I prefer the green Olfa's. I had my original mat probably 10 yrs or more. And I used both sides as I typically use the ruler markings vs mat markings for measuring cuts. I may have been able to get longer use from it but I tend to be lazy about changing blades in my rotary cutter, thus using dull ones longer than I should, which as others have stated, tend to then cut/score the mat. I also tend to cut in the same spots all the time so combine those two practices and I had some deep cuts.