What sort of metal dance mats should I get?

[DerNalia]

Hey everyone, first post on here in a long time if not the first.... But I'm looking at what kind of dance mats I can get that would be ultra durable and easy to fix if possible.

The problem with my current mats, is that they have been used so much that the down and the up button are interfering with each other. So when I push down, it also pushes up. My guess is because the pads I was using weren't durable enough to take a lot of stomping, and crushed the internal wood enough to cause wiring problems.

My old mats (I had 2, they both broke):
http://www.kaboodle.com/reviews/danc...-ddr-dance-pad
Just a picture:
http://cn1.kaboodle.com/hi/img/2/0/0...=1214379028000

Is summary, this is what I'm looking for.
2 metal dance mats:
•*super durable
- won't cave in after 4 years of use
• easy to fix (preferable but not required)
• price isn't too much of an issue
•*at least a USB interface, and compatible with StepMania (easily my most played game ever!!!)

One of the things I really liked about my old mats was their ability to get screwed together (via latches at the top and bottom) might not be required for heavier pads, but 30 pounds is easy to move when your jumping around.

For those interested my compter has the following:
Mac OS X 10.6.4
2.66 Ghz i7
4GB DDR3 @1067Mhz
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M

[shakesoda]

cobalt flux

[amphibious]

Does the Cobalt Flux really compare to something like the iON Master pads?

[shakesoda]

iON pads are a joke compared to CF's

(I used to have one)

[amphibious]

Originally Posted by shakesoda

iON pads are a joke compared to CF's

(I used to have one)

Wow... that's really interesting. Can you give me a quick list of what makes them better?

I really want pads I can link together because I greatly prefer to play double. Are the Cobalt Flux pads capable of this?

[shakesoda]

Originally Posted by amphibious

Wow... that's really interesting. Can you give me a quick list of what makes them better?

I really want pads I can link together because I greatly prefer to play double. Are the Cobalt Flux pads capable of this?

yeah, you can link them together (they sell a bar for that on the site)

the iON pad I had a couple years ago was atrocious, it didn't even last 9 months before becoming mostly non-responsive and when I opened it up to fix/check the wiring the insides of it were completely destroyed. This shouldn't happen, especially considering I only weigh around 150lbs - well under the weight limit on any pad.

as for the CF it's much more solid (and the construction is simpler, so it's really easy to maintain). I've had it since my iON broke and it's still perfectly responsive and intact.

I'm not sure about the most recent control boxes on them though, I've got one of the old ones.

[amphibious]

I really appreciate your input. I just went to the Cobalt Flux site again and realized they are a local company for me.

Cool.

[Citwus]

Originally Posted by amphibious

I really appreciate your input. I just went to the Cobalt Flux site again and realized they are a local company for me.

Cool.

Yup. I ordered one too. Getting it soon.
They're really good quality. I've heard that the sensors are suuuuuuper good at picking up vibrations from your feet.

[amphibious]

Originally Posted by Citwus

Yup. I ordered one too. Getting it soon.
They're really good quality. I've heard that the sensors are suuuuuuper good at picking up vibrations from your feet.

Fortunately, being local, I only had to wait a couple days to get mine.

The construction is cool. Very minimal and sensible... it doesn't look like an arcade pad, but that's probably a good thing.

I just hooked it up and played for about twenty minutes. It slides around WAAAY more than I'd like and I'm having trouble passing songs I was getting perfects on a few days ago in the arcade.

Not sure if this is my computer, the pad, or me just needing to get used to the pad.

I'm going to be scouring the forums for solutions.

[Citwus]

Originally Posted by amphibious

Fortunately, being local, I only had to wait a couple days to get mine.

The construction is cool. Very minimal and sensible... it doesn't look like an arcade pad, but that's probably a good thing.

I just hooked it up and played for about twenty minutes. It slides around WAAAY more than I'd like and I'm having trouble passing songs I was getting perfects on a few days ago in the arcade.

Not sure if this is my computer, the pad, or me just needing to get used to the pad.

I'm going to be scouring the forums for solutions.

Luuuuuucky. Even with paying for better shipping, I still have to wait until they make it. About the sliding thing, doesn't each pad come with some anti-slip stuff to put on the bottom? You could always try that, or buying a few non-slip mat thingies from your local dollar store. (That's what I did for my soft pads!)