This is the gaming mat that I've waited 20 years for, ever since my friends and I tried to draw a grid on a whiteboard. Recently, I've gotten back into games, and bought a vinyl mat with wet-erase. An old standby, it was messy to clean (as well as never really getting clean). I tried one of these out when I saw it at the hobby store and was so impressed I immediately ordered a few more.
Showing it to my long-time group, they 'ooed' and 'ahhed' when I drew on it with permanent marker and then erased it. The dry erase option allows games with smaller, quicker locales to move faster, and the wet and permanent option allow you to prep things ahead of time if you need to.
I drew an entire dungeon on the map with a permanent marker, and then erased it when the adventure was finished (granted, it took a long time and a ton of ink, but it was worth it). Also, the price point makes it moderately expendable, meaning if something bad happens to it, you can replace it without wincing too much (compared to a $50 game mat).
Highly recommended. The option of using dry-erase on a grid alone is worth it. As for not 'staying flat,' simply bend the map backward vs. the joints. Takes ten seconds and works like a charm.
Oh, one more use: use a spare flip-mat to take notes in dry erase or wet erase for the campaign. Monster hp, etc.
A double-sized or larger blank mat would be a great option, by the way!
