Prism99

I like the purple side, so that is the side I have up. Looks like the yellow side is thicker, though. I haven't cut on the mat yet.

Just for fun, I pulled out my Olfa rotating mat and small Quilter's Select mat to compare the surfaces. Took a starched square of fabric and put my hand on top to see how much it moved on each mat. It barely moved at all on the Olfa mat, but moved quite easily on the QS mat. The Martelli was in-between; a little bit of grab, but not as much as the Olfa. I often have difficulty with either the fabric or the ruler moving on me while cutting, which is why I try to use my Slidelock whenever possible. Seems to me that the QD, being the slipperiest mat, would be the most difficult for me to use for long cuts. It does work great for smaller cuts, though; I have pulled it out for that purpose in the past.

At any rate, I think all three mats are way better than my old mat, which is quite rough in comparison. It was a no-brand name mat that came with my cutting table 20 or so years ago and I'm not sure what it is made of. I think it has made cutting harder on my hand lately, not to mention having to avoid some of the spots with too many cuts in the mat, so I am looking forward to trying out the Martelli for long cuts (once I get further along with my current quilt). I'm hoping I won't have to press as hard.