Introduction

Here at Tech-Reviews, we are very familiar with XTracPads’ products after reviewing a variety of their mouse pads.  Previously we have rated pads such as the Fat Mat and Micro very highly and are therefore expecting great things from XTracPad’s new products.  Let’s see if the newly available Hybrid lives up to our expectations.

About XTracPads

“Started in March of 2002 by a group of hard-core pc gamers, our mousing surfaces and accessories have won countless awards.

We offer an expanding variety of surfaces and optical mouse pad sizes. Not only are our products used in computer gaming, they are equally efficient for many other applications such as digital animation, desktop publishing and more.”

Features

• Cloth and plastic surface
• Comfortable and fast
• Frey resistant edges
• Sure Grip rubber backing
• HUGE mousing surface

Specifications

• 10″ x 16″ x 3/16″ (254mm x 406mm x 4mm)
• Sure Grip rubber backing
• Cloth and plastic mousing surface
• Tested and 100% compatible with the following mice:Logitech:MX300/500/510/518/700/1000/G5/G7/G9Microsoft:

  Intellimouse Explorer 3.0/4.0 Laser Mouse 6000

  Razer:

  DeathAdder/Mamba

  Apple:

  Mighty Mouse

Introduction

For many general computer users, mouse pads are a thing of the past. But are they? Ask any gamer and they’ll instantly say no. A good quality mouse pad aids in supreme gaming accuracy and unbelievable comfort. On paper the QPAD CT boasts to do all of this. But does it? Well read on and you’ll find out…

About QPAD

QPAD built its success on a grassroots commitment to the gaming community. Like you, we thrive in the madness of competition and embrace the free spirit of gaming. Our sponsorship of the Q Tour, communities, cups, tournaments, teams and LAN parties reflects this commitment. The knowledge we’ve gained has fed into our development of high quality products that have a great performance and given many a winning edge.

Features

• PAD®|CT™ Large, 4mm
• KODE5 kunkka Limited edition
• Pro gaming surface with Hybratek™ coating
• QPAD Glidz included for ultimate control

Specifications

• Size: Large [40.5x28.5cm 15.95x11.23 inch]
• Thickness: 4 mm
• Colour: kunkka design
• Surface: Hybratek™ Coated soft top
• Other: Including Glidz
• Art.Nr. 3825

Introduction

The mouse mat – a long forgotten utility of the general computer user – is still very much alive for the gamer. The precision offered by a mouse mat is revered by gamers because it offers much more control; the Roccat Sense is a new pad which offers high precision and a large surface area for your mouse to move in. Endorsed by professional gamers, lets see if this pad can live up to its reputation.

About Roccat

Roccat are a relatively new company based in Finland that has a team of professional gamers working with them to produce high end gaming products. Their first product is the Roccat sense.

Specifications

• Minimized friction thanks to the microcrystalline coating bonded to a particularly soft cloth base
• Optimum gliding area and pointer positioning
• Rubberized backing featuring a nano-sized pattern for the perfect amount of grip on any surface
• Optimized for gaming and professional design applications
• Dimensions: 400 x 280mm
• Ultra low height: 1.35mm

The Package

The Roccat sense comes rolled up in a tube which is slightly bigger than a Pringles tub. On the “front” of the tube is a picture of the Roccat sense adrenaline blue version – there is also a style that comes with a Roccat logo.

The back of the tube has the features of the mat written in 9 languages plus a bigger column of features written in English. At the top of the tube there is a picture of the mouse mat split into its three layers and lines coming off it describing the Sense.

The packaging also entails a few endorsements by professional gamers and Roccat scientists. The gamer featured on this version also happens to be Finnish and probably works for Roccat so you may want to take his claim of excellence with a pinch of salt.

Roccat Sense

When taken out of the packet you can see just how thin the Roccat is; at 1.35mm its one of the thinnest pads around. This slim line design means that the mat can be rolled up incredibly easily – for taking to LAN parties and such – and when unrolled it doesn’t try to roll back up.

First impressions of the pad’s looks are very good, the adrenaline blue looks like veins pulsing blue or a close up blue-died leaf. This pattern also helps with precision as it allows the mouse to pick up what its scanning over – a very plain desk or single colour surface might be hard to detect changes in.

When taken out of the packaging you also notice how grippy the backing is. It has a very small chevron pattern on it which provides ultimate grip.

In the corner of the Roccat is their logo. This logo looks very similar to the one found on BeastComputers.

