Alvin HM Self-Healing Cutting Mat review

Photograph of Alvin HM Self-Healing Cutting Mat.

A good cutting mat like the Alvin HM Self-Healing Cutting Mat is a hugely useful tool for anyone who works a lot with physical media. Its durable surface is constructed from a 3-ply, 2mm composite material, and like a lot of cutting mats, it’s designed to be ‘self-healing’, meaning that minor nicks and marks should smooth themselves out over time.

The cutting mat market is a fairly competitive place, with rival brands like OLFA, Dahle and Fiskars all enjoying popularity among crafters and creators. Does the Alvin mat have what it takes to join the party? I took it for a test to find out.

The Alvin HM Self-Healing Cutting Mat (18 x 12" version; cat included for scale). (Image credit: Jon Stapley)

Specifications

Sizes available	8.5 x 12” (21.5 x 31cm), 12 x 18” (31 x 46cm), 18 x 24” (46 x 61cm), 24 x 36” (61 x 91.5cm)
Color	Blue / grey (double-sided)
Angle lines	45° (x2), 60°
Material	3-ply, 2mm composite

The grey side, with three angle lines. (Image credit: Jon Stapley)

In use

Mats in the Alvin Hobby Mat (HM) range are a pretty simple proposition. They’re double-sided – blue and grey – and come in sizes ranging from 8.5 x 12” to 24 x 36”. The smallest version is one of the smallest sizes of proper cutting mat available, which is handy if you’re working on ultra-precise projects. If you need the largest mat possible, other brands do offer bigger sizes – the Dahle Vantage series, for instance, offers a 36 x48” mat. The Dahle mat I have on hand is also noticeably thicker than the Alvin, and does feel like it might hold up better over the long term – but of course, only time will tell on that front.

The scales are inches only. (Image credit: Jon Stapley)

I went with the 12 x 18” Alvin HM version, a nicely balanced size that has enough real estate for working with common photograph print sizes while also offering the benefit of not taking up oodles of space in your home. Also, it’s a small thing, but I appreciate the inclusion of a hole that allows the mat to be hung vertically on a hook – useful, given that cutting mats need to be stored flat!

Sure, you could drill one of these yourself, but I still appreciate the inclusion of a hole! (Image credit: Jon Stapley)

Despite being double-sided, the Alvin HM cutting mat doesn’t offer metric gridlines – it’s inches on both sides, which feels like a missed opportunity. Also, on both the Alvin website and the Amazon listing where I bought the mat, the blue side is depicted as having very clear, sharp white lines – but on the mat I received, these lines are quite faded and hard to see, especially in bright light. Strange.

This is actually quite a flattering photo; angular light rendered them all but invisible. (Image credit: Jon Stapley)

Still, the grey side is perfectly clear, with a sharp black grid featuring three angle lines (one 60° line and two perpendicular 45° lines). I found the surface held up well to my cuts; with self-healing mats you want to cut at an angle to avoid making too deep a gouge, and when used correctly, the surface showed few signs of wear from my work on various photo prints. For cropping and altering photos, the mat works exactly as you need it to.

Simple tasks like this are easily accomplished. (Image credit: Jon Stapley)

Verdict

With some of the smallest sizes on offer, the Alvin HM Self-Healing Cutting Mats are an excellent choice for crafters who are working on smaller projects, and for those who have less storage space available in their home. Other brands of cutting mat offer a thicker construction and larger-size options – but the Alvin mat is tidy, affordable, and does the job.

See our full guide to the best cutting mats