The above video was taken at the UCF Stormwater Managment Academy Rainfall Simlulator during the Florida Department of Transportation Training class in October 2009. The simulator is testing the effectiveness of bare soil verses polymer enhanced soft armoring.
On the left you will see polymer enhanced soft armoring.
On the right is just dirt.
The rainfall simulator is subjecting both sides to 10" of rain per hour.
Hands down it is easy to see that polymer enhanced soft armoring is much more effective at preventing erosion than matting alone.