I have had trouble with Fiskar mats warping even though I stored and cared for them correctly. I was looking at some Fiskar ones in JoAnn's and all of them were wavy. I've never had that problem with Olfa. I've had a couple of Olfa mats for over 15 years and they are still going strong. I have never had Martelli but have heard good things about them. Mats are expensive so look for sales, coupons and take good care of them.

Check out www.sewingemporium.com. I purchased the BIG MAT (which comes in several sizes) as a show special at one of the local sewing/quilting expos a few years ago. I love it, and the rotary cutting blades do not need replacing as often. The mats have a five-year warranty, too.

I have a Friskers 24 x 36 green on one side and yellow on the other. Purchased at WalMart and have not had any problems with it. Definitely want a self healing mat.

I have tried them all, Fiskars, Olfa, Clover and hands down my Martelli wins. I agree with other posters who are in love with their Martelli Mats. The mats are expensive, but almost indestructible. I am so spoiled by using the Martelli, that I hate to use any other. I also like their cutter, have both the 60mm & the 45mm. 60 will easily cut through 8 layers of fabric.

Go for the Olfa. I have a Fiskars and just bought Olfa and it's so much better to work on. Joann's will accept coupon's from Hobby Lobby. I did use a coupon for mine

I have an old Olfa green mat that I have used so much that the lines are disappearing in the middle of the mat from use. Still works fine though. Bought a white one a while back and it is okay but still prefer the old green one.

My 14 year old Olfa is my goto mat. And I use the 18-24 the most. It fits on most tables, whereas it's hard to find space for the 24x36. I have no idea if Olfas are as good as they used to be, and hope I never have to find out.

But if I did have to find out, Wawak.com is another source. They always offer a fairly steep discount and they sometimes run sales over those prices as well.

I believe the best out there is the Martelli mat....You can order from their website (www.martellinotions.com)..some :QS carry their stuff - and they are vendors at many of the larger quilt shows.........You can even iron on their mats......I have destroyed several of the Olfa mats ( and they were not cheap ) and I have not had any digs or groves occur in my Martelli mat that I bought 5 years ago! None of the Olfa mats ever lasted that long..............

I TOTALLY AGREE!!!!! Their mats and cutters are the absolute best - beyond compare!!!!!!!

I have an Olfa mat that I got at Hobby Lobby with a 40% off coupon years ago. Very pleased with the mat.