Enjoy my Proximat Basic Slate & VR eSports VR Mat Review. These mats retail from $19.95 for the 23″ Basic Slate Mat directly from Proximat here → or from Amazon here → https://amzn.to/3HXvFMi.
Proximat 35″ Basic Slate VR Mat
In this video I’ll be looking at two VR floor mats from Proximat. The first is their Basic Slate mat. It is a clean and simple VR mat, and it comes with some of the same main features as their more standard line of VR mats.
The material is made from a soft anti-fatigue rubberised foam material, that is at a thickness that isn’t too thick to be able to roll it up and stow it away when it isn’t in use, and it’s not too thin to not protect your feet and knees during many hours in VR.
Its non-porous surface makes it easy to wipe up any sweat from a VR fitness session or should it ever become dirty. You can buy it in two circular sizes, a smaller sized 23-inches, and the one you see in this video, which is the bigger of the two, at 35-inches.
Its low profile will not make it so much of a trip hazard, just as long as it’s sitting flat on the surface and it isn’t curled up at the edges from being rolled up. Even when it is, you can still use the mat on both sides, thanks to having its two protruding buttons that stick out from the foam material.
There is one large button in the middle of the mat. This makes it easy to centralise yourself on the mat without having to look for it. It’s made from thick plastic, so even if you’re playing in shoes, you should be able to feel the difference. This makes it a little tough to walk on when playing in socks or bare feet, but you don’t have to stand directly on it, and it’s a nice way to keep you centred on the mat.
On the outer edge is a smaller button, made from the same plastic material. This button helps to orientate you to a position in the real world. This is ideal for streaming or if you want to always face the same direction whilst in VR. You might have a piece of furniture, shelf, or even friends or family watching you in the same room, and having a way of keeping your swaying arms away from them by making you focus in a certain direction can be a very handy way to avoid any nasty accidents.
I found the 35-inch basic slate mat a very good size, and in most games I rarely found myself coming off the mat, and if I did, it was easy to find my way back on the mat and back to the centre of it, thanks to its raised guide buttons.
48″ Leaderboard VR eSports Edition Mat
The second mat is the Leaderboard VR Esports Edition. It’s aimed at anyone with a larger VR space, should you need a little more freedom of movement, or if you wish to use the mat for VR esports or for commercial use.
It measures 48-inches square, and it features a much greater number of guide buttons. There is one large button in the centre, with four smaller buttons near the outside of each corner. Directly ahead there is a small button, followed by a large button just after it. All of the raised buttons play their part in keeping you within the mat. I rarely found myself leaving the mat without knowing about it, either by stepping on to one of the buttons or feeling the mat stop under my feet. In doing so, I found it easy to return back to the mat and find my way back without looking through the gaps on my headset and keeping myself immersed in the games I was playing.
These mats are great for any VR game that requires standing up in, and even more so if you find yourself going onto your knees in games like VR shooters that require you to take cover. I tried both mats for a number of hours, and I found both mats really helped with placing myself in my VR space, and I didn’t feel like I had to be as aware of my surroundings. The circular shape of the mat felt better than my usual rectangular mat, which I quite often found me stepping off of. I feel the smaller 23-inch might have been too small for me. The 35-inch is initially large in its physical size, but its size felt just right. The 48-inch square VR Sports mat on the other hand was a bit too large for me, and I would only consider it for commercial use in VR arcades or demo areas.
Proximat can also add your own logo to the mat, which is a nice feature to customise the mat to your own style. They also do a number of other shape styles. There’s a bigger 42-inch round mat and a wide one that is aimed at fitness.
The 35-inch Basic Slate Proximat retails for $29.95 and the smaller 23” retails for $19.95. If you want to maximise, you can pick up the 48-inch square VR Sports Proximat for $89.95. And you can check out my links below to learn more and to buy yourself one. I find their prices pretty reasonable for the materials they use, the size and how they are shaped and cut, and also how it is fundamentally made for VR, over some much cheaper and less reliable alternatives that you could use.
I think I’ll be swapping my rectangular anti-fatigue desk mat, with one that is dedicated to VR. Its circular shape and size, along with its direction and centralising raised buttons really help with keeping me immersed in the games I am playing. So if you are looking to increase your levels of immersion in VR and improve your VR comfort and experience, then I would consider one of these mats from Proximat.
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 – Brief overview
0:16 – 35″ Basic Slate Proximat
2:28 – 48″ Leaderboard VR eSports Edition Proximat
3:42 – Overall impressions
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