I live in the rural sticks. I'm talking nearly a one to one ratio of farm animal to human. Living in the sticks means just that - lots of sticks, dirt, grass... And my husband and I are outdoorsy folks, but I'm certainly not a fan of getting my clothes covered in said sticks, dirt and grass. So I was very excited to try out the
Monkey Mat - a convenient, fabulous, fairly newly product as seen on Shark Tank.
My
Monkey Mat in the color red coral crush came packaged in a small cardboard box not much bigger than a CD case. It's seriously so small that it could easily fit in my purse. It is made of a very soft, smooth nylon material, and has the Monkey Mat logo in the center, lightly weighted corners and loops at each corner in case you want to stake it down.
After unpacking my Monkey Mat and the stakes I also received, I headed outside to play with my indoor-outdoor kitty, Selina Kyle, also known as Squish.
At first I tried to use it without staking it down, but the second my 9-pound Squish stepped on it, the Monkey Mat bunched up. The weighted corners, while seemingly very sturdy, aren't heavily weighted so it didn't take much for the mat to move. In the end, I really had no choice but to stake it down.
My backyard is grassy but much of the dirt is hard-packed. I spread out the Monkey Mat and used the stakes to secure it, but the stakes are only made of plastic and I had to be very careful not to push too hard because they were starting to bend from the pressure.
It was earlier in the day and the grass was absolutely covered with dew. I'm a wuss and hate being wet, but the
Monkey Mat did a great job keeping me dry. It repelled the water underneath for the entire 45 minutes Selina and I were hanging out. Being 5' by 5', it was the perfect size - I could comfortably lay out on it and still have plenty of room for someone else.
One of my favorite features is that it comes with its own attached carrying case. The carrying case even has a wrist strap that can be easily unclipped/clipped so you can easily clip it to something - my husband and I like to clip things to our backpack for easy access. Of course when I went to repack the Monkey Mat, it didn't look nearly as pretty or neatly tucked in as it did when I first received it.
Loves
- water repellent
- when wrapped up, it's so small! it could fit in my purse
- attached carrying case (you can't lose it)
- clippable wrist strap on case
- soft fabric
- convenient and easy to use
- machine washable!
- comes in lots of colors: red coral crush, gray groove, orange sunrise, blue yonder, hang tag gray & hang tag blue
Not Loving So Much
- plastic stakes are flimsy
- carrying case is not super secure where it attaches to the mat
Conclusion:
The
Monkey Mat is a convenient, easy to use way to keep you and your stuff off whatever surface you're on. It would be great at the beach for young and old alike. It would be particularly great for parents who don't want their infants laying on a potentially dirty floor. It's definitely worth the investment if you're like me and often sit on the floor or the ground.
I'm so grateful that the folks at Monkey Mat were kind enough to send me a free mat and stakes to try out. I promise you - it's a great product! This is the PERFECT addition to your summer!
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Happy Couponing!
-Coupon Mama Massachusetts
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may make money if you click them.
This is a sponsored post. Monkey Mat (through US Family Guide) sent me a free Monkey Mat and set of 4 stakes to test out in order to facilitate my review. All opinions are 100% my own.
