CoolShields Positioning Bed Pad with 8 Reinforced Handles, 34" x 52" Washable Waterproof Transfer & Sliding Sheet for Moving, Turning & Lifting Patients, Elderly, Bedridden & Incontinence Care

This is the first time I'm using one of these so I may not be reviewing it on the most important aspects. That said, clearly the strength of stitching on the handles is critical, and in this case the handles are double-stitched onto the blanket - once into the hem and then again with separate reinforcement stitching (see pic). While I have seen handles reinforced more completely than these, at the same time I have no indication that these will fail - they lift my 130 lb father without problems. I haven't washed it yet so I don't know what happens to the stitching over time in the wash.It also comes with four of what I assume are grips for the handles. These are made with the same material as the cover and velcro around the black handles to provide a softer grasp. They're removable so you can put them around the handles you're using, width-side or length-side. If it were up to me these would've been sewn on because they can still slide up & down the black handle once they're velcro'd. But this is very picky and I doubt it makes any functional difference. More importantly, I looked at other pads and don't see many that offer these comfort grips, so that's a positive for this one.I measured the mat as 32.5 x 50.5 inches; I think the 52 inches the product page quotes must include the handles (or I got one that's not as long).The mat is softened by the brushed cloth on the side you'd lie on. If you look at the materials it says there is a "Filling" of poly/rayon (pic), but if it's there, it's only a single sheet separating front and back of the mat, not a padding. Even if it's not padded, what I love about this mat is that it's waterproof. I tested this by pouring water on the brushed side - the water immediately sunk in, meaning the top cloth is not water resistant, but the moisture is protected from exiting the dark blue side by the waterproof polyester on the back. Because of that, I've decided to leave this on the mattress, under my dad's fitted sheet, so it can serve as a full-time mattress protector even when we're not using it to reposition him. When we need to reposition him - which is not often yet - we pull up the sheets and move them with the protector. Ultimately when he needs repositioning alot I'll use this separately so I won't have to disturb the sheets with each use. I guess for now I'm seeing it as a two-in-one :-).It's made in China and has a two year care warranty. I give it 4.5 stars and could easily justify rounding up or down.