talkmagic.co.uk

I was planning on purchasing a close-up mat in the next few days, but I was having some trouble deciding between a 12" X 17" (30.5cm X 41.1cm) mat and a 16" X 23" (40.5cm X 58.5cm) mat. The smaller mat costs $12.50 while the larger is $24.95.

I would use it mostly for card tricks, but I also would like it to be accommodating to spongeball, coin, and cups and balls tricks. Is it worth the extra money to get a larger mat or would I be fine with the smaller one?

Mark out both sizes on your table with chalk and do your tricks and see which size mat covers your need ??

Tenko's right. Mark out an area (how about cutting a sheet of paper, even just newsprint) and see how easy it is to do what you need in that sized space.

There is another factor to consider; why do you want a mat? Is it just to add a nice touch, and perhaps a better surface, for your close-up table demonstrations, or are you thinking of using it to do table-hopping?

That's a great idea Tenko - I'm going to go try test right now. Thank you!

And I don't plan on doing any kind of table-hopping in the near future. Mostly I would use it for doing small shows for people: ones that wouldn't require any kind of repeated relocation. I want one for the nice surface and nice look.

I have a relatively small one I use for table hopping, but for any serious close up routines, it gets pretty cramped. I think its the 12 by 17 one. Hard to spread cards well, and my cups and balls gets a little bit cramped. I would personally go for the bigger one, its not expensive and if you DO choose the smaller oner, expansion in the future will cost you a whole new mat, whereas getting the big one from the outset will last ya!

That's a very good point wildcard. Plus, I tested earlier today and think I would much prefer the larger mat.
Thanks for all of your guys' help!