Camping in the desert of southern Utah means there will always be one thing to contend with on every trip. Sand. Not only is sand everywhere, it gets everywhere. Sand fills your shoes, gums up zippers, dirties backpacks and pockets, and always gets tracked into the tent. Although there will never be a way to totally eliminate sand and dust from campsites, it is possible to keep it to a minumim with the new CGear Sand Free Multimat.
CGear sent out a small mat for us to use during a 4-day mountain bike trip on the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands National Park. It was the perfect testing ground thanks to copious amounts of sand in every campsite we hung out in. Obviously, the Sand Free Multimat isn’t meant to sterilize the camping experience (that would defeat the point of being outside) but it does keep the dust level to a minimum in places where sand is annoying, like cooking spaces or right outside the tent door.
According to the company, the CGear Multimat was invented in Australia to be used as a portable helimat to eliminate dirt and dust from being kicked up by the helicoptor rotors during take off and landing. Eventually the benefits were recognized for camping use.
The way it works is sand goes right through the top of the mat to the ground, but a special weave doesn’t allow dirt to come back up. In addition, the CGear Multimat can also be used as a shade structure as it provides 90% UV protection.
The White Rim Trail has plenty of sand and dust, so we put the CGear Multimat through its paces. First, we placed it outside our tent door to keep sand and dirt from getting tracked inside. Not only did it keep dust levels down, it was also a nice place to leave our shoes and gear.
The second night on the rim, we put the mat on the ground where everyone gathered to eat. After circling the mat with camp chairs, everyone seemed to appreciate how the Multimat kept the space clean and provided a spot to put down plates of food and drinks. Even when high winds blew through camp later in the evening, the Multimat kept the sand underneath away (but obviously couldn’t do anything about the blowing dust.)
The campsite on our final night was nothing but sand as it was located in a floodplain along the Green River. The CGear Multimat immediately became the most popular place to enjoy sunbathing with drinks in hand after a long day on bike saddles. While the guys in the group set up tents and tuned bikes, the ladies hung out on the mat like they were lounging on a California beach.
The CGear Multimat works. It is a mat and tarp in one, it keeps camp clean, it packs away easily, and it can be washed with a garden hose back home. Although it’s a luxury item to have in camp and isn’t really appropriate for backpacking, on car-camping trips the CGear Sand Free Multimat is a great utility item to pack along.
The CGear Multimat will be available on the U.S. in late May, 2010. Check out the CGear website for more information and locations where they will be available for purchase.