I got one of these from deepcut studios:

http://www.deepcutstudios.com/product/wargames-terrain-mat-stars/

the mousepad version in 6x4 is 54 pounds, and is gorgeous in every way.

The only criticism I have is that after a lot of use, the edges of the mat may start to fray, but I believe this problem could solved by taking it to a seamstress and having the edge hemmed.

I love my deepcut cloth mat, I chose cloth over pcv because I wanted something that I could fold up easily to travel rather than having to roll it up. Here is a review from when I first got it. The intensity of the blacks is certainly less than the pvc but it is still a great mat and has more friction then pvc for sure.

Am I the only one that's very happy with my PVC banner mats?

Colorful, cheap, durable, easy to roll up - and most improtant, just "sticky" enough to lie still on the table and prevent all those little "micro-nudges" you get when playing on a slippery surface.

Best mats I've seen are the kraken wargames mats. Don't know if they are available in the states though.

Since I've already invested in one X Wing mat, I may buy a 2nd one eventually. For playing at home, I built a table topper of birch plywood and black, red, and blue felt. It's nice to have that distance 3 already defined for deployment and the extra 3" on both sides for cards.

Why am I not surprised Nelson stopped by to crap on people in this thread, too? Seriously man, not everyone lives up to your exacting standards, so why do you see fit to hurl insults all the god damned time?

@MaverickNZ - Did the creases ever smooth out? I'm tempted by their cloth mat, too, because the LGS I play at doesn't have mats so I would need to haul it back and forth. Might get a mousepad mat for my basement, though.

@Lord Tareq - I just checked around on Kraken. The only thing from them I saw was the Kickstarter. The mats look pretty, though. Might have to take a look once they open up a webstore. Most companies will ship internationally, so that's not a problem. Just bought a ton of foam from Feldherr.

Did you guys see the "custom mat" someone made for a comp called "Steele Open"

Jakku from orbit with the SSD on it's back smoking....looks dope!

Did you guys see the "custom mat" someone made for a comp called "Steele Open"

Jakku from orbit with the SSD on it's back smoking....looks dope!

No. Link?

I got one of the bad grip mats yesterday and the owner emailed me saying that it will be replaced. It is only marginally better than an FFG mat, which isn't close to the grip mat standards. He said the replacement would take about 10 days, so I'm figuring 6 months based on how well he's made his estimates so far. Really, really disappointed. Don't do business with them right now - this new 3rd gen grip mat is definitely not ready for prime time yet...

Im frightened for my mat that he is supposed to get in today or tomorrow. Ive been waiting forever and the latest news isnt good. Ill keep you posted. I ordered a Sector IV mat

I think there is a photo of the Steele open on www.steeleopen.com. I saw the photo yesterday on the NJ/Philly Facebook group. It's slick, but you have to attend to buy one.

I really want one of those magnetic mats like I saw for xwing. They sell magnetic material like- http://www.magnetsource.com/Solutions_Pages/printmagvinyl.html

Then you put small magnets on the base of the ships. If you don't care about being able to put it away easy you could probably just shove a bit of sheet metal under a vinyl mat and use the magnets on the bases.

I think there is a photo of the Steele open on www.steeleopen.com. I saw the photo yesterday on the NJ/Philly Facebook group. It's slick, but you have to attend to buy one.

I am signed up and look forward to getting it.

Why am I not surprised Nelson stopped by to crap on people in this thread, too? Seriously man, not everyone lives up to your exacting standards. . .

Does it really come as a surprise to learn that AdmiralNelson expects every man to do his duty (buying mats)?

I really want one of those magnetic mats like I saw for xwing. They sell magnetic material like- http://www.magnetsource.com/Solutions_Pages/printmagvinyl.html

Then you put small magnets on the base of the ships. If you don't care about being able to put it away easy you could probably just shove a bit of sheet metal under a vinyl mat and use the magnets on the bases.

I'm all for this for games with my pieces. Only problem is, not everyone magnetizes...

I was really pinning my hopes on that gripmat- I'll definitely check out the Lowes near my place when I get the chance. Grip so sticky I can't move a card on it is what I'd like!

