If you spent last weekend camping at the beach or in the desert dunes, chances are you'll be spending a good chunk of next weekend removing sand from tents, sleeping bags and pretty much every bit of gear you own. Take it from someone who did go camping last weekend - you just can't seem to get rid of the stuff. One solution would be to avoid bringing so much sand back in the first place, and the CGear Multimat provides a clever way to help you do just that. Its dual-layer design creates a one-way-street for sand, dirt and dust, so particles fall through from above, but don't come back-up through the mat. The result - a clean area to plonk your chair on or spread in front of your tent to help keep sand at bay.
Originally developed to keep dust away from helicopters as they land, the Australian designed Multimat is made from high density knitted polyethylene layers. It looks a bit like "shade cloth" but its weave is narrower and it's "rip stop", so it won’t run or fray according to the manufacturers. A claimed 90%+ UV Protection means it can still give you shade though, or double as a windbreak.
The Multimat wont get damaged by if you spill petrol or oil on it, it will reseal if a campfire spark burns a hole through it (and can also be repaired using polyester thread) and - a special bonus given the environmentally sensitive areas campers often find themselves in - it wont kill grass like a regular plastic tarp will because air can get through.
It's also fully reversible - giving you a choice of two colors - and can be cleaned with mild detergent or using a high pressure wash.
Before you start thinking about throwing away the vacuum and re-carpeting the house with the stuff, it does need to be pegged down through its brass eyelets to work effectively, so it's not suitable for use on hard surfaces.
The CGear Multimat ranges in size from 6ft x 8ft to 20ft x 8ft and is priced from around AUD100 to AUD260 (approx. US$92 to $238).
Via Gear Diary.