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Feedback on mats?

Started by Thaddeus, August 24, 2018, 09:37:56 AM

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Thaddeus

We've sold a lot of the new Appleseed shooting mats. Any feedback?

Super Trooper

I bought a couple.  Reading the store description I was thinking they would be a little thicker.  It is literally a Midway mat without the waterproof bottom, but tan so it's not as hot to lay on in the summer. 
I'd love to see them more like the CMP roll up mats in regards to thickness and foam density even if the price has to go up.
The hardest distance to shoot is the six inches between your ears.  It gets easier when you get out of your own way.  Self doubt and negative self talk have no place on the firing line. 
Once a shot is gone... good or bad, it is gone.   Focus on the next one. Make forty good first shots.

TaosGlock

I need a couple replacements. I have not bought any from the store yet as I was holding back for a review.
The Midway mats I bought nearly 8 years ago are almost toast-the foam is nearly half of what it used to be and it was not that thick.
The Dillon mats I bought nearly the same time are still in superb shape and the foam is thicker, denser and almost the same as it was
the day I bought them. Plus they are tan and a bit cooler. They were over twice the price of the Midway mats.
Both brands have seen hard usage.
89 fantastic Appleseeds since 2008/24 Libertyseeds!
Adventure Camp Director/Current Lead Rifle Instructor: NRA WC Raton,NM
New Mexico's first Rifleman: Sept. 2008 NRAWC
Their walls are filled with cannonballs, their motto is don't tread on me-Grateful Dead
Liberty is not a cruise ship full of pampered passengers. It is a man of war and we are all crew-Boston T. Party
"Make no mistake, when you cheer for the people of the American Revolution, you are cheering for traitors and criminals.
They broke the law, because liberty is always illegal"- Larken Rose

Faramir

I bought one just recently and thought for some reason that it had a waterproof bottom as well. On the whole the foam seems decent, but I have yet to put it to significant use just yet. It seems decent but could have slightly more robust foam and a waterproof cover; I'd be willing to pay a few more bucks for one with those features.

Tennessee Beast

I just got back from a Rifleman's Boot Camp at Ramseur.  The mat saw heavy use for 4 days (by 3 folks some days) and held up okay.  Some stitching on the corner of one of the knee pads came loose, but that was remedied in a few minutes when I got home.  I am pleased with my mat and have a spare just in case anything ever happens to this one (or if I need to loan one out.
In giving us dominion over the animal kingdom, God has signified His will that we subdue the beast within ourselves.
John Lancaster Spalding

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
Benjamin Franklin, 1775

"A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined; to which end a uniform and well-digested plan is requisite; and their safety and interest require that they should promote such manufactories as tend to render them independent of others for essential, particularly military, supplies."  George Washington 1790

"[T]o preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them…"
- Richard Henry Lee, Declaration Signer

Practice every time you get a chance. - Bill Monroe

RedLeg

I've used mine as a loaner at Ohio events and received no complaints.  It's serviceable, though not luxurious.  That said, I personally used it at an AS in Palm Bay, FL last month (loaned my personal mat to my uncle) where they have a covered, concrete firing line.  Had it not been for an instructor loaning me a nice thick yoga mat to lay on top of it, I wouldn't have been able to shoot on Sunday.  I found the thin padding in the AS mat to be wholly inadequate for use on that hard concrete.  Our home range here in Ohio has a gravel firing line and it seems to be a decent solution for that surface and I imagine it would be fine on grass as well.  Were I to use it (or loan it) at a concrete firing line in the future, I'd bring along either a yoga mat or roll of carpet padding to lay under the mat.

"If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace.
We seek not your counsel nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen." - Samuel Adams

"Posterity! You will never know, how much it cost the present Generation, to preserve your Freedom! I hope you will make a good Use of it. If you do not, I shall repent in Heaven, that I ever took half the Pains to preserve it." - John Adams in a letter to Abigail, 26 April 1777

Mrs. Smith

#6
I find them to be more comfortable (squishy!) than my midways, and I like the way they roll up into a more compact package. The director of the community college law enforcement training facility where wee have our events liked them enough that he's planning to pick up a dozen of them for the school.  That'll be a real test, too. Students are HARD on equipment.

