Maxsa 20025 Compact Folding Traction Mat for All Weather Vehicle Extraction (Set of 2), Red

As advertised - strong and sturdy - easy to use - good for icy conditions or mud - I like the fact that the Mat is foldable and requires little space in the cargo area of my car.

I've had these mats for several years now, and they've worked great.These are a great tool to have, you just need to know when and how to use them.•Firstly, the proper way to use them is to wedge the small portion under your drive wheels (with them facing forward/straight) and then SLOWLY accelerate. If you go slamming on the gas, of course the mats will go flying. That should be common sense. The point of using the mats is to give you just enough traction so that you can build enough momentum to free yourself from the place that you're stuck at. If you accelerate rapidly, the wheels will just yank the mats from the ground.•Second: If you're in a ditch, or your car is deep enough in snow where it is coming up to the bottom of your vehicle (or bumper, in the direction that you're attempting to travel), these mats will not work unless you dig yourself out, first. Traction will not help if the car is laying on top of snow. If you clear the snow from under your vehicle and clear a path long enough for your vehicle to gain some momentum, then these mats will work.Dealing with Chicago winters every year, I haven't had a problem with the mats thus far. Hopefully, someone will find this information useful.

To small for my application but a quality product.

I drive a Toyota Prius in the Northern Midwest, and during our winters it can be really easy to get stuck. Particularly since the Prius is such a light vehicle.PROSSmall, lightweight, easy to store in vehicle. Provide enough traction to get you out of many slippery situations. Way easier and faster than trying to shovel yourself out.CONSNot going to work in every situation. Other than that, not many cons with these.

This helped get my 4x4 unstuck in deep soft sand during an offroading drive (got lazy and I did not air down). The mat itself is on the short side and only allows for a small distance travel before requiring repositioning. For my vehicle, it needed using it three times before getting out of the soft patch we were stuck on. Another problem is that under soft sand, the mat doesn't have sufficient traction and once during use, it flew out from the back wheel instead of gripping the terrain. Make sure no one is standing behind your vehicle when you use this.I'm giving it three stars ("It's okay") because despite the issues, it more or less worked and is the easiest traction device I have available--take out, unfold, place under tire, drive. The other ones I have require additional setup time but thus far have not been needed. This means that if I get stuck again, I will most likely try to use this first before using my other traction devices.Sold as a pair so you only need to buy one for two tires.

Snow season is coming. I have been stuck in mud in the AM hours and if my friends had not been around to help push the car out I would have been in serious trouble. It was also raining cats and dogs. That's why I bought this. Yet to use it. looks well constructed and can be folded and kept out of the way in your trunk

The ridges on these are not really tall enough to provide any significant traction. In any situation where you would use these, one assumes you're in a low-friction condition like snow or mud. The tires will already be wet and won't achieve any adhesion to the plastic of the mat, so the only source of "traction" would be mechanical keying of the tire tread into the ridges of the mat. These ridges are too short and spaced too closely to allow that (they just fill up with mud and snow being deposited off the tire). If you do manage to get a grip on them, they'll slip right under the tire and out the other side, because there's not enough on the underside to keep it in place on the ground.I'm giving this 2 stars instead of 1 because I never tried using it on dry sand. Given its design, it may (MAY) work pretty well there.

Haven't used it yet but it is easy to use and perfect for my truck. Some customers who give bad reviews use it for vehicles that are to large for this item..research people, research