Mousepad with best glide + Durability?

Right so I got a Destructor last Christmas but it seems like this pad wears out very quickly. I got shiny spots on it already and those areas offer up a lot of resistance.

So I went and got a Steelseries SX thinking that it would combine the smoothness of the Destructor with the increased durability of aluminum. But while it's very sturdy and durable it is not very smooth at all. It does not offer the same kind of glide as the Destructor.

I have an Alienware TactX (rebranded G9) if anyone's wondering.

So what's a really good mousepad with excellent glide that also has good durability?

I heard good things about the I-1 / I-2 from Steelseries as well?

 

i use the Alienware TactX mouse with the Razer eXactMat, i love it. Its made of aluminum and has roughly the same glide as the Destructor on the control side(my prefered side). I rarely use the speed side.

 

I'm using my G9x with a Razer kabuto , before that i had a Steelseries qck (which somehow got stolen/lost ) anyway , I would recommend either

 

I use a SteelSeries 4HD, about $20 online:
SteelSeries 4HD - Surfaces
It has a very finely-grained surface and works well. I have been using it for about six months now and it shows no signs of wear.

SteelSeries has a lot of different mousepads, I don't know the difference between them. I bought the 4HD because it was designed to be used with their Xai laser mouse.

 

Using exactmat .. the flat sourface when a bit too smooth under the mouse ..
And I think the control side would wear the mouse feet down just as fast as the feet did the speed side.

Vespula replaced exactmat now .. plastic center, got 1 of those too.

And my ex mousepads: s3 steel, and the glass one .. they way too cold to the touch.

ps.: when the mouse doesn't slide well anymore, take a blade and scrape the feets flat, some small hard dirt always finds the way to get stuck inside the teflon feet material,
takes only 1 small particle to slow the mouse.

 

+1 for exactmat.

 

Been using the eXactMat for about 2 years, pretty much exclusively on the Speed side, with my DeathAdder and now with my Mamba. Super smooth and slick, and no noticeable wear yet.

 

How does the eXactmat compare to the Destructor? Currently the eXactmat is impossible to find in Canada.

I'll use the SX for a week more. Some reviews say it requires a break-in period...

Pretty odd for $50 mousepad.

 

I don't know; I've never owned a Destructor. The eXactMat has been discontinued and replaced by the Vespula. I've only had my Vespula for a few months, and I use it very lightly when I carry it with my notebook.

 

Okay Vespula seems like it's pretty good. So how is the glide? Can you push you mouse a little and it'll slide across the entire pad like its on ice?
How easy do you think it is to wear out? Do you see any spots on the pad that's shiny when light is shone directly above it?

It's cheaper than the SX, $37 compared to $50

 

There's plenty of glide; if I incline the pad slightly, my mouse will just slide right off. If I nudge it on a flat surface, it will keep sliding for a bit after I let it go.

No signs of wear so far, but like I say, I only really use it with my notebook while I'm on the go, so it's too early to tell how easily it gets worn down. It's made of plastic, so I don't know how that wears down against Teflon feet compared to aluminum.

 

Hmm one Amazon reviewer said it has begun to wear out after 2 months...

 

To me i do think both sides of the eXactMat are equally smooth, i do however prefer the control due to that slight tactile feedback i get when moving the mouse around. And theres no need to worry about the teflon feet on the TactX, ive owned the Sidewinder X5 and Deathadder original and i have to say it glides the best among those and smoothness lasts longer too. Anyway i guess i speak for the vespula too as the difference is just the plastic material which shouldnt make any difference to the feets of the mouse anway.

 

I have the vespula and use it everyday for gaming. It was the best but after 6 months it has started wear rather quickly. I am looking for another as well and still haven't came to a decision.

 

I think I'll stick with the SX for now because for durability it is second to none. It's just a wonder of why the glide is not as good as other mousepads because to the touch the surface is perfectly smooth.

 

I second the steel series 4hd, I'm planning on getting the 9hd which is the same surface just larger

 

@OP,

Wow... my friend still uses Destructor he bought what 2,3 years ago? Still looks pretty good. And yeah he's gaming daily.

 

Yeah it looks good until you put it directly under a light source. Then you can see all the worn out spots.

It's pretty much agreed upon that the Destructor wears out easily. Just google Razer Destructor worn out and you'll see. There's also videos of people showing their worn out Destructors.

Besides the physical look of it being worn, you can also feel a slight drag as your mouse goes over to the worn out areas. I'm quite OCD about mice and mousepads so any disturbance can be felt.

 

i've been using the control side of my exactmat for about 2 1/2 years now, and there isn't any noticeable wear yet. i was worried about my mouse's feet at first, but my mx400 glided the same after 2+ years. my logitech g500 is loving it so far as well. the movements are so much more precise.

 

Been using this Razor exactmat for over 4 years, mostly on the "speed" side, absolutely love it, there is slight wear on the rubber feat, but that's it. Don't know how long will it still last

 

The exactmat is outdated and extremely hard to find now... and its successor, the Vespula, doesn't seem to be as durable.

 

That's a shame, considering it's such a fine product. Have you tried ebay?

 

Yeah it doesn't look like eBay has it either...
This is really frustrating because it doesn't look like I can find a mousepad with the glide of the Destructor but high durability.

Only thing that fits seems to be the Steelseries Experience i-1 that's glass with smooth surface but that's hard to find as well atm.

 

okay so I went and got myself a Rocketfish Gaming Mousepad.

So far it's got MUCH better glide than the Steelseries SX, and it's made of alumimum so it should be good for durability (reviews also commended it's durability, lasting longer than 2 years).

It's got pretty much the same glide as the Destructor but it's aluminum. Looks like I found the match.

 

If it's the same Rocketfish pad I'm thinking of (it has two sides), then that's basically a generic eXactMat.

 

My friend is pretty picky about mice/mousepads too. Then again, maybe he happens to have a special one. Last time I used his was 6 months ago and it was fine. And I remember he bought it at least 2.5 years ago. I'm pretty sure he'd ask me to get another one if there was anything wrong with his. (Because he usually does that. )