we all have a tendency to produce.

D L

 

[DaveO]

I have one with the open grid pattern in front of my bench. It was a freebie out of a restaurant that was closing. It beats standing on the concrete, and the grid pattern does tend to collect dust, but also all the little pieces-parts and hardware that I drop, instead of them bouching randomly somewhere I'll never find. I wouldn't have bought it but you can't beat free, and I just lift it up occasionally and vacuum underneath it. Dave

 

[D L Ames]

the grid pattern does tend to collect dust, but also all the little pieces-parts and hardware that I drop, instead of them bouching randomly somewhere I'll never find. Dave

Good point Dave, I don't know how many times I have had to get down on my hands and knees to search for a missing screw. Its amazing just how far those things can bounce sometimes. I must admit being free is always a hard price to beat.:icon_thum

D L

 

[Steve D]

I also have one of the open grid types and as Dave O indicated, cleanup is pretty easy and it's pretty comfortable.