Home DDR Players - Need Mat Recommendations

[morrodox]

Hey fellow gamers,

Just getting into DDR and want to practice at home so I don't make a total fool of myself at the arcade. Can anyone out there recommend a good mat for PlayStation (PS1) that's non-sliding on carpet, not too outrageously expensive, and most importantly... durable?

I got a basic Intec mat at Toys-R-Us that worked great for a couple of weeks but now suddenly the up-arrow doesn't always register. I suspect sensor-pad slippage inside. Anyone else who's had this problem, is there a way to fix it?

Thanks for your time.

[downfall]

I will go ahead and point you in the direction of http://www.ddrfreak.com - they have several huge topics on their forums (if you can sift through the garbage) with various recommendations.

Besides that, it's a good resource for any aspiring young DDR players not unlike yourself. ;)

[davidbrit2]

I'd say get the Red Octane Ignition mats that are found at many retail outlets these days. It's $100 well spent if you're serious about DDR. I've had mine since around early summer, and it's holding up just great. Hell, I can even AAA stuff like Paranoia KCET Heavy on it, so you know it must be good. Heh. It's actually more responsive than all the arcade machines in the area.

I've heard an occasional report of someone getting a bum mat, so make sure you give it very heavy play testing during the store's warranty period. And only play in socks to make sure it doesn't get destroyed quickly.

[Zing]

I originally had the official Konami pad. It was good except it slid all over the damn place when dancing. I did a lot of research. DDR Freak was a good source. I read reviews. I finally decided to go with the BNS DX pad.
www.buynshop.com

I ordered two about a year ago and I am still enjoying them. They don't slide. They are very comfortable to dance on. The foam is very dense, so the arrows are responsive. The arrows are raised slightly so I never have to look at my feet. I am very happy with them.

To be honest, there is probably very little difference between the BNS pads and any "Ignition 2.0" pad. I read that the BNS inserts were more dense, but I believe that most other companies now use the denser inserts as well.

The Red Octane pads are also identical to all other "Ignition 2.0" pads except they are about twice the price. There is really no reason for the RO pads to be so expensive.

[Lady Jaye]

Buynshop seemed great... until I checked out shipping to Canada. Of course, the only option is shipping through UPS (or whichever courier service they use), which increases the price by a lot (just the $50 pad shipped had a shipping rate attached of $32.95, which is ridiculous!). *sigh* I wish there was a snail mail option for us Canadians as well. I'm a patient gal who doesn't mind waiting if it means a huge difference in the shipping fees.

So, can anyone recommend a good, affordable pad with decent shipping fees to Canada? And because of their weight, it's pretty much impossible to get the metal pads here. :(

[katchoo]

I ended up getting 2 metal DDR pads off of ebay, which I am quite pleased with. 8-)

Before we had those, we took a cheap pad and attached it to some wood. Using the wood prevents the pad from slipping all over the place. All you need is a staple gun and you are set. You could even put a piece of vinyl or something over it and then be able to wear your shoes as you play.

[morrodox]

Thanks for all the suggestions everybody. I've heard good things about Red Octane from other players, so I'll probably give them a try.

[Mr.FoodMonster]

I also say Red Octane. I have had mine for a long time, and it holds up well. I also got a $15 cover mat for it (online, not sure if you can get these in-store) even though its reccomended for people that play in shoes, I still play in socks just because many people say that it can EASILY double the life of the pad. For $15, I say its worth it.

[GobopopRevisited]

Is the Pad that comes with Extreme 2 for Xbox any good?

[Mr.FoodMonster]

The mix you are talking about I assume is Ultramix 2, and basically, no.

[katchoo]

The mix you are talking about I assume is Ultramix 2, and basically, no.

i thought that those Xbox bundles came with Konami pads? Aren't those supposed to be good?

[davidbrit2]

The Konami pads are good, but don't expect them to hold up long term. A pretty obsessed player can wear one out in just a few months (and sometimes less).

[Mr.FoodMonster]

Longterm is what I look at. Sure, they are decent for a little while... but other than that not really.

[Zing]

i thought that those Xbox bundles came with Konami pads? Aren't those supposed to be good?

This is the Konami bundle that I had. It was durable and responsive. However, it slid around like crazy. I tried several things to get it to stay put, but it was hopeless without actually duct taping it to something.

One read of the forums on DDR Freak will inform you to stay away from Red Octane pads. Don't say you weren't warned.

