Play mats compared: Rolly, Totter + Tumble, Ruggable & Foldimats

We make one of these mats, so read this with that in mind.

What follows is every specification we could verify, taken from each brand's own website on 19 August 2026 and quoted in their words rather than ours. Where a brand doesn't publish something, we've said so instead of guessing. If you spot anything out of date, email hello@playonrolly.co.uk and we'll correct it.

The table

	Play on Rolly	Totter + Tumble · Ruggable · Foldimats
Material	TPU surface, PU foam core	PVC
Thickness	15mm	12–13mm
Weight	4.5kg	8.6kg (Ruggable) · the other two don't publish a figure

Sources: playonrolly.co.uk · totterandtumble.co.uk and their FAQs · ruggable.co.uk and their product pages · foldimats.co.uk. All accessed 19 August 2026. Prices and specifications change — please check before buying.

What they're made of

Rolly is made of TPU surface over a cushioned PU foam core. Three others are PVC.

Here's the part worth understanding — it isn't a safety point.

PVC is naturally rigid. To make it soft enough to lie on, plasticisers have to be added. That's ordinary manufacturing, it's regulated, and the plasticisers of concern are restricted in toys and tested for.

TPU is different in that it's flexible on its own, so the softness doesn't come from something added to it. We go into this properly in our explainer on TPU vs PVC, including what the safety testing does and does not cover.

That's the whole distinction. It's a difference in how the material works, not a claim that anyone's mat is unsafe, every mat on this page is tested to EN71, and we're not going to imply otherwise.

Whether it matters to you is a fair question, and we won't pretend the answer is obvious. Some parents care a great deal about avoiding PVC in the thing their baby lies on for hours a day; others reasonably take the view that tested is tested. We made ours in TPU because it's what we wanted under our own child.

Safety: they're all tested

Every mat here meets recognised toy safety standards. Totter + Tumble and Foldimats both state EN71; Ruggable states EN 71 alongside the American ASTM F963 and CPSIA; Rolly states EN71-1, -2 and -3 with the printed inks included in the chemical testing.

So if safety testing is where you expected the differences to be, the honest answer is that it isn't. The real differences are in what the mats are made of, how much they weigh, and — mostly — what they look like.

Weight

Rolly is 4.5kg. Ruggable publishes 8.6kg. Totter + Tumble and Foldimats don't publish a figure.

The part that actually decides it: who the design is for

Here's the honest distinction, and it isn't about quality.

Totter + Tumble and Ruggable both make mats designed to disappear. Muted palettes, rug-like patterns — Ruggable's launch designs run to checkerboards, retro argyle and pastel plaid; Totter + Tumble runs kilim and Persian-inspired prints and has licensed Morris & Co. The intention is that your living room still reads as a living room, and a visitor might not register that there's a play mat in it at all. Both do this well. For a lot of families it's exactly right, and if that's what you want, we'd genuinely point you at them.

Rolly is built on the opposite intention. Our mats are illustrated by one independent artist, and the artwork is drawn to be looked at from close up by the person lying on it. Folk horses, flowers, stars — a picture with things in it to find, that a two-year-old can lie on their front and study.

Both approaches are trying to solve the same problem — a play mat that isn't ugly — and they arrive at opposite answers. One makes the mat blend into the adult's room. We make something the child owns, that an adult is still happy to see every day. Some even build their interiors around it.

That's not a specification. It's a preference, and it's the one that should decide this for you, because on size, thickness and testing these four mats are much closer than the marketing suggests.

Rolly might not be for you if

• You want the mat to blend into a neutral room. That's the one thing we've deliberately not done. Totter + Tumble is better at it, and Ruggable now too.
• You need to carry it regularly. Foldimats folds down smaller than anything here rolls.