Looking for mat recommendations

[Tony Dismukes126 23]

As part of taking over ownership and management of my gym, we're looking at replacing our old mats as soon as we can set aside the money. The ones we have are probably about 20 years old and there's no way to hide the fact that they've seen better days. Right now we're just wanting to price out our options and get whatever recommendations we can in terms of quality and affordability. Any recommendations for brands or websites or general factors to take into consideration are welcome.

Right now we have the following matted areas to consider:

37'x31' Judo/Jujitsu mat - foam over planks over tires, covered and tied down by a soft rubber tarp. The tires give it that nice springiness for taking throws. The big problem is that the foam pieces underneath the tarp appear to have originally been sourced as factory castoffs. They're all different shapes, sizes and thicknesses and have a tendency to start drifting apart and leaving gaps. I think that if we could just replace them with pieces of uniform shape, size, and thickness, then they would work much better. (The tarp cover could potentially be replaced with something more visually appealing, but it is at least functional.)

31'x25' wrestling mats. These are used for both BJJ and Muay Thai. The existing pieces are about 5'x5' and taped together, but they're so old that the ends keep curling up and they don't stay taped and connected the way they should. (Plus they clearly show the stains from two decades of use.)

21'x36' thin puzzle mats used in the heavy bag area. These are primarily there for liability reasons so that no one slips while throwing a kick and cracks their head on the concrete. They're functional, but look terrible after 20+ years of use.

The floor underneath all of these is concrete. Our gym is a repurposed warehouse - probably about 5000 square feet including the matted areas, the boxing ring, 2 MMA cages, weights, heavy bags, locker rooms, and welcome lobby.

We don't have a huge budget, but we think that as soon as we have the extra money to invest back into the gym, new mats will give us the biggest bang for the buck in terms of improving the training experience.

 

[HighKick]

As part of taking over ownership and management of my gym, we're looking at replacing our old mats as soon as we can set aside the money. The ones we have are probably about 20 years old and there's no way to hide the fact that they've seen better days. Right now we're just wanting to price out our options and get whatever recommendations we can in terms of quality and affordability. Any recommendations for brands or websites or general factors to take into consideration are welcome.

Right now we have the following matted areas to consider:

37'x31' Judo/Jujitsu mat - foam over planks over tires, covered and tied down by a soft rubber tarp. The tires give it that nice springiness for taking throws. The big problem is that the foam pieces underneath the tarp appear to have originally been sourced as factory castoffs. They're all different shapes, sizes and thicknesses and have a tendency to start drifting apart and leaving gaps. I think that if we could just replace them with pieces of uniform shape, size, and thickness, then they would work much better. (The tarp cover could potentially be replaced with something more visually appealing, but it is at least functional.)

31'x25' wrestling mats. These are used for both BJJ and Muay Thai. The existing pieces are about 5'x5' and taped together, but they're so old that the ends keep curling up and they don't stay taped and connected the way they should. (Plus they clearly show the stains from two decades of use.)

21'x36' thin puzzle mats used in the heavy bag area. These are primarily there for liability reasons so that no one slips while throwing a kick and cracks their head on the concrete. They're functional, but look terrible after 20+ years of use.

The floor underneath all of these is concrete. Our gym is a repurposed warehouse - probably about 5000 square feet including the matted areas, the boxing ring, 2 MMA cages, weights, heavy bags, locker rooms, and welcome lobby.

We don't have a huge budget, but we think that as soon as we have the extra money to invest back into the gym, new mats will give us the biggest bang for the buck in terms of improving the training experience.

Any chance one of your local schools have old wrestling mats they are upgrading? We had the opportunity around 15-years ago and they are still holding up well since there is no shoe traffic on them. A few mild tears that have been taped for years but no issue. I forget the exact dimensions but approx. 15' x 42' each.

 

[drop bear127 3]

This is who our gym went through. And we got these mats.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Home Mats

Now you can train, practice your favourites moves with your friends in the comfort of your own home.Our lightweight and portable roll-out mats Training Kit is perfect for that weekend workout, stretching or any other home workout. This lightweight, portable mat lets you train whenever and...

www.evolutionfightwear.com.au

 

[Marsha Larts]

I made my 20x20 wrestling mat with 12mm thick high density foam carpet underlay. It was 2 layers contact cemented (water based) together in a cross-hatch pattern and then covered with a heavy duty tarp which was also contact cemented to the underlay. The foam itself is really durable but the mat doesn't roll up so well.

It cost less than $300 dollars to make.

 

[Tony Dismukes126 23]

I made my 20x20 wrestling mat with 12mm thick high density foam carpet underlay. It was 2 layers contact cemented (water based) together in a cross-hatch pattern and then covered with a heavy duty tarp which was also contact cemented to the underlay. The foam itself is really durable but the mat doesn't roll up so well.

It cost less than $300 dollars to make.

Any chance you could write up a more detailed, “explain like I’m a clueless newb” outline of your process for that?

 

[Tony Dismukes126 23]

As part of taking over ownership and management of my gym, we're looking at replacing our old mats as soon as we can set aside the money. The ones we have are probably about 20 years old and there's no way to hide the fact that they've seen better days. Right now we're just wanting to price out our options and get whatever recommendations we can in terms of quality and affordability. Any recommendations for brands or websites or general factors to take into consideration are welcome.

