I left mine rolled up for a day and didn't notice any issues. If it is any consolation, it arrived rolled up and went flat by reverse rolling it once.

Which way you roll the mat makes a BIG difference.

To prevent the fabric from wrinkling, roll it with the fabric on the OUTSIDE. (This is the same as rolling a painting -- roll it with the painted surface OUTSIDE.)

If you roll it with the fabric on the inside, it compresses, gets squashed and creates wrinkles.

It's kind of counterintuitive, since our impulse is to protect the nice surface by putting that surface on the inside, but compressing that surface can wreck it.

If you're skeptical about this, do a quick test: bend a finger and pay attention to your skin. On the outer edge, it stretches slightly to cope with the curve, whereas on the inside it folds up and compresses. Fabric behaves like your skin.

Patrick's Pro 1 Mat (14 X 17 inches) sells for $39 and the cheapest folding mat option costs an extra $15 (Total = $54).

Murphy's Standard Mat is larger 16 X 23 inches) and sells for only $15.36.

I've already read one post of someone who owned 3 Patrick mats that all fell apart after 1-2 years (surface disintegrated into powder like material), which Patrick was kind enough to replace; but no complaints so far about Murphy's mats.

Given the price difference, you could replace it 4 times over, if it actually was poor in quality, which from the 2 mats I have, certainly are not low in quality.

Perhaps Murphy's rep was just taking the cautious line when responding, much like how many fashion brands put "dry clean only" labels when their clothes can actually be machine washed with no problems.

Anyway, my original question posted here has been answered. I shall keep my mats flat wherever possible!

You just can't compare a China made product and the Pattrick's mat.

Of course you CAN compare... and there are at least 2 ways you CAN compare...

1. Murphy's pad is 3-4 times cheaper and does the job just as well for most of us. But if you think it doesn't do the job "just as well", that's ok.

2. I don't think Patrick's mats are 3-4 times better than Murphy's pad. But if you think they are 3-4 times "better", that's fine.

Also, most luxury brands today are made-in-China, under license and quality control, so your insinuation that anything "made-in-China" is inferior to something hand made by someone in USA is so misplaced. Also, this is a Murphy's branded product, not a made-in-3rd world country knock off, so it would be produced to the specifications of Murphy's. Unless of course, you are also of the opinion that Murphy's only sells cheap stuff that "cannot compare" to handcrafted products made by artisans such as Patrick.

I have not made an issue of Patrick's mats as I clearly stated that the user who complained about his mats falling apart was very happy that Patrick offered to replace them (this is just outstanding service), but you seem to have an issue with any mat that is not made by Patrick, which is what compelled me to reply to your post.

That being said, this shall be my last post on this topic since it is not what I originally wanted to know (that is, can I fold my mats).