Testing

To test this mouse mat I played a game that frustrated me so much I gave up and haven’t played it in about 6 months, ‘Ghost Recon Advanced War Fighter’. I’m not sure how much this pad can really help my performance in this game – my aggressive playing style of running head on into enemies and hoping they die first usually fails – but I’ll give it a go. The mouse I am going to use is the Speed link Styx gaming mouse.

I decided to start again and was doing ok until the 3rd level – VIP2 is down. This level involves getting inserted by helicopters and making your way through Mexican militia infested streets until you reach some anti-aircraft artillery which you have to order air strikes on. You then make your way up a very crowded street with lots of Mexicans again, until you reach the US embassy which promptly explodes throwing you into a defensive fight in which you have to fend off 2 armoured personnel carriers, 3 tanks and countless Mexicans before extracting the VIP and yourself – your team might be with you if you’re lucky.

This level is so incredibly hard I gave up on it 6 months ago and haven’t been back however with the Sense I managed to complete this level to get stuck on the next one. The added accuracy meant that I could respond quickly to ambushes and get headshots consistently. It also helped when calling air strikes and apache barrages on distant vehicles. The large surface area means that I could game uninhibited by the boundaries of my mouse pad. I am very used to using the Nova Winner 3 which is also a fantastic pad but is fairly small, this usually means I am using my mouse on a very high dpi which impairs my accuracy a lot. With the sense, no such problem, and no wiggling cursor that comes with using the winner 3 sometimes.

The test showed an increased performance from just a desk or no mouse mat; however it showed little improvement from the nova winner 3 or other high end gaming pads. The added size is a blessing or a curse depending on the space you have really, the big area is useful to give an uninterrupted scanning surface but I choose to use the winner 3 because of its high performance and small size – I just don’t have enough room on my desk.

Conclusion

The Roccat Sense is an exceptional pad with a slim line profile and good tracking, its looks are fantastic and it can be easily transported. It’s a little expensive at £13.99 but the performance just about makes up for it.

The only fault for me is the size and that’s because of my desk set up not the pad.

So I am going to award the Roccat Sence the hardcore award – a good start for Roccat.

Pros

• Large scanning area
• Looks pretty cool
• Rolls up well

Cons

• Expensive
• Too big for some desks

Introduction

XTracPads are known for their extremely good quality mouse surfaces such as the Ripper and FatPad. Today we have another pad to join the family in the form of the XTracPads Micro – a mat designed for notebook users. Does this pad live up to the standards of other mats from XTracPads? Read on to find out…

About XTracPads

XTracPads is a company that was started by a group of hardcore gamers in 2002 and specializes in designing high-end mouse surfaces and accessories for mainly gamers.

Features

• Super slick plastic surface
• Hexagon pattern for enhanced tracking
• Sure Grip III rubber backing
• Easy to clean
• Small size

Specifications

• 7″ x 8.75″ x Credit card thin (178mm x 222.25mm)
• Sure Grip II rubber backing
• Plastic mousing surface
• Designed in the USA
• Made in USA
• Tested and 100% compatible with the following mice:Logitech:

  MX300/500/510/518/700/1000/G5/G7/G9

  Microsoft:

  Intellimouse Explorer 3.0/4.0 Laser Mouse 6000

  Razer:

  DeathAdder

  Apple:

  Mighty Mouse

The Package

The XTracPads Micro arrived in a polythene wrap which was backed with a piece of cardboard. This helps to protect the pad from being bent or damaged by ruthless delivery men during the shipping process.

The back of the package simply has an XTracPads logo, barcode and the pad dimensions listed. You’d think we’d criticize this boring packaging more, however as this pad isn’t sold on shop shelves, the packaging doesn’t need to stand out from the rest.

The XtracPads Micro

As we’ve reviewed a number of mats from XtracPads already, our expectations are somewhat high as all the pads we’ve reviewed for them have all been good.

Just from glancing at the Micro, it looks very similar to the Pro HS with its unique ‘untuned television’ appearance. Low and behold, this look is either a love or hate relationship. Luckily enough, I’m quite a fan of it.

The back of the Micro is pure white and has a rubbery texture to it. This is the “Sure Grip II rubber backing”.

When XtracPads call a mouse mat ‘Micro’, they really mean it. This pad is wafer thin (thin as a credit card) and measures a mere 7”x 8.75”. Therefore, it’s certain this product is designed for notebook users specifically.

The Micro is a hard surface pad so it’s not intended for comfort in mind, purely performance. With it being a very smooth flat surface, my mouse should glide across it with ease. A glidey mat is a great advantage in games.

Testing/Usage

One of the main areas where many hard surface mouse pads fail is in the flexibility test – for obvious reasons. However, we have had hard mats in the past which have performed well in this test. This pad – the XtracPads Micro – seemed to fold quite well, however it was clearly noticeable that this product isn’t designed to be folded as it took a while to reform back into shape.

