I have been looking all over for them. They are sooo expensive. Does anyone have any advice or sites where they are the cheapest?

thanks

I got mine here:

http://www.tiffinmats.com/

That's about the least expensive that I've seen. I've had mine for 8 years. That's 8 years of a LOT of rolling.

Doubt you'll find new ones any cheaper. You might find a deal on some reconditioned wrestling mats. Try here:
http://www.resilite.com/

Check around there and see if you find anything on reconditioned mats. That site has changed a bit since I've last seen it.

Good luck!

-John

what size shoukd i get?

That depends on what you'll be training on them, where you're going to be using them and how many people are going to be using them.

What are your plans?


-John

I personally think that you need a bare minimum of 100 square feet (10 x 10) per student pair, especially if you are going to work stand-up.

its going to be for 2 people rolling in bjj.

I have "Mancino" mats at my home dojo and our school dojo. They last forever and you can get a variety of thickness. We train on the 1 3/8", the 400 series. It's stiff enough for regular training and also soft enough to be thrown down.

http://www.mancinomats.com/martialarts/series400.xhtml

do you think this would be a good mat? http://www.vitaminsandminerals.com/viewproduct.asp?x=8515&z=28

8 x 6.5 or 52 sq feet, $216. For folding mats that is ok. I think those V&M are just puzzle mats though. You can probably get them a lot cheaper.

One thing to remember about Puzzle Mats is that although they might have a coating to them, they are still somewhat porous and are really just a highly compressed sponge. They can be difficult to clean as your sweat and funk can soak right in.

I would recommend either a wrestling mat with a good laminated finish or a good vinyl covered folding mat that you can wipe off with a mop and mat cleaner.

I found 100 sq ft of puzzle mats on ebay from a company called "funjitsu" for a little under $185 (that includes shipping and handling). Just go to ebay and search for wrestling mats. They come in 2'x 2' squares and are 1/2" thick.

I'm waiting for them to be delivered so once I get them and put them in my garage I'll let you know what I think of them.