About this same time two years ago we reviewed a brand new pitmat by CowRC called the Screw Catcher. The CowRC Screw Catcher was a huge hit with it's biggest feature being a fully magnetic base along with foam edges to “catch” your screws. The downside of the Screw Catcher was that it was thick and wasn't portable friendly.
Well CowRC has fixed that now with their latest pitmat, the CowRC Flat Mat and today we're going to take a closer look at the new CowRC flat mat pitmat.
The CowRC flat mat is offered in three different sizes Micro (9″x12″), Mini (12″x18″), and Jumbo (24″x30″) CowRC also offers the pitmats in three different varieties, Economy (black), standard, or Pro Mag (featuring 2x the weight, thickness, and magnetism). For the review, we'll be focusing in on the Jumbo pitmat.
To start lets point out the differences between the Screw Catcher and the Flat Mat. The CowRC Flat Mat is basically the same as the Screw Catcher minus the foam border and compartments. This allows the Flat Mat to be easily portable by simply rolling up the mat. Word of advice, roll the Flat Mat pitmat up with the magnetic side in – this makes it easier when you roll the Flat Mat back out as the mat won't want to roll up onto your work area.
The CowRC flat mat jumbo is plenty big, at 24″x30″ it easily accepts an Associated MGT with 40 series MOAB tires. Still plenty of room to spare on all four sides as well as eight compartment areas for tools, screws, and other items. While not the “compartments” that the foam offered on the Screw Catcher, still having the decal compartments on the CowRC flat mat is a nice touch.
I wanted to see how well the CowRC Flat Mat pit mat held up to common RC debris so I put some RC air filter oil, FastEddy grease, and rubbed some blue Loctite paste on the Flat Mat. After letting them sit for about five minutes I was amazed to see how easily the Flat Mat cleaned up.
Simply taking an old rag and wiping the mat, the CowRC Flat Mat looked like brand new again. After rubbing my hand across the pit mat I noticed a sticky residue, likely from the FastEddy grease, but this was easily cleaned up with a little spray from CowRC Cleaner and another wipe of the rag. Now the CowRC Flat Mat looked and felt just like new.
From my tests the Flat Mat didn't offer the same magnetic strength as the Screw Catcher. The Screw Catcher would easily hold screws with the mat standing on end, I couldn't do the same with the Flat Mat. With that said no one works with their pit mats on end, they lay them flat on the table so the Flat Mat doesn't need to hold screws upside down or even on end. The CowRC Flat Mat does however do a fine job keeping screws on the pit mat. Dropping screws from about three feet, the screws typically did not bounce or only bounced once before being held by the magnetic material. Which is perfect when taking apart your RC and not wanting to lose any screws.
Overall I think the Flat Mat hits the nail on the head. If you're a racer or basher who wrenches on their RC's while out at the track or bash site the CowRC Flat Mat should be your choice pit mat. It's easily portable by simply rolling it up while providing a magnetic surface so you're not looking for those lost screws and the bright white surface makes it very easy to locate any type of screw.
CowRC Flat Mat Pros:
- Massive work space – 24″x30″
- Magnetic – no more lost screws
- Portable – Simply roll up and take with you
- Bright white surface makes finding screws easy
Cons:
- None!
If portability isn't a concern for you then I'd also suggest checking out the CowRC Screw Catcher!
