One thing I have realized over the past decade, is that it can be difficult to find affordable, high quality crash mats for aerial training!

If you’re on the hunt for an aerial crash pad that works for you, you might find this blog to be helpful.

Some things to remember about fall protection:

No matter how experienced you are — you should ALWAYS use fall protection while training. Safety mats can save you from concussions, broken bones or worse…death! A nasty fall can happen to anyone - even a seasoned athlete. Generally the higher you are training off the ground, the more surface area you are going to need covered and the thicker your mat should be. Your fall protection should be well thought out according to what kind of work you are doing, so, if you are not sure what you should be using, talk to your aerial mentor or coach! Don’t have a mentor or coach? Check out my blog “Guide to Getting Started in Aerial Arts” to explore your options, or check out my online aerial studio/tutorial library!

We Sell Mats 4 Inch Thick Bi-Folding Gymnastics Crash Landing Mat Pad, Safety for Tumbling, Back Handspring Training and Cheerleading

This is the actual mat that I use for most of my training. I have two and use a sticky, non-slip layer underneath both on my studio floor to keep them from sliding around. This creates a large enough landing area for aerial work up to 10 or 15 feet. If you plan to climb higher, I would recommend thicker 8 inch pads and something that covers a much larger surface area. I love that they have carrying handles and they fold up!

We Sell Mats 8 Inch Thick Bi-Folding Gymnastics Crash Landing Mat Pad, Safety for Tumbling, Back Handspring Training and Cheerleading, 4 ft x 8 ft, Blue (CP8-F)

At 8” thick, this mat is perfect for most aerial work. I LOVE bi-folding mats because you can instantly double the thickness of your fall protection. Just keep in mind if you were to land on this, you want to make sure all of your limbs would land on the pad—so paying attention to the surface area it covers is crucial!

Z-Athletic Folding Panel Mats for Gymnastics, Martial Arts, Tumbling

If you’re doing work that’s more like aerial yoga…very low flying, zero dynamic movement, you can get away with using thinner safety mats. Although, many aerial yoga studios only use yoga mats underneath, I personally would feel better having at least something with a little bit of cushion underneath me in case I were to fall. This mat would make for a great aerial yoga safety pad or even just for stretching on the ground. It even has velcro sides to connect to another pad which is a really nice feature!

Here are a few more great mat options!

I hope you found this blog helpful! Feel free to drop a comment below and let me know if you have a mat that you really love to use, or, if you have a topic you would love to see me write about in a future blog post!

Stay safe and happy flying!

xo

HOLLY

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