The only thing I don't like about my Amazon yoga mat is that it has a waffle-ish texture to it. I'd rather have it nice and flat.

@MaverickNZ - Did the creases ever smooth out? I'm tempted by their cloth mat, too, because the LGS I play at doesn't have mats so I would need to haul it back and forth. Might get a mousepad mat for my basement, though.

Yes! It smoothed out beautifully within a few days without even ironing it

Am I the only one that's very happy with my PVC banner mats?

Colorful, cheap, durable, easy to roll up - and most improtant, just "sticky" enough to lie still on the table and prevent all those little "micro-nudges" you get when playing on a slippery surface.

Nope, I have about 8-9 PVC mats for various games - they work very well at a fraction of the cost

In my experience, nothing is going to prevent models moving if the table gets a knock.

As a different way of looking at it the problem: What about an insert for the underside of the model's base to make it less slippy? A rubber pad or something similar?

A friend of mine is attaching metal washers to the bottom of ship and squadron bases. On strict interpretation someone could say these are modified bases and illegal in tournaments, but it does help them stay in place

I believe the tournament rules say that you can add weights as long as it doesn't change the dimensions of the base. I'd like to try that to see how well it works.

I've just ordered a 6x3 planets mouse mat from deep-cut will be with me Tuesday.

Am I the only one that's very happy with my PVC banner mats?

Colorful, cheap, durable, easy to roll up - and most improtant, just "sticky" enough to lie still on the table and prevent all those little "micro-nudges" you get when playing on a slippery surface.

Nope, I have about 8-9 PVC mats for various games - they work very well at a fraction of the cost

In my experience, nothing is going to prevent models moving if the table gets a knock.

As a different way of looking at it the problem: What about an insert for the underside of the model's base to make it less slippy? A rubber pad or something similar?

I just bought some peel and stick egrips of amazon (for cell phones)- they are definitely ub3r grippy and would be an ideal solution, as then any surface I play on would be schticky. Now I just need a good way to mount them to my ships without making them sit all wonky. I'm thiking a weight in the middle plus the egrip on there, but we'll see what I can come up with. I may go to home depot and see if there are some of the shelf brackets or something I could put on the square piece of the ship's base.

Edit: also, want to be clear- the yoga mat, while ugly and textured, will definitely survive a knock to the table. It takes quite a bit of force to slide the minis, but its effortless to pick them up and place- exactly the sort of qualities we want from a gaming mat!

I have a gripmat that I picked up several months ago for X-Wing. It's too small for Armada, so I haven't really used it for that. One thing that a lot of people miss is that you have to put a little pressure to 'lock' the model in place after you move it. It obviously doesn't hold against anything, but a light push down after moving your model really goes a long way toward the gripmat doing what it claims it will do.

I just received my yoga mat for Armada, but haven't had a chance to get a game in on it yet. Hopefully it is as good as folks are saying!

I bought a pair of these when they were on sale for $30 each and they work wonderfully.

Pros:

• They are 3'x6.5' so I just had to cut 6" off of the end with some heavy duty scissors and I had my 3'x6' play mat.
• They are already black with a pattern of light grey flecks throughout that simulate a generic star pattern pretty well.
• They have non-slip rubber-like surfaces that grip everything pretty well.
• They are very durable.
• You can't beat the price.

Cons:

• They are heavy.
• They don't roll up especially tight so they take a little more storage space than a regular mat.
• They are not as "pretty" as purpose made gaming mats, monochrome light grey stars.

I really want one of those magnetic mats like I saw for xwing. They sell magnetic material like- http://www.magnetsource.com/Solutions_Pages/printmagvinyl.html

Then you put small magnets on the base of the ships. If you don't care about being able to put it away easy you could probably just shove a bit of sheet metal under a vinyl mat and use the magnets on the bases.

My buddy kickstarted a magnetic mat and it's horrible - not the mat itself, that works great, but if you play with those magnetized bases on pretty much any other surface, count on the bases repelling each other. I'm now doing 2 groups of bases - 1 with magnets to play on his mat (usually only at his house), and 1 for everything else.