Both of the ranges we use have concrete firing lines, and I still find it a tad more comfortable than my midway.
"Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't." - Margaret Thatcher

You can have peace, or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having both at once. - Robert A. Heinlein

"A generation which ignores history has no past, and no future." - Lazarus Long

"What we do now echoes in eternity." Marcus Aurelius

Waco 1-17       Waco 1-19     El Paso 7-19       Alamogordo 5-20     Albuquerque 7-21       Houston 8-21 (SBC)    Colorado Springs  2-22 (SBC)    Midland 8-22 (KDIBC)     Albuquerque 2-23      Harvard 5-23      El Paso 12-23 (PIBC)     Phoenix 2-24    El Paso 3-24

cwcdl79

 Wait, they are not waterproof onthe bottom?

Mrs. Smith

I didn't think that was a secret.  I knew they weren't before I ordered. Don't remember HOW I knew,  but I knew.
"Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't." - Margaret Thatcher

You can have peace, or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having both at once. - Robert A. Heinlein

"A generation which ignores history has no past, and no future." - Lazarus Long

"What we do now echoes in eternity." Marcus Aurelius

Waco 1-17       Waco 1-19     El Paso 7-19       Alamogordo 5-20     Albuquerque 7-21       Houston 8-21 (SBC)    Colorado Springs  2-22 (SBC)    Midland 8-22 (KDIBC)     Albuquerque 2-23      Harvard 5-23      El Paso 12-23 (PIBC)     Phoenix 2-24    El Paso 3-24

cwcdl79

Wel that's a problem. Website says waterproof bottom. Honestly, I havent tried mine, but only bought it because of the reported waterproof bottom.

BrotherPilot

They're great. 5 stars.  I need to buy a couple more I think.
Jay
VA State Coordinator
"It does not take a majority to prevail ... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men."  ―Samuel Adams

cwcdl79

Ok, I got a chance to try out the mat.
1. Waterproof for me would be a big plus. If this isnt, please change the item description
2. Color, love it
3. Not as thick as my midway. I prefer the mat a little thicker, but can live with it.
4. I would prefer a larger elbow pad area (like midway, creedmore, etc). Trigger elbow slides a bit on the material. I'd do away with the knee pads to add more area to the elbows

Sgt-at-Arms

It's worth the price! It's comparable to quality and price of the cheapest shooting mat I could find on Ebay (which was a NcStar Brand). So for beginner shooters and those on a budget, it'll serve the purpose. Good Job!
Kenneth Dawyne Pirtle
"Sgt-at-Arms"

"we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."

hogfamily

Shipping to Alaska is almost as much $ as the mat costs.
Anchorage Suburbanites, part time Willowbillies, Appleseeds, and Weekend Warrior Turquoise Miners.

"Move that fat ass Henry!"
"Don't swing your balls or you'll swamp the boat!"

The Wolfhound

Yeah, I know it is an ancient thread.  I keep reading that they are not as thick as the Midway!?!?!?!?!?!?!  I have two versions of the Midway mat and neither the "basic" (cheapest) nor the Professional model are as thick as the Appleseed mat. Mine has 2 years of service as loaner equipment (the Midways about 1o years worth and showing it) and holding up well.  Yeah, not waterproof but that is not always an issue but gravel and concrete are ubiquitous.

cornhskr

I own two.  They are priced right and serve their purpose.

Thaddeus

We've restocked: mats are available for sale again - see this link: https://store.rwvaappleseed.com/product110.html.




medved

It's a mat. It costs less than 50% competing products. It keeps you off the ground. If it rains, you will get wet.

Used mine for almost 1 year and holding up well. Good value.

mr6actual

One of the BEST things in the store.  I get rave reviews from experienced shooters and new alike that have purchased them. The mats also get a lot of admirers from those that don't have them.
"For all your days prepare and meet them ever alike. When you are the anvil, bear, when you are the hammer, strike! (Edwin Markham) 
"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms, and be taught alike especially when young, how to use them." Richard Henry Lee 1788

Nightpoison

I love the Mat, my only complaint is the grommets are very weak. I would like a stonger bound with the canvas or thicker canvas on the tongue flap.

medved

Best thing about them is the price. Used mine about 2 years and still in great condition. Not concerned about water proofness: if it's raining, I'm going to get soaked. The mat keeps me clean, softens the bumps under me. Does what it needs to do.

Probably better than the mats those shopkeepers and farmers brought with them to Battlefield Road.