Gaming paper/grid/graph/battle map questions

[Scrump]

So after a few sessions I've realized our group would benefit from having a re-usable gridded battle map. What I am looking for is possibly a 30x30"-36x36" board. I've come to this measurement based on the following conditions. The maximum distance for a ranged weapon in the game is 60 yards. Each square on the grid will be 1" (equal to 2 yards in the game). Therefore the game battle map will need to be a minimum the maximum distance of a long ranged weapon (30x30" = 60 game yards across), but it would probably be nice to have a little breathing room as well. I would love to have a single square board that is laminated on top or will allow for the use of dry-erase markers. I have found http://www.gamingpaper.com , which seems pretty good, is an awesome price, but isn't the most convenient of dimensions. I've thought of just going to a craft store, buying some vinyl sheet, making permanent marker grids and then using dry erase on top.

Anyone out there know of a good site that sells something I'm looking for at a decent price or know a great way to do it yourself? (P.S. this thread can hopefully lead to a sticky topic about battle map resources)

[RenoGM]

Here's what I use: http://longtoothstudios.com/blog/the-cauldron/battlegraph-dry-erase-boards

[Bardwulf]

I just use a whiteboard and use a tape measure for inches. If there's little in the way of table space, I convert to cm use.

[Scrump]

Due to price and convenience, I am thinking the cheapest and most practical route would be to buy a roll of gaming paper, cut out two (or more) sections, get them laminated (optional), and then just piece them together. This method would probably cost $10 or less, and is just as useable as Paizo flip mats or Chessex mega mats, but at a fraction of the cost. I will let you all know how it turns out.

[si1vergecko]

Actually what I have done in the past is purchase some gaming paper which you linked to and went to the local print shop and had its laminated. Another thing I have done once is download gimp and used it to generate a grid and had that printed off and had that laminated at the local print shop again. I suppose if you feel gutsy you could print off grids on your standard 8.5x11 inch paper and stitch that together with tape and lay down laminate sheet over that.

[Loswaith]

Our group has been using the reversible Chessex BattleMatts for a long time now. While not really a cheap option, they last quite a while as we have been using ours for about 10 years now, and only just starting to notice permanent stains from the pens (our group typically uses just the one matt even though two of us have them).
That said, I've no idea if the quality level is still the same now as back when we got ours.

[Elfie]

I love our reversible Chessex mats. We've got two sizes of mats, both with 1" squares/hexes. But we've started using DC Heroclix to represent the main characters, so I might have to buy one of the mats with 1.5" squares/hexes.

[Etarnon]

I use erasable mats, giant 1" square paper desk blotter sheets, and D&D Dungeon Tiles sets. at around 20 a set, they are really good.

Also paizo colored battle mats are quite good.

luck,