Back in the glory days of ball mice, mousepads provided a comfortable surface that prevented the tracking ball from slipping on surfaces such as veneered wood, varnished wood, glass, and paint. When the optical mouse took over, users then needed surfaces that were easy for the mouse optics to track on. Incidentally, the same type of mousepad was great for this application, so it lived on.
Then came the days of laser optical sensors and higher-end, more accurate general optical sensors that could work on any solid surface; but still the mousepad lived on thanks to the benefit of greater tracking accuracy and easier movement. Mousepads; useful accessories that have been with us through the computing ages – but do they justify a R600+ price tag?
Razer Goliathus
Useful mousepad features
Mousepads do make for a comfortable gaming experience, especially when they sport the following features.
Rigid/foldable: Depending on your gaming situation you may be in favour of either a rigid or a foldable mousepad. Gamers who don’t move around much or don’t mind lugging a large mousepad around will benefit from a rigid mousepad that can work even when the supporting surface isn’t so sturdy. Those who often find themselves on the move from LAN to LAN with sturdy wooden or metal tables may prefer the easy transport of a foldable pad. Whichever you prefer, mousepads on either end of the spectrum are a good bet.
Tracking surface: Just because a mouse can work well on glass, doesn’t mean it’s the best solution to a mousepad problem. The tracking surface can improve sensor accuracy, and allows you to slide the mouse around without much effort.
Steel Series StarCraft II graphic mousepad
Rubber grips: The last thing you want is your mousepad sliding around on your table top. The solution to this: either rubber feet on the base of the mousepad, or a full rubber base. It’s a relatively inexpensive add-on so avoid any mousepad without these.
Soft gel wrist rest: Not essential to a mousepad but a handy feature nonetheless. Gel wrist rests are great for high DPI gamers who make small wrist movements as opposed to wider arm movements that low DPI gamers rely on. They also prevent calluses on the base of palm that hardcore gamers so often deal with.
Dual-sided surfaces: A recent feature on gaming mousepads, a dual-sided solution will often offer a ‘speed’ side on the reverse of the ‘control’ side. The different sides have different textures and are useful for gamers who switch between the two depending on the game mode (e.g. speed for FPS, control for RTS).
Features you shouldn’t really pay for
Some features have made their way into mousepads that are more marketing than anything useful. A few of these are discussed below.
Bigger is better: Not for mousepads it isn’t. When a mousepad takes up half the table and you stick to one small corner, or only the centre section of the pad, you may want to rethink your purchase.
“Unique look”: Mousepads that list unique, custom or special edition “looks” often do so purely for marketing. Unless the mousepad has a picture of Olivia Wilde on it, it’s not worth paying extra for special graphics.
I wouldn’t mind resting my wrist on her
At the end of the day gamers want mousepads because they do offer enough benefit to justify a small price tag, but when a gaming company releases a mousepad for over R600, alarm bells start ringing. Investing R200 on a mousepad that should provide a few years of gaming comfort seems like a fair deal though, and with so much choice in the mousepad market there’s sure to be something for everyone.
Mouse pads: what’s the big deal? << Comments and views
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