Introducing MatSack™ - a mat that turns into a bag within seconds - waterproof on the outside, with a warm dry fluffy inner for you to stand on while you get back into your civvies after a bracing swim. 

MatSack™ is for swimmers of all shades of wild.

I invented MatSack™ for myself, and refined it over the course of an unbroken UK and international winter swimming season - outdoors always - even down to 1.5°C.  I even took it to an international Ice Swimming event - perfect in every way. 

Do you want to see a wired & wonky video of me swimming in a Welsh waterfall in January 2025? 

It's at the bottom, so you can't see it by accident.

This MatSack video is informative, not wonky, and was filmed in London in May. 

My swimming costume is really bedraggled and greyed, there's no getting away from that. It's been in all sorts of wild water many hundreds of times and I just can't let it go. Maybe it's time. Maybe not. 

Design Thinking // How MatSack became MatSack:

This design is the one. It's light enough and just the right size too. Every single design element is the result of testing in the field (in which the field is the bathing pond, throughout the seasons). Here's a rundown of the whys and whats of MatSack:

• Dyneema® dinghy cord: unlike paracord it enables you to tie a really good quick reef knot, without the risk of it over-tightening and becoming annoying.
• No hardware: having clasps or cord locks made the mat noisy and clunky to use on the floor - I knew it had to be knots or knothing!
• Bright contrasting colours: be bright, be seen - any time you have cord or wire on the floor it's always best to make it high-vis, just in case. Besides, it looks good
• Grosgrain ribbon tabs: initially I tried running a channel between the layers of fabric, but the MatSack just didn't cinch up as well or as fast as it did when I tried it with the grosgrain tabs. The grosgrain here is outdoor-grade stuff, so it's hardy enough to take swimming. 
• Soft synthetic pile inner - this fabric is the same one used for baby blankets. I tried with a higher pile fabric (sherpa/teddy fleece) but it interfered with the cinching part of the design, by adding extra bulk. This minky fleece was the perfect balance.

Wired & wonky video of Welsh Winter Waterfall Swim (Jan 2025)

MatSacks are made to order so allow 7-10 days for UK delivery. If you need it sooner or have any colour requests just send me a message. I wasn't planning to list these so soon but the weather had other ideas and people keep asking me about my MatSack when I use it, so I brought it forward.