I used the original flip-mat and had no problems with it. Unfortunately from heavy use it started to wear out, so I bought this one, and its even better. I've written on it with Sharpie markers and, with a little water, it completely erases.

I once owned a Chessex map for a while, but it was cumbersome, never stayed flat on the table, smeared a lot, and worst of all, was ludicrously expensive.

At thirteen bucks, there's no reason you shouldn't buy this mat.

This is possibly the most useful product I've ever purchased. Been using it a couple of years now and I've never regretted it. My only real qualm, if it can even be called such, is that when marker gets into the creases where it folds it's a bit harder to clean and I worry about it ripping there. Other then that, I find it amazing. Most likely I'm gonna get me another one or two. just so that I don't have to erase when maps are bigger then just one. Anyone that uses miniatures will love this product. the fact that both wet and dry erase markers can be used is great. no risk of accidently grabbing the wrong marker! Buy this! You won't regret it!

After three months of use I can say the Flip-Map: Basic is great, and just what I was looking for. At 24 x 30 squares in size, they're just about the perfect for my gaming table with plenty of play space while leaving room to the sides. As well, having them fold up to the size of sheet of paper (albeit a lot thicker) makes them easy to store and transport. I found they also smudge a lot less than my old battlemat, they don't rub of as easy while transporting, and they don't stain when I forget to clean them off after the game (or have to leave the map in place for a few weeks/months).

Any 'cons' are minor, especially for the price. When you unfold the map you do get a number of peaks and valleys following the creases which can interfere with placing tokans, minis, markers, etc. and potentially mess up a die roll, but this can be avoided if you unfold them early and place a weight on top (like a book). I've also found while cleaning up, ink can get stuck in the creases, but its barely noticable. Finally the edges could be the potential downfall, as they appear particularly susceptable to damage (only time will tell).

Overall they perform great, giving two distinct sides to use, and with the grid going right to the edges they're easy to combined. They store and transport well, and don't appear to stain. They're priced to sell, and have only a few minor issues (effectively non-issues for me). My biggest complaint is I should have bought a third (or atleast I shouldn't have lent my second mat to a friend... I still haven't got it back!).

Perfect map. The two colors really help for any scenario, so that my PC's don't have to be trekking through the wilderness above grey squares (they get into it). Perfect size,not too big, not too small, but just right. What else can I say? This map does what it is meant to, and at a reasonablee price.

The original Flip-Mat was a great thing, mostly due to perfect choice of laminated paper, sturdy yet light and allowing use of almost any marker without stains and smears (unlike the Chessex mats).

There were three small issues with the original, and all three are fixed in this new release:

* both sides feature 1" grid now. Honestly, the hexes side was redundant for most D&D players, and everybody wished they could just flip (duh) the mat and have a second surface to write on

* coloring is changed - one side is light grey, the other sand brown with the grid lines in soft grey, making it look less like a ... grid, while still easily outlining the squares

* the grid extends fully to the edge of the map, eliminating the unnecessary border.

To sum it up, the best just got better !