We tested the Micro with a Targus Laptop mouse – this is a notebook mat after all.

The Targus mouse proved to be a success with the Micro as it glided across the pad with ease in general usage. In game play where quick short movements are needed, the mat also performed well without much friction being produced between the pad and mouse. Even though I’m not the best gamer in the world, when testing the XTracPad in Battlefield 2, my points seemed to be a bit higher at the end of each round when switching between no mouse surface and then to the Micro.

One small problem I noticed when using the Micro is that its ‘Sure Grip III rubber backing’ doesn’t actually keep the pad in place very well and I found myself re-positioning the mat every 10 minutes or so. This is okay when you’re using the XTracPad for short periods of time, but when you’re on the computer for more than 3 hours or so, it gets really annoying.

Conclusion

The main aspect of this product that I liked was the fact that it’s fairly small but still manages to perform reasonably well.  One feature which plays a role in this is the super slick plastic surface which happily allowed my Targus to glide freely. As with the styling, like I’ve said you’ll either love it or hate it. Fortunately I quite like it.

There are only two real problems with the Micro, which is – like I’ve said already – the sure grip backing. This backing really is quite bad with it causing the pad to move every 10 minutes or so. The other problem is that it’s quite uncomfortable to use, but for notebook usage – where you wouldn’t normally use a mat – the Micro is better than nothing.

For only £5, I would say that it is very good value for money and would recommend it to anyone who’s on a budget and looking for a great performing notebook mouse pad.

Pros

• Price
• Performs well
• Notebook style size

Cons

• Comfort
• Doesn’t adhere to work surface very well

Introduction

The quest has been on in recent times to find the ultimate gaming surface. The criterion is clear: a smooth surface, high tracking, comfortable, grippy, and large enough for frantic movements. Here at Tech-Reviews we’ve been privileged enough to review most of XTracPads product range and they have so far all been superb products. With this in mind, Chris at XTracPads has crafted the Pro and sent it to us for review.

About XTracPads

XTracPads is a company that was started by a group of hardcore gamers in 2002 and specializes in designing high-end mouse surfaces and accessories for mainly gamers.

Product Specifications

• Size: 8.5”x11”x1/8”thick
• Super Soft cloth surface
• Hexagon pattern for enhance tracking
• Sure grip rubber backing
• Easy to clean

Packaging

The packaging in true XTracPads style; simple and clear.

The Pro comes delivered in a sturdy cardboard envelope style packaging with a photo of the pro rolled up on the front. Also on the front of the packaging is a hole so you can feel the pad within.

The rear of the packaging is simple and states the product specifications and has a couple of comments made by other sites about the mouse mat.

The XtracPads Pro

Upon removing the Pro from the packaging it was clear to me that this mat was about to win an extra star on its rating for flexibility.

It is relatively well sized but admittedly is vastly smaller than its siblings such as the fat mat or the hammer.

The cloth surface is super smooth and the mouse glides silently and effortlessly over it.

It has Xtrac pads trademark hexagonal styling for increased tracking and accuracy. On the right hand side there is a black strip with the company name and a link to their website.

The pad is undoubtedly a very attractive product and is comfortable too, even if it is only 1/8” thick.

The mouse mat also comes with an Xtrac pads sticker for those who want that little extra freebie with their purchase.

The surface, I can only describe as perfect, it allows the mouse to glide in a way much like the Pro HS that we reviewed. This is a great lure for gamers as effortless glide means better game play.

The maker or breaker for many when it comes to buying a mouse mat is whether the mat can be rolled up. At Tech-Reviews we know that for easy transportation to LAN parties the mat must roll up. The Pro does this perfectly so another great plus for games on that front then.

The cloth used to coat the top of the mat appears to be fray resistant and doesn’t lift at all from the rubber base. The cloth also wipes clean easily which is another good point on an ever-growing list.

The base is sure-grip rubber meaning it will not slide when being used like many poor quality mats do. The base does however pick up dirt quickly and easily but it simply falls off when that mat is shaken.

Testing

The Pro has so far been flawless so let’s see if it can perform as well in-game as it does before use.

To test the mat I am using the Cyber Snipa Stinger, which I’ll have a review for in a few days time.

I will be playing on our favourite games here at Tech-Reviews: Battlefield 2 and Serious Sam to try and get a gauge of the mats tracking and performance in game.

In game on Battlefield 2 I found the pad to provide greater accuracy that the Evo-G did and have no over movements of inaccuracies, perhaps the greatest plus of all?

