Erik
Member
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2006
- Messages
- 2,661
- Location
- Enschede, Netherlands, Netherlands
- WCA
- 2005AKKE01
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I would like to address an issue which mostly only really matters during feet. In my experience the thickness and the material of the mat you are solving on has an influence on the times you get. This is because a thick mat can be pushed down further which makes turning easier. Also the surface the mat is lying on has an impact on this. For instance: a mat on carpet may be better than a concrete floor depending on the carpet's characteristics.
For example: I practiced a week at my own place which has carpet. Then I went somewhere else and continued practicing on a hard floor and I was about 5 seconds slower.
Now I know it is very unpractical and undesirable to start determining what kind of floor a venue should have, so lets focus a bit more on the mats themselves.
As far as I know the following mats have been used:
Stackmat gen 2 mats: (there are 2 different thicknesses, the newer ones are a bit thinner (ask Henrik for more details here)).
Stackmat gen 3 mats: which are thinner, smaller and have a different shape. For a comparison: http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/nTMkhr3zQFU/hqdefault.jpg
Custom mats*: for example here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2bUfKOW44Y or even at WC 2011 http://www.5x5x5.net/wc2011/20111015/P1080412.jpg
No mat*
* arguably the regulations require the use of the original mat reading https://www.worldcubeassociation.org/regulations/#7f1 although it is not very clear if the mat just has to be compatible or has to be the original mat or what "full sized" means.
Of course this issue does not come up a lot since feet is not held very often and if it is held I usually try to get a gen 2 mat, but I feel some clearing up and some thinking has to be done here. If not for feet, then just for the fact that it is not very clear if the original mat has to be used during other events.
For example: I practiced a week at my own place which has carpet. Then I went somewhere else and continued practicing on a hard floor and I was about 5 seconds slower.
Now I know it is very unpractical and undesirable to start determining what kind of floor a venue should have, so lets focus a bit more on the mats themselves.
As far as I know the following mats have been used:
Stackmat gen 2 mats: (there are 2 different thicknesses, the newer ones are a bit thinner (ask Henrik for more details here)).
Stackmat gen 3 mats: which are thinner, smaller and have a different shape. For a comparison: http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/nTMkhr3zQFU/hqdefault.jpg
Custom mats*: for example here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2bUfKOW44Y or even at WC 2011 http://www.5x5x5.net/wc2011/20111015/P1080412.jpg
No mat*
* arguably the regulations require the use of the original mat reading https://www.worldcubeassociation.org/regulations/#7f1 although it is not very clear if the mat just has to be compatible or has to be the original mat or what "full sized" means.
Of course this issue does not come up a lot since feet is not held very often and if it is held I usually try to get a gen 2 mat, but I feel some clearing up and some thinking has to be done here. If not for feet, then just for the fact that it is not very clear if the original mat has to be used during other events.