Pigskin or jico leather mat

Wouldn't you want the mat to isolate the record from the turntable motor and bearing noise? I have a Hexmat eclipse mat (admittedly on the expensive side) but it only touches the record with about 1 square millimeter total area from 13 tiny nubs embedded (minimally touching) within a hexagonal mat of unknown material. I guess he doesn't want copy cats.

When playing it looks like it is floating, and is about the same height as my standard issue Rega mat 2-3mm. I agree with the  theory behind it and I have tried a bunch of different mats and haven't heard much of a difference but this one has great anti static/dust properties and never lifts up when removing a record like the Rega felt mat did at times. FWIW it is the Audiophile Man's favorite and he claims it reduces the noise floor.

Lew - it makes sense to me, moreso with the Rega philosophy of light plinths and arms, not so much with the heavy platters and clamps, etc., as long as the table is isolated well (mine is on top of a Townshend platform that sits on a wall mounted shelf). The vibrations I measure (admittedly with a rudimentary iPhone app) on the plinth while the stereo is on is about 1/100th of those of my amps that sit on isolating roller blocks on top of a credenza (directly on the suspended wood floor). 

The eclipse is kind of expensive but you can tell it is intricately constructed by hand. Like I said, the Rega felt mat was fine, just couldn't stand the mat lifting off when flipping a record and decided I didn't like the 2 sided tape I put on the platter to hold the mat down. Just my "little" OCD knowing it was there made me get a new mat, and the stereo does sound better than ever. Hard to know what little change affected it and by what %, but as long as it is improving (as long as the record isn't warped - I catch that when I buy them and return them if they are warped) I am happy (for now). Since everything is now isolated or having vibrations drained, I've taken it as far as it can go, and probably will only make changes when something breaks or the stylus wears out.