In Serious Sam I found the enemies to pose less of a threat in intense situations as that Pro’s superior tracking allows for greater accuracy and more response to the mouse.

For standard windows use such as web-browsing I found the XTracPad to be great as it provides comfort with functionality. The fact that this pad is a great all rounder is a definite advantage.

Cost

The Pro retails at around $8.95, which unless I’m mistaken, is equal to about £4.50 so it’s definitely not expensive for such a great performer.

Conclusion

The Pro has constantly delivered accuracy and comfort throughout its use; XTracPads have done it again and created another super mousing surface.

If you are in the market for a new pad I would definitely recommend this pad to anyone gamers or otherwise.

Pros

• Good Price
• Performance
• Can be rolled easily
• Uber tracking
• Accurate
• Suitable to all uses

Cons

• None

Introduction

With games becoming more hectic, and requiring faster reflexes, the need arises for outstanding mouse pad surfaces to provide the level of accuracy needed to successfully dismember any enemy stupid enough to come into your line of fire. Nova was established in 1993 and has succeeded in producing outstanding mouse surfaces ever since. One such mouse mat is the Microptic Winner 3. Designed as a successor for the Winner 2, offering the same quality surface in a smaller size. It is said to offer “various new innovations, developed especially for gamers”. I plan to put this to the test and see how good it can really be.

Features and Specifications

• Size 268X233mm
• Thickness: 3mm
• Bi-material: The new pads keep Nova’s unique material
• Inner material is now available in two colors, Black or White
• Outer material available in three colors, Red, Black or Silver
• 8000 DPI, 0 Latency
• Non-skid base

Packaging

The Nova Winner 3 arrived to me in a clear plastic wallet with two holes in, one so you can feel the top of the pad and one so you can feel the bottom of it. This was a very good indicator that the product would be good even before I’d taken it out of the packaging.

The back of the piece of paper that the mouse mat came stuck to shows NOVA’s current range of mouse mats with lists of specs under each one, the winner 3 is highlighted. Under this are some technical specifications written in words, and six different languages, specifically for the winner 3. Just to show off NOVA have decided to put all the awards they have won with this range of mats on as well, useful if you didn’t already know what you are getting is a quality product.

This packaging was very good as the Nova arrived to me with no damage whatsoever and showed off the product in a suitable fashion.

The Nova Winner 3

One of the first things you notice after peeling this product satisfyingly off its paper

backing is that it’s a very good looking pad which certainly boasts “Gamer”. With its slick shape and rounded edges the Winner 3 certainly is onto a winner with its looks.

Aside from the shape the main surface is sparkly; presumably this is Nova’s micro mirror technology. This looks very nice on the Winner 3, being neither garish nor girly.

Testing

With a simple placement of the mat on my desk the product was installed and ready to go – as expected – the first thing i noticed was that the mat doesn’t move an inch. Throughout the test the mat never moved once without me wanting it to.

This is credited by Nova to the micro cellular foam layer on the bottom of the pad. This was incredibly useful in my favourite first person shooters, Half Life 2, as it meant that my efforts to kill a lone head crab whilst I was on the verge of death were not thwarted by a slippery mouse mat.

The precision offered by the tiny mirrors placed throughout the mat’s inner layer proved invaluable in helping to kill the Combine as well. If you’ve ever played Half-Life 2 you’ll know that very near the end your gravity gun will be upgraded and as a result you can pick up the combine and kill them in any manner of ways. Whilst this sounds fun it is also damn near impossible, elite enemy forces start running at you from every direction with varying degrees of number and firepower. If you’ve ever needed precision and speed in a game now is the time. The mouse mat offered total precision every time a new horde of combine came towards me, in a part of the game where I would usually die many times from picking up the wrong thing I didn’t die at all. I can credit this all to the Nova’s ability to offer precision.

One of our favourite tests here at Tech Reviews is a mouse pads ability to be rolled up so that it can be taken to a LAN party. The Winner 3 performs very well here. As its underside is so sticky there is no need for anything to keep it rolled up, it merely sticks to itself and off you go. When unrolling it, the pad retains some of its curves, however – again due to its stickiness – the mat simply sticks to whatever surface it’s on and won’t roll up again.

Conclusion

In a world where successors are usually worse than their predecessors (Star Wars Episode 1, Half Life 2 Episode 2, Gordon Brown) I can safely say that there is hope in the form of this mouse pad. Not one thing went wrong at any time and its ability to provide ultimate killing power means that this product gets a massive thumbs up from me. Retailing at around £13.50 this product is also great value for money.

