Alvin Cutting Mat- Yay/Nay??
 

I am in need of a new cutting mat that is truly self healing, durable and most importantly for me... NO ODOR
This is the brand that comes highly rated and meets my needs.

Alvin, GBM Series Professional Self-Healing Cutting Mat.
Thank you sew much for your thoughts

That is what I've been using for several years now. I know it's been over three years - but it could be as long as five. I may have rotated it once, but I know I've not flipped it yet (that way I get four surfaces out of a mat before I have to toss it). It's held up way better than the one I had before, I think that one was a Fiskers, but it's been so long ago, I don't remember. I didn't expect it to be as great as it is, and had bought a Martinelli when they were on sale a few years ago, and it's still sitting under the Alvin mat. I've heard some horror stories of mats getting ruined when under another mat, but so far the Martinelli has not suffered from being under the Alvin mat.

The Alvin mat is 3'x4', the Martinelli is slightly longer.

Don't recall if smell was an issue when it first arrived, however I get migraines triggered by smells so I'm very particular about that - so if it smelled I would have left it in the garage for a while, and it's been so long I don't recall if I had to do that or not. I'm pretty sure it also shipped flat too.

I find this brand of mat at Tuesday Morning store. I have several of them and they all seem very good quality. I have to say I like the Quilter's Select mat the best of all I have used and I have two of the Martelli mats. The Martelli shows wear fast but seems to be only cosmetic as they still perform just fine. I haven't tried the Creative Grids mat yet. Most all my hard surfaces in my sewing room are covered with a mat. My old Fiskar, Omnigrid, Olfa, June Tayler ones I cut to fit the shelves, drawer liners and I have one of the huge Sullivan mats as a area rug in my sewing room.

I've had my Alvin for almost ten years and it still looks almost new. I chose it because it's the same 30" width as my work table. I use the reverse side for rotary cutting batting. Never had any smell.

Daffy

That's what I bought about 5yrs ago. It's green on one side and black on the other side with markings on both side. Very heavy depending on the size you order. I ordered a 4' x 8' to fit my table. Love that it's a self-healing mat as my rotary blades seem to last longer on it. Think the company I ordered it from as gone belly up since though.

The Alvin black mats I have are 24 x36. I bought two at the same time when I found them at Tuesday Morning store for $19.99 each. Retail price was marked I think about $65 each. I didn't need two mats then but sure glad I bought them. I take one to retreats for the general cutting table. It has taken a lot of use. I use a lot of different size mats on top of my big one so none gets worn that much. Buy low and use high. LOL

Most of my cutting mats are OLFA. I think that was about it when I got them. They are several years old. I do believe I did toss one of the first ones I bought but that was about 30 years ago. I did just recently spring for a creative grid mat to go with the stripology rulers and It seems to be a bit thicker than the OLFA ones. I think it will work well. One tip I have, is to use sharp blades when doing your cutting and make sure your blade rolls easily. Too much pressure having to be applied to the cutter will eventually wear out your cutting mat a lot faster then a light pressure.

Alvin Cutting Mat- Thank you!
 

Thank you sew much for your wonderful thoughts on this cutting mat! I was so confident with your positive replies I purchased one! Thank you!