Best Floating Mats For The Water Reviews (How To Choose 2020)
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Whenever summer comes, people typically spend a week or so in a by the pool, camping by the lake or on the beach. Besides, summer means exploring the fun ways to beat the heat.
If you are thinking of a new way to have fun in water with your family and friends, then you’ve come to the right post. In this article, we reviewed the five best floating mats for water. These floating mats allow you and your chosen people to float on water together, some only allows you to lie down or sit while there are others where you may stand and do some water activities.
Top 3 Best Floating Mats For The Water Reviews
1. Rubber Dockie 18×6 Feet Floating Mat

The Rubber Dockie floating mat is already one of the most popular choices among floating mats. This should not be surprising since its specifications are quite superior compared to others. And as such, supreme quality comes at a high cost.
Rubber Dockie is made of closed cell foam, two-ply cells, and foam measuring around 1.3 inches thick. These materials are then manufactured with a tuff-hide outer membrane and a tear-stop nylon inner rebar matrix to make the mat supremely durable.
It is also eye-catching, bright green on one side and vibrant orange on the other. This design isn’t just for aesthetics but also to make it very visible on water. Even the boaters from afar can easily see it.
To help you keep it in place while on the water, Rubber Dockie comes with a 12-feet elastic bungee tether that may be used to anchor the mat to a dock or other immovable objects. Along with this is a customized loop and hook storage straps with metal buckles for easy storage.
See more information on Rubber Dockie 18×6 Feet Floating Mat.
Why We Like It
- Superior quality – lightweight and durable
- Comes with storage straps for storage and elastic bungee tether for anchor
- Strong and steady
- Vibrant colors that makes the mat very visible
2.Intex Giant Inflatable Floating Mat

This Intex floating mat is a very affordable floating mat that provides not only enjoyment on water but also comfort. It can fit 2-3 people at one time and has the maximum weight capacity of 600 lbs.
Should you need more space, the Intex floating mat is designed with a connector that allows you to connect it to another Intex floating mat. From any of its four corners, you may also tether it to a boat or other immovable object.
The material used is a twenty-gauge vinyl making the mat durable and long-lasting. To ensure your safety and that of your friends or family, it is designed with two air chambers.
It is thick and weighs 19 lbs yet it may be folded to keep it small and compact for easy storage. Inflating and deflating shouldn’t also pose any problem because doing so just take few moments.
See more information on Intex Giant Inflatable Floating Mat.
Why We Like It
- Very affordable
- Provides optimal comfort
- Has connectors to attach other floating mats
- Thick and durable
3.WOW Sports Inflatable Floating Mat

