VPI felt mat vs aftermarket

Thanks for all good advice. Worth noting that my VPI Classic Companion comes with gimbal tonearm so stability is not an issue as with their unipoint arms. I use HRX weight, not clamp, for ease of use.

@drrsutliff never heard of this Origin Live mat but appears to get good reviews did you have any issues with it sticking to the record? Another mat that I came across with good reviews is Soundeck PM

Thanks everyone for your feedback, I'm going to try VPI felt mat to start. Worst case, I'll use it as a dust cover :)

@tablejockey , I tried using VPIs stainless steel screw down clamp with rubber gasket, but I don't find it performing any better than HRX weight with warped records.

Most of my warped records are warped around the outer perimeter, and clamp does nothing to flatten the outer edge. For other records, HRX is just as good in keeping center section flat to the platter, without the extra effort. However, I'm also not ready to pay $1k for a perimeter ring, and for 45rpm it's not worth the effort.

What do you mean by a proper VPI platter?

My VPI has the standard Classic platter with the indent for the record label area around the spindle. Only indent is much deeper than thickness of a typical paper label, but more shallow than the rubber ring VPI supplies for their clamp. So I'm not exactly sure what it supposed to accomplish.