Textile Behind the Matz

Chilewich On the Road: The Textile Behind the Matz

How We Found a Mat Tough Enough for the Trails and Refined Enough for the Cab

If you've walked through a well-designed hotel lobby, a good restaurant, or a modern airport lounge, chances are you've already stood on Chilewich. You just didn't know it.

Chilewich manufactures commercial-grade woven flooring used by architects and interior designers worldwide — environments where materials need to perform under heavy daily traffic without showing it. When we were developing the Matz, we needed exactly that: a textile that could handle trail mud, wet boots, sand, dog paws, and road salt, while still looking like it belonged in a premium vehicle.

Chilewich was the obvious answer.

Front cab interior of the Nomad Vanz Rolling Pebbles custom Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van conversion showing leather captain seats, Mercedes steering wheel, dashboard, center console with cupholders, and signature woven Matz floor mats

WHY THIS MATERIAL

The composition is a blend of vinyl and fibreglass with a thermoplastic polyolefin backing. In practical terms, that means it resists moisture, stains, UV damage, and abrasion — without feeling industrial. The woven surface is warmer and softer underfoot than rubber, closer in character to a finished floor than a protective liner.

We first brought Chilewich textiles into our builds with the Out of the Blue and the difference was immediate. The cab felt more like an interior and less like a cockpit.

That was the moment we decided to offer it as a standalone product. The Matz have been in continuous production at our North Vancouver shop ever since.

WHAT IT MEANS IN YOUR VAN

A weekend of mountain biking. A week of coastal camping with the dog. A ski season's worth of wet boots and melting snow. The Matz handle all of it and clean up in minutes — hose them down, let them dry, and they look the way they did when you installed them.

That's what commercial-grade means in practice. Not a material that merely survives your trips, but one that doesn't register them.

Detail view of Nomad Vanz Matz custom-fit van floor mat in teal woven texture at the Nyisles Sprinter sliding door threshold, showing the transition between blue rubber step mat and yellow leather boots

THE DETAIL THAT MATTERS MOST

Every set of Nomad Vanz Matz is hand-sewn at our shop and patterned for the 2019+ VS30 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter cab. We control the cut, the fit, and the finishing — because a premium textile deserves a precise application.

Driver-side footwell of the Nomad Vanz Nyisles Mercedes Sprinter van conversion fitted with custom Nomad Vanz Matz floor mat in teal woven texture, precision-cut to match the factory floor contours with snap fastener attachment points