For your Canadian DDR needs:
http://www.gameenhancer.net/

I had my Buy N Shop pads sent to me in Ontario. They ship Fedex, which is great since it means no hidden brokerage fees like UPS. I bought the dual pad and DDR Max bundle. It ended up being $170 total. Well worth it for me, but If you only want one pad, then maybe it isn't the best deal.

[Lady Jaye]

Time to bump up this thread. I just got a Red Octane Ignition 3.0 pad (which is PS/PS2, Xbox and PC-compatible). I ordered it online with DDRMax and got it very fast via FedEx (I ordered Monday and got the game yesterday and the pad today -- I would have gotten them a day earlier had I originally put my work address instead of my home address for shipping). So it was $99 US for the pad, plus $20 US in FedEx shipping (including separate shipping for DDRMax -- turns out the game and the pad were shipped from different warehouses), plus $27 CDN in duty fees. All in all, still expensive, but worth every penny.

The pad IS wider than the cheapo Intec pad I had. The foam is in 6 pieces that are assembled like puzzle pieces and the cover really doesn't move.

All in all, I'm very impressed with it. :)

[Kroogah]

I remember you talking about shipping issues, and that really isn't that bad....I got an Ignition 2.0 (only 3 foam pieces, heh) and the total shipped came out to around $120 IIRC. It didn't even come with a game. So yeah, not a bad price at all, I can almost guarantee you'll get a lot of use out of the thing.

[Lady Jaye]

Oh, it didn't come with a game. I just decided to buy DDRMax while I was at it because I figured that having one more DDR game to play is a good thing (I already have Konamix and Disney Mix).

I wonder why the switch from 3 to 6 foam pieces?

In any case, I find this pad big and thick...

I really want to try getting up half an hour earlier and play DDR for 30 minutes before going to work -- I've heard that it's better to exercise in the morning rather than the evening, but my gym doesn't open early enough for me to do a full workout in the morning... that's the drawback with commuting so far for work. (I'm still keeping my gym membership, though, as it's fun to vary the workout.)

[Fuyukaze]

Depending on your use, I would recomend a number of options. Myself, I use Madkatz. They are far from the best, but they are cheap and usefull for casual play. For more dedicated players, they tend to go with Redoctane. The sites provided give good info on whats available on the market so I would recomend checking those sites.

[Uzi 9mm]

I'd say get the Red Octane Ignition mats that are found at many retail outlets these days. It's $100 well spent if you're serious about DDR. I've had mine since around early summer, and it's holding up just great. Hell, I can even AAA stuff like Paranoia KCET Heavy on it, so you know it must be good. Heh. It's actually more responsive than all the arcade machines in the area.

I've heard an occasional report of someone getting a bum mat, so make sure you give it very heavy play testing during the store's warranty period. And only play in socks to make sure it doesn't get destroyed quickly.

Yeah, if you are just a casual DDR player, then I would highly recommend an Ignition pad. Very durable and is comfortable to play on.

If you are a hardcore DDR player, I would go with any kind of metal/plastic pad, which usually runs for about $150-300, depending on the model.

[InsaneDavid]

I ended up getting 2 metal DDR pads off of ebay, which I am quite pleased with. 8-)

Before we had those, we took a cheap pad and attached it to some wood. Using the wood prevents the pad from slipping all over the place. All you need is a staple gun and you are set. You could even put a piece of vinyl or something over it and then be able to wear your shoes as you play.

That's what I do, the plywood thing. I actually posted about that in another thread about DDR pads here and pretty much got laughed out of the forum. Don't knock it until you try it people. Then you can use crappy $10 pads and swap them out when they begin to wear (usually twice a year if you have vinyl over the top).

I was thinking of eventually picking up a pair of metal platforms, especially since now they have them with the rear bar installed, and then affixing the whole samsh to the floor eventually. I recently imported all the PlayStation DDR games (I like the older music) so this option is sounding better every day. I mean everyone goes "$600 for metal DDR platforms!? That's crazy!!" But then they plunk down $4,000 for a uber MAME cabinet.

1. Finish restoring pachinko machine
2. Complete MAME cocktail
3. Build home arcade-quality DDR rig

:D

[josekortez]

My Mad Catz pads were only $5 a pop when Target clearanced them out, and they have held up well. Of course, I don't play DDR that often...