In Search Of ..... the 'ultimate' pit (or home workbench) mat

As part of this incredible hobby, there's one piece of 'equipment' at all need/use - a pit mat. It didn't matter whether it's only for home use, or whether it's something we take with us everywhere we go with our RCs. Heck, many of us have more than one...one for home, one for "one the road", and maybe even 1-2 for use as 'loaners', or those times when we need a larger "protective" workspace. The point is (as mentioned above), it's something we ALL need, and we all use (ok, so there's probably solve who don't bother...but, let me ask those, "How many parts have you lost and/or scraped up, because you didn't have/use a mat?").

Many of us avoid black mats, primarily because many parts (especially plastic) are black, and they blend in too easily. I'll admit, I have a black mat, but only because of was the only color the LHS I went to had (truthfully, there are several other LHSs I could have gone to, including two others in the same city). Once they got more in, I also picked up a blue one (probably the second most-common color). But, this isn't about black or blue pit mats...it's for all the "unusual" ones people might have.

So, what is a pit mat? I mean, what is a pit mat really? Truthfully, it's nothing more than a yoga mat, cut down in size to smaller dimensions. And, when you think about that point, it's kinda funny. Why? Most pit mats sell in the $20-35 price range, whereas most yoga mats sell for $20, or sell. In other words, when buying a "pit mat", we're actually paying 'more for less'. As such, I decided to just get a yoga mat...and, one of a different (brighter) color, so as to help parts "stand out" more...in this case, teal.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...5092dd13b0.jpg


~ More peace, love, and kindness would make the world a much better place

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Originally Posted by addielazarus

Hello, are them still available now?

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Of course they are. Go into any Target, Walmart, or yoga supply store, and you'll find them. Check online (Amazon, eBay, online yoga supply stores, etc), and you'll find even more. Yoga mats are sold all over the place, and can be found in different sizes, different thicknesses, and different colors. You'll even find a large selection with designs printed on them.

The whole point is, these are, essentially, no different than the pit mats sold my JConcepts, Associated, XRAY, etc, other then them not having your favorite RC brand's logos...and, they'll cost you considerable less than what you pay for an "RC pit mat".


~ More peace, love, laughter, & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

I don't think I've ever seen a pit mat at the lake, but its possible that I may have seen just not noticed them.

I have a couple of A1 size self sealing cutting mats side by side on my home workbench if that counts. They have a grid of printed measured squares for quick measurements in 2 directions and have a protractor for angled cuts, can be cut on, glued on, and pinned to, are firm enough to be a flat surface for building, yet soft enough not to damage most materials if knocked/dropped.

I'm not sure if you have the same building standards in the USofA, but here our standard kitchen countertops are 620mm deep and A1 is 594x841 so in landscape format they pretty much cover the full depth of a counter perfectly up to where it starts rounding over, 2 in landscape are 5.5 feet wide which is as much as you can comfortably use if your sitting or standing without walking around.

While they are flexible they are too stiff to roll up, and I would guess they are about 5lbs each so pretty heavy to take to the lake. I never considered a pit mat for the lake, and was curious as to the purpose of pit mats when I saw videos of pro car guys at the track, and figured it was a sponsorship thing to get a big sponsor logo in their pit, but if it is to make screws easier to find I have that need taken care of as my charging case has a soldering station built into the removable lid, and that has little lidded compartments and magnetic trays in it.

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Originally Posted by NativePaul

I don't think I've ever seen a pit mat at the lake, but its possible that I may have seen just not noticed them. I'm not sure if you have the same building standards in the USofA, but here our standard kitchen countertops are 620mm deep...

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In the U.S., there's not really any 'standard' to countertop depths...they're typically in the 24-25.5" range. As for pit mats at the lake, not even here...but, for working on boats on the workbench, yes. Boats still use nuts and bolts (or, should I say, screws), and when you drop one...as long as you didn't drop it on the floor...a mat can not only help in you better being able to see them, but the material, itself, can help prevent them from rolling/bouncing onto the floor.

For my primary RC workstation, in addition to the yoga (ie. pit) mat, I have it currently topped with a large plastic tray that I sprayed with a rubberized material. In addition to having a large "work area", or also has several smaller sections, for holding screws, nuts, and other parts. Then, on top of that, I have an even smaller tray, made of heavy silicone rubber, which not only has even smaller sections for holding things, but also has a few of those sections being magnetized.

I can have all three mats on the desktop, just the yoga mat, or the yoga mat topped with either of the other two, dependant on what I'm working on. My primary workspace is approx 40"W x 26xD, and my secondary workspace is approx 48"W x 30"D, both of which are topped with yoga mats. With two workspaces, and the 3-mat "combo", such provides me the space, and proper 'coverage', for working on anything as large as a 3ft boat or 1/5 buggy, all the way down to a Mini-Z size car.


~ More peace, love, laughter, & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place