Right now we have the following matted areas to consider:

37'x31' Judo/Jujitsu mat - foam over planks over tires, covered and tied down by a soft rubber tarp. The tires give it that nice springiness for taking throws. The big problem is that the foam pieces underneath the tarp appear to have originally been sourced as factory castoffs. They're all different shapes, sizes and thicknesses and have a tendency to start drifting apart and leaving gaps. I think that if we could just replace them with pieces of uniform shape, size, and thickness, then they would work much better. (The tarp cover could potentially be replaced with something more visually appealing, but it is at least functional.)

31'x25' wrestling mats. These are used for both BJJ and Muay Thai. The existing pieces are about 5'x5' and taped together, but they're so old that the ends keep curling up and they don't stay taped and connected the way they should. (Plus they clearly show the stains from two decades of use.)

21'x36' thin puzzle mats used in the heavy bag area. These are primarily there for liability reasons so that no one slips while throwing a kick and cracks their head on the concrete. They're functional, but look terrible after 20+ years of use.

The floor underneath all of these is concrete. Our gym is a repurposed warehouse - probably about 5000 square feet including the matted areas, the boxing ring, 2 MMA cages, weights, heavy bags, locker rooms, and welcome lobby.

We don't have a huge budget, but we think that as soon as we have the extra money to invest back into the gym, new mats will give us the biggest bang for the buck in terms of improving the training experience.

Correction to the above- the wrestling mats are more like 5’x10’ each and they sit atop an under layer of tarp-covered foam with a wood frame around the edge.

 

[Marsha Larts]

Any chance you could write up a more detailed, “explain like I’m a clueless newb” outline of your process for that?

Sure

I used high density carpet underlay like this stuff:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Leggett-Platt-11-11-Millimeters-Rebond-Carpet-Padding/4459327

The underlay I used was five feet wide so I used 4 20-foot lengths of underlay per layer to make a 20x20 mat. The stuff in the pic comes in rolls that are six feet wide so a 24 by 24 would be practical for building purposes.

For a 20 foot wide mat using five foot wide underlay:

Roll out 4 20-foot lengths parallel with each other and tape their edges together with duct tape at intermittent spaces with just random short pieces of tape.

It'll take about 1 1/2 gallons of water-based contact cement to make the mat.

After taping the first layer of underlay together, apply a coat of cement over the entire area, with a double coat around the edges.

Roll out 4 more 20 lengths (if the rolls are five feet wide) and apply contact cement to one side of them individually and let the cement dry, Each layer has to be carefully laid down onto the first layer in a transverse/crosshatch orientation. They will stick permanently on contact, so it's best to have 2 people handling the lengths of top layer. Each length can be rolled up and then unrolled into place, but alignment at the outset is critical if you don't want ripples in the mat.

Duct tape all the edges of the two layers after they're all laid down to give the edges a bit of protection from abrading and whatnot during use.

Apply a layer of contact cement to the entire top side of the underlay as that will be glued to the tarp.

Lay out the tarp and apply a layer of contact cement to the bottom side of the tarp and let it dry before putting a second coat along the edges about 8 inches or so in from the edges. The tarp should be at least a foot longer and wider than the finished size of the mat so its edges can be folded under and glued in place once it's been laid out onto the underlay.

Apply a coat of cement to the duct taped edges of the underlay and let it dry.

Carefully line up the tarp and fly it onto the underlay. It will be a lot easier if you have four people (one at each corner) and align it with the edges of the underlay holding it well above the underlay. Two people at one end put their corners down and check the alignment while the other two people continue holding their corners preventing them from making contact. two people carefully work the tarp down onto the underlay as they work toward the two people holding the other end.

Once the tarp is down, flip one edge of the mat at a time and apply cement to the underside of the mat as far in from the edge as the tarp will reach when it's folded under. Do one edge at a time and allow everything to set for a few hours before use. Duct tape at the underside of each corner will hold the folds of the tarp together and may need to be re-taped periodical if you're doing lots of roll-recoveries/somersaults and other inertia stuff with the youngsters.

Whew...

*edit*

I see the price of materials is quite a bit more than when I made my mat so I don't know how economical it would be these days. It might still be a lot cheaper than ready-mades.

 

[philwhite54 10]

I have 3'x3'x1" puzzle mats for karate and they work pretty well. They cover a 20'x15' space over cement. They are ok for controlled takedowns but I wouldn't want to hit the ground hard with only 1 inch of foam. A lot of karate tournaments and schools use similar pads. You can tape them underneath if you are getting seperaration. Flooring cost have definitely gone up significantly over the past few years.

 

[HighKick]

Tony,
I don't know if you are familiar with Temu but that are a Chinese version of Amazon. I have purchased from them a few times with no issue. The quality is the same as what I have purchased from Amazon. I found this on the site:
10' x 10' Mat
The site is a little wonky when it first opens (ads, and such) but it has always been stable and secure for me.

FWIW, if you pursue the carpet underlayment idea, I feel there is a better product to use. The picture shown by Marsha Larts is glued together particles (natural or synthetic) is low density, and it prone to collapse and holding moisture and can create a heck of a lot of dust. A Much better underlayment is Urethane foam or Prime foam padding. The cost difference is negligible.

 

[Marsha Larts]

Yeah, the underlay in that pic was the closest example I could find of the type in a minute.

The stuff I used was the same type of composition but was a darker material and had a much tighter bond and higher density.

We beat the 'stuff' out of that mat for 10 years before I gave it to a friend. The first tarp wore thin after a couple of years so I flipped the mat over and tarped the bottom side, which also wore thin after about the same amount of time. It never had moisture or dust issues the whole time I was using it. Regular cleaning with diluted bleach re-taping the corners was the only maintenance I ever had to do. It was well worth the money.