Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

As an EE who has undergone corporate ESD training, these reviews make me cringe. For those less experienced, Here are some facts about anti-static mats. First of all, Anti-Static mats are not conductive, they are static dissipative. There is a difference. If we wanted a conductive surface, we would use a sheet of metal, or a conductive coating. Let me emphasize: this is an Anti-Static mat, not a sheet of metal. When measuring this device with a multi meter, what you should see is a resistance about 1M ohm between the clip and ground. If you want to [informally] verify it's operation, do the following: 1) Properly ground the mat (water pipes, gas lines, etc) 2) Shuffle around on the carpet wearing socks 3) Hold your hand on the mat while it is grounded. If the voltage rises above zero [measure on the snap at the back of the mat], it is not effective. When using this device, you also need to wear an anti-static wrist strap. This strap does not snap to the mat! Both the mat, and the strap need to be tied to earth ground. Each of these will have a resistor approximately 1M ohm or larger This is not a professional-grade mat, but it works. Again, don't expect this mat to be conductive when measured.