My girl friend has these mats put together with clips. The clips always get in the way. and sometimes you need to cut where the join is....not friendly. The reason she got these mats was because she hosted a group of girls every month and we all chipped in to purchase these for her. Now that we don't go anymore she took the mats apart. Much friendlier. Not often one needs this long a mat IMHO I have a skinny mat I purchased a long time ago that I can add to my mat if I really need it. Don't use clips just put it there and move the mat down to where I need to cut.