I will be taking a look at some gaming mouse pads but these pads are not just for gaming, the slick plastic and stable surface that comes from a solidly built mouse pad cannot be beat.
Gaming mouse pads are usually things normal computer users see as the one mouse pad I am looking at today, the Cyber Snipa Tracer with its cool glow of blue peering out from the black mouse surface. The fact is all three of these mouse pads create a nice slick surface that feels great when using your mouse, you need a smooth surface and what better way to get this than from plastics, polymers and acrylic.
The three mouse pads I will be looking at are available from the websites of the companies; Steel Series, Rat Padz and Cyber Snipa. All the mouse pads range from $25 to $40, the $40 cost for the Steel Series S&S; includes a carry pouch, all three mouse surfaces are worth every penny.
The Steel Series S&S; is a professional mouse surface that is made from hard plastic but is thin enough to have some give to it.
SteelSeries S&S; highlights:
The most popular hard plastic gaming mouse pad in the world
Includes protective nylon sleeve
New improved surface released in spring 2007
Compatible with optical, laser and ball mice
12.6″ x 10.6″ – thickness 0.08″
The S&S; is the perfect desktop mouse surface, works extremely well and costs $30 for the pad itself and with a carry pouch runs $40. If you do not think that paying thirty dollars for a really good mouse surface is not worth the money how much do you pay for a smaller cloth and foam rubber pad that you have to replace every three months or so.
You can go to Wal-Mart and purchase these cloth and foam cheap pads that are going to start wearing on the edges and fraying. When it gets so worn where you commonly use your mouse the pad will start to have a nice little valley. These pads are cheap and cost about $3 to $5 for the lesser quality ones but you will be replacing these in less than six months as I can readily tell you. Before I got into gaming and started wondering about the flimsy excuse for a mouse surface I was using I did exactly that and starting looking for a better solution.
Steel Series was my first gaming mouse pad, the QcK+ Steel but it still is on one of my desktop surfaces these 11 months later and still in very good shape. No fraying at the edges and no valley that causes the mouse to pause before going uphill, seriously. I like the extra space and movement a larger mouse pad gives and the Steel Series mouse surfaces are extremely well made and last a long time, even the cloth and foam rubber of the QcK+ Steel.
The Steel Series S&S; continues this great tradition of gaming products created for and by professional gamers. The S&S; is a large mouse surface so you don’t run off the edge of your pad and has a nice slick plastic surface for great smooth action. The bottom of the mouse pad is drizzled with a rubber to ensure a stick to the desk or other surface steadiness that works all the time.
Large and bad problems on my computer are terrible but the ones that really frustrate me are the stupid little things and having a good mouse surface that has all the properties I want takes away one area of hassle. A surface that is highly responsive and reflects the laser or optical elements back precisely are what you want for smooth cursor movement. The S&S; gives you this precise control and allows you to move the cursor or other tools in a precise and well controlled manner.
My next entry into the comparison is the RatPadz XT mouse surface, a great hard plastic mouse pad that is also made of hard plastic but is thicker than the S&S.; The RatPadz XT is also a large mouse pad at 11.5 x 9.3 inches and is a quarter inch thick with rubber feet for steadiness.
The RatPadz XT is a nice hard plastic that does not bend even while using on your lap or a pillow, the perfect portable mouse surface. This pad is also a black highly responsive surface but is a bit slicker than the S&S.; This makes no difference when you put Teflon feet on a mouse but it seems like it is made from a different type of plastic than the S&S; that feels very slick.
The RatPadz XT is a bit smaller than the S&S; but it also sits a bit higher for a good comfortable angle on your wrist. The Ratpadz XT also has a large curve along the bottom edge for a good contour for mouse and hand movement. I really like the RatPadz XT for gaming as it has a slightly slicker surface when using my laser mouse but when I attached some Teflon feet to my slightly worn ones of the mouse I use it made up the difference on the S&S.;
The RatPadz XT is the perfect mouse surface for gaming and makes a great take along mouse pad due to its rigidity and how you can use it on your lap or just about anywhere. The perfect companion for those trips with the laptop computer on a plane, train or automobile.
The third mouse surface I take a look at is a gamer’s delight with great visibility in low light environments. The Cyber Snipa Tracer makes a great LAN party mouse pad to allow you a nice glow of light around your mouse surface while plugged into your computer. The Tracer is 12 x 9 inches with the black surface for your mouse and the clear base made of clear acrylic glass that passes the blue led light nicely out the edges of the surface.
The glow comes from a blue LED from the center of the board that is powered by the USB cable you attach to your computer. The amount of light is adjustable from off to full on and creates a nice glow around the pad for low light environments. This allows you to see the mouse pad and where your mouse is and not give off so much light that it disrupts your vision of the monitor or other gamers.
The Tracer may not be the most logical choice for general desktop work but it is also a very slick and responsive surface for laser and optical mice and does have nice rubber feet for stability. The tracer sells for $30 from the Cyber Snipa web site and I have seen it at various stores on the internet as well.
All three mouse surfaces are a great way to get the smooth response for your cursor and needed quick action while gaming. All three pads make fantastic gaming surfaces but they also work great as a general desktop mouse pad. They are all highly responsive and will last for years instead of the months that many cloth pads that you only pay a few dollars for will.
I personally do not need the blue glow of the Tracer as I do not attend LAN parties but it is nice for the occasional night gaming session when I don’t want or need the overhead lights on. It gets you more into the game and makes the experience well worth it; the Tracer adds a touch of class to the gaming and desktop even if you don’t use the blue light.
The RatPadz XT is the perfect portable mouse surface that will be my portable mouse pad for when I go out with my laptop. The surface is nice and responsive and adds to the smooth action I get while using my computer whether I’m gaming or working on Photoshop CS3.
The Steel Series S&S; is now my current mouse surface at my work computer, it is a bit larger than the other two and is nice and steady under my mouse even under intense gaming. I like the smooth surface and when you add some Teflon feet that are also available from Steel Series it makes a fantastic gaming surface.
All three mouse surfaces have their own unique features and have a bit of something different and special that is all their own. Check them out on their web sites for a great gaming experience; you will not be sorry in purchasing any of these fine products.
