The Pastelmat card is the best pastel paper I have tried. The surface is durable and can be worked hard, and is a fine sand paper type surface which holds many layers of pastel, giving you the ultimate working surface. There is no annoying pattern on the surface to interfere with the painting. The price you pay is for the top quality you get, as expected, but I'm hooked on it now and wont be using any other surface from now on. A highly recommended product.