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The DownDraft has a falling, step-down pattern that helps tune itself to your water. Each of its three sections runs at a different velocity, and each will look different at shut down.
It’s built for fine gold in calmer, low to moderate velocity sluices.
Stream sluices, highbankers, smooth commercial ops, and smooth, low-water dredges. We use it in extensions and flares. Don’t use it in high-energy sluices like most dredges. For smooth, shallow systems, pair it with the Razorback. In extensions, pair it with the Bedrock 2.0.
All Gold Hog mats fit together in any order. They’re made from heavy extrusions rated from 250°F down to -35°F, and they clean up in about five minutes.
Every sluice runs differently, so match the mat to your water. Start fast, then tune pitch and flow until your tailings come up clean.
| Mat | Water | Best for | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drop zone: under the header box | |||
| UR | Falling straight down | Holding gold in deep grooves | Run with ¼” perforated metal about ¾” above it |
| Yukon | Moderate flow, run bare | Large and fine gold | Bare Yukon works here or at the end of the sluice |
| Main run: strong flow | |||
| Talon | Moderate to high velocity | Nuggets to super fines | Doc’s #1 mat. Include one in every sluice |
| RiverHog | Moderate to high velocity | Riffle-style cutting action | A must for dredges. Trim the riffle to cut about half the water depth |
| Scrubber | Moderate, ¾”–1.5″ deep | Lift, fall and scrub; rocks roll over it | A few pieces in almost any run. Pairs with RiverHog in deep, fast water |
| Yukon under expanded metal | Strong flow | Dredges and commercial ops | Our only mat for use under expanded metal |
| Smooth run: calmer water | |||
| Razorback | Low to moderate velocity | Fine gold, very little turbulence | Highbankers, dredges, stream sluices. Pairs with DownDraft |
| DownDraft | Low to moderate velocity | Fine gold, three velocities in one mat | Extensions and flares. Not for high-energy dredges |
| Finishing: end of the sluice | |||
| Bedrock 2.0 | Smooth, fast water | Super fine gold | Our smoothest mat. Not a primary mat |
| Motherlode | Most sluices | Super fine and beach gold, 100–300 mesh | Pairs with Yukon for beach sands |
| Yukon | Moderate flow, run bare | Fine gold, 100–300 mesh with Motherlode | Bare Yukon works here or in the drop zone |
| UR | Shallow, slow, smooth | Fine gold in the bed load | Never the only or main mat |
| Wave | Low energy, shallow water | Fine gold in thick slurries and beach sand | Quiet sluices and flares only, not deep water |
| Cleanup: concentrates only | |||
| Washer | 80–100 GPH per inch of width, 7–10° | Stripping concentrates | Not a sluice mat. A 10″ sluice needs 800–1,000 GPH |
| Stripper Mat | Cleanup flow | Stripping black sand from concentrates | Cut to fit your own cleanup sluice |
All Gold Hog mats are 36″ wide x 6″ long. Cut them to fit the width of your sluice, and they fit together in any order. Mix a few kinds in your run: what one mat misses, the next one catches.
For Low to Moderate Sluice Velocity / Energy