GelPro Mat

A few years ago, I bought a gel floor mat for use in my kitchen. It was great at first, then the edges starting curling up, and the whole thing got a little wonky. I still kept it in the kitchen, and somehow trained myself to not trip over it.

Recently GelPro offered me one of their Elite mats to test.

Oh, heck yeah. Bring it on!

Then they asked me to pick a color and pattern. There are a freaking LOT of colors and patterns, and I'll admit I got lost in there for a while before I decided to go with a natural-looking option. But there are a ton of cool colors and patterns.

I opted for the Grasscloth pattern in Harvest Grain color. Not only does it blend well with my kitchen, but the pattern means that I can spill a little flour on it and it won't look horrifying.

By they way, the actual color is a little warmer than the photos. Lighting in my kitchen isn't particularly photo-friendly.

I mean, yeah, I clean up spills, but for that time between spill small amounts of flour and clean it up, it won't look like I disemboweled the Pillsbury Dough Boy.

When it arrived, I couldn't wait to compare it to the mat that I previously had. And there were a lot of differences. A lot.

The first and most obvious difference  between the GelPro mat and the one I previously bought - even before I got it out of the box - was that the GelPro mat has a soft-feeling, non-sticky-plastic surface. It almost feels like fabric, but it's not.

The construction of it is also very different, with edges that are nicely beveled rather than having flat, flappy bits around the perimeter. Those were the bits that first curled up on my previous mat before the rest of it started warping.

The GelPro mat is also thicker and sooooo soft to stand on.

Not quite like standing on a mattress, but much nicer than a throw rug or thin mat.

The only problem with this mat is that it makes the other one seem so ... awful ... in comparison. So now I'm probably going to buy two more mats, so I can have one at each place where I tend to stand a lot. I won't put one in front of the fridge, but for sure I want squishy feet by the stove and sink.

Who's it for: People who spend a lot of time in the kitchen.

Pros: Sooooo comfy. Well made.

Cons: More expensive than the super-junky one I bought previously.

Wishes: Can I line my entire house with this stuff?

Source: I received this from the manufacturer for the purpose of a review.

Note: You can buy GelPro mats on Amazon, but there's a wider variety of colors on the GelPro website, and it's also a bit easier to browse through all of the selections.