We’re big fans of Matador’s Pocket Blanket, which gives folks a functional picnic blanket they can literally keep in their pants pocket. This time around, the outfit is taking their folding-into-a-tiny-pile expertise to garage work with the Matador Surface.
Like the Pocket Blanket, it’s pocket-sized bundle that can unfold into a large ground cover. Instead of giving you a place to sit down during picnics and outings, though, it’s meant to give mechanics, both amateur and professional, a clean and contained work area, so they can labor on a car, bike, or boat on top of a submersible that has tank treads without having their gear scattered all over the place.
Since you’ll be using it to work with engines and mechanical parts, the Matador Surface is waterproof, allowing it to shed off oil, gas, and grease with relative ease. Made from an “ultra-durable composite material,” it should handle all your heavy tools and gear without problem, with various integrated tools to make your mechanic work just a little easier. What tools? There’s an integrated hardware trap, where you can put nuts, bolts, and other small parts, keeping them from rolling off and getting lost in the garage. There’s also a stainless steel hardware on each corner with 15-degree angle marking detents and an integrated bottle opener, as well as a “protractor corner” with ruled edges (both imperial and metric) on the surface material for doing measurements.
A detachable strap with a steel buckle closure ensures it cinches tightly after folding, with folding instructions printed directly on the surface, so you can refresh at any time. It measures 58 x 38 inches.
Available now, the Matador Surface is priced at $59.99.