They call this the Picnic Table Mat. It is from the HandyMat company. When I first read about it I was curious and hoped it would be something we could use for cookouts, picnics and more. When I got it in the mail, I quickly changed my mind although was open to seeing how well they did or didn't do.
The product arrives with two folded in half plastic corrugated mats. They look like a gingham table cloth. The "cloth" looking design is printed on it and if anything sticky gets on the mat repeated wiping in that area can remove some of the design. To me, that is a flaw that is not really acceptable.
Each of the individual mats are 12" x 17" folded in half, so when open at the full 24" x 17" you place them on your picnic table to cover up messes or dirty looking old wood. I get the idea and love that part of it. The problem is, the mats do not completely fit the size of the picnic table. After being tried on several tables, not once did they cover the whole width of the table except for one of the plastic kids picnic tables. Nor did they fit down the center of the table with enough room on each side to put plates. To me this is a problem. You end up with awkward edges to deal with as you set your plate down on the table. No matter which way you place them, the edge is in the way for someone and their plates if you have 5-6 people eating. If there are only 2-3, they can sit on the opposite end of the mats and it works.
The mats do clean up easily if you are careful. They recommend things like a damp cloth, wet wipes, or using Windex to clean them. I just know we had a small spot that was really sticky and getting that off took some of the design off too, shown in the picture above.
My other problem with them is you can't put anything hotter than a cool enough to drink coffee cup on them. Even with a hot pad under a hot plate or pan, the corrugated plastic will warp or melt. I've never had that happen with a cloth or vinyl table cover. So this concerns me. If I am using this with company around, I feel like I would constantly have to be reminding them to not set anything hot on them. but that may just be me.
My last thing is that when folded and placed in the plastic zip bag for storage, they don't fit in my picnic basket or cooler. Every cloth or vinyl cover I have had does. So it is just one more thing to carry along and to figure out where to store.
I like the idea of the product, but I personally am not sold on it. This may be something you might like and I see from other reviewers, they like them. I'll stick to my good old table cloth I have used for years and my Mom used before me.
You can purchase the HandyMay Picnic Table Mat HERE!
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