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I take a fair amount of ribbing both here online and at home because of my now-well-known aversion to sand in my things. That’s OK, and all you (gritty) people can go suck rocks because now I know I’m not alone. There’s a company out there that gets it. Witnesseth!
We actually get a lot of email traffic before the Outdoor Retailer show. The notice I got for CGEAR Sand Free Technology was actually mixed in with a bunch of other products. But just as I can feel a single grain of sand on the floor of the RV, I can also spot a single instance of the words “sand free” in an ocean of 10 point type. It took me no time at all to zero in on their products, and even less time to find them at the Outdoor Retailer show.
Because they walked up to us out of the blue!!
Seriously. Is this a match made in heaven or what? Matt, from CGEAR was interested in exploring and learning about small motorhomes. He had found the Winnebago booth (CGEAR also has special sized products for sale through Winnebago), and there we were. Five minutes into talking with him, we realized he was “the sand free guy“. The sun came out, the birds started singing, and, behold, it was very good.
But in all seriousness, the products from CGEAR are pretty cool. The weave just lets the sand fall right through with a minimum of fuss, just as you see in the video. One thing we didn’t go into much in the video was that the mats have D-rings around the perimeter so you can stake them down properly. That’s a good thing, because these mats are pretty light, and won’t be a hassle to carry around in your rig. (We have an older mat that’s heavy and a real pain. Won’t be bringing that one anymore.)
CGEAR makes mats in several sizes, a rug product that also comes in several sizes (the rug is slightly more comfortable to lay directly on), and a beach bag. They’re all available at Amazon.com. You can also find the products at Cabela’s and other brick-and-mortar retailers if you have to see it to believe it.
We’re now rolling with not one, but two of CGEAR’s mats in our RV. I’m already wondering if I can somehow use the material to make wall-to-wall carpeting for the RV. (OK. I started that sentence as a joke but by the time I got to the end of the sentence I thought it was a good idea. Don’t be surprised if you see it soon…)
I’m confused about the two CGear products. There is a mat and a rug. I like the size choice of the rug better, but want to use it in front of the door to our ERA. The mat has the grommets to stake it down, the rug does not. Which do you have? Suggestions for if we want the “rug” or the “mat”? Of course, space is limited in the ERA. Thanks. We have gotten so much good info from you two, plus the fun of reading your posts!
Ours have grommets, so I guess we have the mat.
I think the “rug” might be more comfortable to lie down on?
But I can certainly vouch for the “mat” as far as keeping the sand at bay!
This looks very interesting. What sizes did you guys get for Lance? Looking to purchase for Lady and the Tramp.
We have a smaller 3×3 (I think – didn’t memorize the sizes) that I’m never traveling without again.
We also have a larger 14 footer (I think it’s 7×14). We haven’t tried that one yet, because it takes up a bit more cargo space. We’ll bring it along on a shorter trip in the near future.
Thank you James. I’ll look for the 3×3 or so.
I bet it not only works with sand, but maybe also works with plain old campground dirt.
The only time I think it might not work would be if the dirt got too fine and light to fall through the weave effectively.
Gritty dirt would be fine. Dusty dirt might be a problem. It needs gravity to work.
I have the tote bag and love it. It is huge. No more sand in everything. Use it every time I go to the beach.
Yes!
I, of course, am not likely to go to the beach. But it’s good to know there’s a bag for Stef. 😉
Did you see any demos with damp or wet sand? How compact is it folded compared to more traditional RV mats?
Interesting. No, they didn’t have any damp sand there for testing. Seems to me like it would still work as long as you could break up the clumps.
We have a couple mats and I could try to test it here, BUT… this is a sand free home.
And the idea of intentionally buying sand, to me, is like intentionally buying measles. 🙂
If we’re out camping near sand (which I always try to avoid, but it might happen), we’ll give it a test.