Recycled Camping Mats for Outdoor Adventures: Comfort, Durability and Eco Benefits
When you’re heading out on an outdoor adventure, the right gear makes all the difference — and a good outdoor camping mat is one of those underrated essentials that can completely change the way you relax at your campsite. Modern recycled camping mats offer a blend of comfort, durability, and sustainability that standard plastic mats just can’t match. With their tough weave, easy-clean surfaces, and eco-friendly materials, they’ve become a go-to option for campers who want practicality and style, with the settled conscience feeling to boot.
Why Recycled Camping Mats Are a Game-Changer
One of the biggest advantages of using recycled plastic outdoor rugs is how surprisingly soft and comfortable they are underfoot. Despite being woven from recycled plastics, they don’t feel stiff or cheap. Instead, the weave and quality of the recycled pellets offer cushioning that makes your campsite feel more like a cosy outdoor lounge room.
We’ve experienced our own mats on wet grass, sand, small sticks and prickles, dirt and dried, broken up cow dung and multiple other interesting under-floors, and the protection from sharps points, wetness or odours is definitely appreciated.
These mats also hold up exceptionally well. They’re designed to handle sun, dirt, spills, and rough use — perfect for families, pets, or anyone who likes to stretch out with a book back at camp after a long hike.
Easy to Clean, Easy to Pack
When you’re camping, the last thing you want is high-maintenance gear. That’s another place where recycled camping mats shine. They’re quick to shake off, easy to rinse, and dry fast in the sun. This is in spite of the multiple environments they are commonly laid over. A brush down or hose or just a shake has always been enough.
Additionally, most of them fold or roll neatly, making them ideal for van camping, tent camping, or 4WD adventures. You don’t need to worry about mud stains or spilled drinks — they simply wash away.
The very large mats are provided folded already to make them more portable, and they can be put just about anywhere for travel. The smaller sizes come rolled up, maintaining the straight shapes, although they can be simply folded if the need to be to fit into your vehicle.
Sustainable Style for the Outdoors
Choosing recycled plastic outdoor rugs rather than the ubiquitous virgin plastic options means choosing gear that’s kinder to the planet. These mats are made from repurposed plastics that would otherwise end up in landfill, giving them a new life as something useful, durable, and beautiful. Many of the bottles and other plastics used in the pellet manufacturing process for the recycled mats even come from heavily clogged waterways, which would otherwise feed directly into the ocean as micro and nano plastics, intoxicating entire ecosystems as they move.
They also come in a huge range of colours and patterns, from bold geometric designs to subtle earthy tones. You can easily find one that fits your camping or home entertaining style — whether that’s minimalist, beachy, rustic, or boho.
Perfect for Every Adventure
No matter your setup — inside the van, rooftop tent, camper trailer, swag, or simple ground tent — a quality outdoor camping mat adds comfort and convenience, as well as the perfect space for organising areas. Use it as a clean surface for shoes, for changing, a soft area for kids or pets, a cooking zone, an entertaining zone, picnic groundsheet or even an outdoor yoga spot. We have a particular interest in scuba diving and one of our mats works perfectly as a protective dry and clean changing area, keeping our dive gear sand or dirt free, ensuring that maintenance issues are not needed more often and that any cause for emergency underwater is averted.
With their eco benefits, durability, and versatility, recycled camping mats are one of the best investments you can make for your outdoor adventures.