What stands out about this WOW Sports inflatable floating mat among the others on this list is that it is steady enough for people to walk on. In fact, it is particularly designed for such purpose – to be a walkway. Although, you may also use it just to lie around and enjoy.
This inflatable floating mat is made from 30 gauge PVC that makes the mat heavy-duty and durable. There are also vertical beams that provide stability for the floating mat. Each Wow Sports floating mat is designed with zipper that allows you to connect one floating mat with another. However, if you intend to walk on these connected floating mats, make sure that the mats are sufficiently inflated and connected well with another.
To tie a WOW Sports inflatable floating mat to a boat, however, there are grommets on the sides of the mat. On its ends, there are 2 pieces of six-foot rope.
With such specifications and design, the WOW Sports floating mat is recommended to be used as a walking platform to reach an island or a boat.
See more information on WOW Sports inflatable floating mat.
Why We Like It
- Manufactured using heavy-duty material
- With vertical beams that provide stability for the mat
- Can fit up to 6 people
- Has grommets on each end to tie to a boat
Why Purchase A Floating Water Mat?
The short answer to this is, life is short so have fun on water for some time. With a floating water mat, you can easily and enjoyably float on the pool, on the beach, or on the lake. You won’t even need a pump, a paddle board, or a kayak. Best of all, you won’t seem too weird among the crowd because floating mats are not totally eye-catching.
These mats look just like any other mats but are made of durable materials such as cell foams. The cell foams used enable these mats to float on its own without the need of other accessories.
You can just throw it on water, jump on it and it will float on its own.
Advantages And Benefits Of Floating Water Mats
The first advantage of having a floating water mat is that it doesn’t need anything else to float. As previously mentioned, you don’t need to worry about a pump to make it float. Meaning, it cuts off the period when you have to wait for the air pump to inflate. You don’t even have to worry about forgetting something that may totally put off your water fun because the mat alone is already buoyant enough.
The floating water mats, as mentioned, are made of durable cell foams. You don’t have to worry about suddenly tearing or breaking it while floating on water. Additionally, it is buoyant enough not only for one person but also for your friends or families. The specific capacity, however, depends and varies in each mat.
Factors In Choosing Floating Water Mat
Although a floating water mat looks pretty simple and basic, there are several factors that you may want to consider in choosing the best one.
Safety/Protection
The first thing you’d want to consider is if the mat can keep you safe and floating over the water. To verify this, you would want to check the mat’s durability, the materials used, and its interior and exterior design. In addition, the quality and made of the mat should be of superior quality. It should not easily be torn or punctured.
Warranty
In relation to the first factor, warranty may be the next thing that you’d want to consider. The longer period the product is guaranteed, the more at peace you can be.
With the warranty, even though your mat is torn or punctured, you can just return it any maybe have it repaired or replaced. Well, that largely depends on the warranty that the manufacturer offers.
Stability
Different mats can also allow you to do different activities while you’re floating on them. The activities you can do on the mat depend on the stability of the mat. Some only allow you to lie or sit down while others can let you walk and run.
There are also others that even let you do water sports without having to worry of suddenly sinking down. These are the most stable ones.
Capacity
Before buying a mat, you need to first identify who you will be using it with. Well, you don’t really need to determine the specific people, but the number of persons you’re most probably invite on.
On a quick thought, you might opt to choose the biggest one to accommodate more people whether initially thought of or not. However, bigger mats automatically need bigger storage space.
Also, on a pool, you might seem too greedy by taking too much space with your mat with only very few people on it.
One key choice is a mat that provides an option to connect it to extra mats. This way, you may have a smaller mat when you just have few people to enjoy it with and just connect the other mat when you need more space.
The Proper Way To Use Floating Water Mats
To help you keep and use your mat for more fun times, the Floating Authority provided a short guideline on the proper way to use your floating mats.
The most crucial step you need to take is to determine the right location where you may unroll your floating mat. Make sure that the surface does not have anything that may block the mat and that the depth is just enough for you and your family/friends to climb onto easily. It should also be common sense to avoid the areas near or frequented by boats.
Once you unroll the mat and saw it floating on water, don’t immediately climb on it. Next thing you have to do is to ensure that it won’t float away while you are enjoying on it. So tie it with a rope onto something or keep it anchored.
After using the floating mat, carefully untie it and detach it from whatever you use as an anchor. Then, remove it from the water, roll it up, and tie it using the strap or cord provided with the mat.
Before you return the mat to its storage place, read on to know how to properly clean, maintain, and care for your floating mat.
Maintenance And Care For Floating Water Mats
Floating mats are generally low maintenance. They don’t really need and require too much from you. Yet, to make sure that you’ll be able to keep it functional throughout its intended life span, there are just few steps you might want to do.
Primarily, you need to keep the mat free from any dirt, grime, sand, stain and whatever foreign object that may have stuck on it while it was on the water. To clean the mat, you may just use a sponge and some soap, then rinse it with water afterward. After which, of course, you have to let the mat dry.
After these simple steps, you may roll and wrap it again with the strap or cord that comes with the mat, then keep it again in its storage place.
Final Thoughts
Hanging out in the pool or in the beach with family or friends sure is fun! Level it up by having a floating mat so you can still feel the waves under you.
Just remember that not all floating mats are the same so consider all the factors above as you choose for the one most suitable for you. And although floating mats are low maintenance in general, always make sure that your mat is clean and dry before you store it away from your sight. Otherwise, the quality of your floating mat may be compromised.