Cheap Amazon teak mats vs. RV Teak mats: The difference is quality.
If you’ve seen the prices for teak shower mats on Amazon, you may be wondering why you’d spend $149 or more for an RV teak shower mat when there are cheaper alternatives all the way down to about $30.
In short, the difference is quality, durability, and fit.
Cheap mats don’t last, don’t feel good under your feet, and pretty quickly will start to fade to gray and look bad. Many are designed with poor quality components.
Before you buy a teak shower mat, ask these five important questions:
1. Is it real teak?
A lot of the “teak” mats you’ll see on Amazon and other online stores are not really made of teak. They’re made of “Chinese teak”, a term that makes it sound like real teak, but it isn’t. This is a completely different wood from genuine teak, and it doesn’t have the same level of durability and water resistance. Don’t expect a Chinese teak mat or any other substitute to last nearly as long in your shower.
NOTE: bamboo shower mats are also available online, but they’re made to be lightweight and cheap, and have no comparison at all to a genuine, quality teak mat. They are not built to last a long time and they probably won’t.
2. How is it designed and constructed? Is it strong and durable?
A teak shower mat has to be built strong, with thick wood. After all, it’s going to be stepped on repeatedly, every day, while being immersed in water.
Most of the mats you’ll find on Amazon are made with thin wood and minimal fasteners to hold them together. You’ll see it right away if you buy one, and you’ll feel it bending under your feet too.
RV Teak mats are made with 5/8” thick slats on the top, and equally thick runners underneath. They feel solid and secure when you stand on them.
The components you can’t see are really important, too. All of our teak mats are made with marine-grade stainless screws and waterproof glue. Cheap mats use only staples, and may not even use good glue. They’ll fall apart, and you’ll end up looking for a replacement for that “bargain”.
3. Do you have to clean the mat or re-oil the finish?
If the teak mat isn’t protected with a permanent finish like RV Teak mats are, you’ll have to periodically lightly sand the wood and re-apply teak oil, or the wood will turn gray and start to deteriorate. You’ll also find that soap scum tends to stick to the mat, meaning that you have to scrub it clean–after which you’ll need to re-oil the mat.
Simply put: cheaper quality mats require periodic cleaning and maintenance.
Our mats are coated with a lacquer finish that repels water. Soap just rinses right off, so cleaning is simple. You never have to re-oil or maintain the finish. It will look like new for many years.
4. Is it made to fit an RV shower?
A lot of mats sold online aren’t made specifically for the many shapes and sizes of RV shower pans. That means they probably won’t be a great fit for your shower’s shape, and they won’t look good.
5. Is it properly constructed for use in an RV shower pan?
Cheaper teak shower mats may lack important features, like water channels underneath to keep from “damming” up the water before it gets to the drain.
Even more important, cheap mats don’t have good protection for you or your shower. Cheap mats use rubber feet that concentrate the weight on a few points, which can damage an RV shower pan. We’ve also seen a lot of mats with abrasive tape on the bottom, which can damage the RV shower pan. (It also tends to peel off after a few months of being immersed in water.)
RV Teak mats are designed for safety and durability. We install a long-lasting foam “no skid” material underneath the mat, which keeps it secure in the shower pan and protects the shower pan from damage.
We’ve tested our teak shower mats for years under heavy use, so you can be assured they won’t fall apart, won’t turn gray, and will keep looking great for years to come.