Mousepad Suggestions

So, after much travelling and moving about over the last few years, I'm finally settled in a place I expect to be for the next year or more, and so am finally starting to flesh out my accessories cabinet for things that aren't absolutely essential but still wonderfully nice to have.

The next thing on my checklist is a good mouse pad- but I am completely and entirely in the dark about nearly every aspect of them as I haven't owned one that wasn't a free gift with something I ordered for years.

I use a Logitech G700, usually set to a sensitivity that everyone around me finds 'insane' (usually between 5000 and 5500 DPI) in a fingertip grip. Generally when I game or work in Maya or Nuke I am not using large swiping motions, so having a super 'fast' pad isn't a huge priority.

I have massive hands and am rather tall, so generally my wrist sits on the table quite a bit and quite heavily due to the angle of my arms, so outside of 'it had damned well better be comfortable' I don't really have any other 'needs/wants' with regards to the pad other than it feels great to use.

So, all that being said, any suggestions or recommendations? The local electronics stores don't stock much else besides Razer products, but should a particularly fantastical pad that is the Holy Grail of all mouse-dom exist, then it is quite easy for me to have it shipped from the States to my current locations.

Cheers guys!

 

The main thing you'll have to decide is hard vs. soft. Hard mouse pads are usually either metal or plastic, but I've also seen glass, and I'm sure there are weirder materials out there. They generally have the lowest friction, although some are made with textured surfaces, and they tend to be on the smaller side, and a bit more expensive. They also tend to wear down faster.

Soft mats usually have cloth surfaces and a rubber base, although other varieties are out there. They tend to have a much greater variety of sizes and shapes, thicknesses and so on.

I personally use an extra-large Razer Goliathus Speed edition. It's a huge mat, with a very smooth surface for low friction. I use a Razer Mamba at relatively low sensitivity. It sounds like you use pretty high sensitivity with smaller, more controlled motions, so I would recommend a hard pad for you. The lack of extremely large sizes won't be an issue, and the freedom and precision of motion offered by a hard surface will likely help you.

 

I very much liked the QcK+ from Steelseries.

 

Steelseries Qck Mini Gaming Mouse Pad Bulk Package New | eBay

Easily 25$ elsewhere with shipping/tax.

10$ with free shipping, 2 week wait.

 

Excellent, will take a look at that.

Any equally popular suggestions for a hard mousepad? I have heard quite a number of very good things about the Razer Scarab, and it's rather cheap in this neck of the woods as well (about 30$ all up).

 

Never used the Scarab, but I really loved my eXactMat. Unfortunately, it's discontinued and replaced by the Vespula, which is good, but not quite the same.

 

Does mousepads suggested above actually improve anything compared to those free generic ones you get? I can see how those huge mousepads could be great but other then more range of movement and the ability to have a nice place for your mouse and phone. What else does it offer?

 

You have a little more choice in surfaces. Some people prefer really smooth surfaces for minimal friction and fast motion. Others like more heavily textured pads for greater control.

 

I've been using Xtrac pads for a while and recently just bought a new one that about covers my whole desk. They have different styles to choose to suit your needs.