Pros

• Brilliant Precision
• Stylish Looks
• Good Size
• Nice Price Tag

Cons

• None

Introduction

With so much stress being put on the need for ultimate accuracy for mice nowadays it is no wonder that many companies are constantly designing new mousing surfaces to fulfill this requirement. One such company is Evo-G who has sent us over the MP1 to take for a spin.

About Evo-G

Evo-G is all about gaming gear. Their mission is to create performance enhancing gaming products. All of their products are designed by professional gamers, for professional gamers- making them some of the best products in their class.

Specifications

• Compatible with gaming grade optical and laser mice
• Surface material: High performance PP
• Dimension: 355mm x 265mm x 3mm
• Base: anti-slip rubber

Features

• Designed for high performance gaming
• Patented reflection technology
• 20% more upgrade tracking
• Special mid-rough surface
• Super slippery material
• Soft and safe rubber base

Packaging

The MP1 comes packaged in a large metal case with a card band around it. The centre of the metal case has the Evo-G logo etched into it.

The front and back of the MP1 is well protected by two polystyrene inserts.

The rear of the cardboard band is covered in the product specifications and features and a somewhat boastful comment made by Evo-g.

Those accustomed to receiving some kind of gimmicky freebies with their purchases will sadly be disappointed with the MP1 as the statement, ‘you get what you pay for’ certainly rings true about this product. No freebies whatsoever.

Admittedly the packaging is a little over the top, but a little extra on the side never really hurts.

The MP1

The MP1 certainly is an attractive mouse pad. In fact, I would go as far as saying it is one of the best pads I’ve ever seen – the metallic lustre and the red star sure are nice. This product is shiny yet it is not reflective which means theres not a lot of light glare from the mat.

Evo-G have also added their slogan “Evolution Gaming Gear” and their website address to the pad.

The maker or breaker for many when it comes to buying a mouse mat is whether the mat can be rolled up. At Tech-Review we know that for easy transportation to LAN parties the mat must roll up easily and without being damaged. Sadly the MP1 does not conform very well to this requirement as it can’t be rolled very easily.

We also found that the MP1’s coating is very delicate as the slightest knock sent a corner of the coating flying.

This product is of a great size for gaming as its width and height allow for huge movements that some less sensitive mice may need to make.

Testing

To test whether the Evo-G lives up to the hype – and my expectations – I took it for a spin on our favourite first person shooters, Battlefield 2 and Quake Wars. Both these games boast fast game play and the need for extreme accuracy when lining up head-shots.

I found that the performance of the mouse pad was outstanding throughout game play and I managed to rack up a lot more kills than I’d normally achieve.

When testing I used both a Logitech MX518 and an old-fashioned roller ball. The optical mouse performance was awesome, however the roller ball found very little grip on the mat, so it was unresponsive.

General Usage

I found the mat incredible for everyday usage such as web browsing and media viewing. This is a great plus as it means that the mat is not just about gaming.

However, the MP1 is uncomfortable, incredibly so. I found that after about half an hour my wrist ached and I had to resort to using a generic mouse pad.

Cost

The Evo-G retails at around £12 so it’s not too pricey and if you are willing to sacrifice comfort for performance it would be a brilliant buy.

Conclusion

I found that the MP1 really did live up to its hype and performed brilliantly. Its performance isn’t the best on the market but then again, with the well established position of the market leaders such as XTracPads designing awesome pads like the Hammer, its difficult for a relative newcomer to the ‘mouse pad industry’ to create a pad which can be compared to one of the market leaders’ mouse mats.

The offer of extreme gliding is a great lure for gamers, however with the Evo-G this is a bad thing as the super slick surface leads to occasional over-movements meaning that serious gamers may wish to look at alternative pads before jumping in to buying this one.

Pros

• Great looks
• Price tag
• Good size

Cons

• Occasional over movements
• Doesn’t roll up easily
• Not very robust
• Uncomfortable

Introduction

Chris over at XTracPads has kindly sent us the ‘Hammer’ for review- a wafer thin mouse pad with a super slick plastic surface.

XTracPads is a company that was started by a group of hardcore gamers in 2002 and specializes in designing high-end mouse surfaces and accessories for mainly gamers.

This leads me on to introduce today’s review, the ‘XtracPads Hammer’.

The Hammer isn’t ordinary- like most of the mats from XTracPads. This product offers a comfortable size for gaming (11” x 17”) and is as thin as a credit card, if not thinner.

Features and Specifications

• Super slick plastic surface
• Hexagon pattern for enhanced tracking
• Sure Grip III rubber backing
• Easy to clean
• Large size

Packaging

The Hammer arrives wrapped in a polythene bag with cardboard backing. The back of the packaging has an XTracPads sticker and barcode located in the bottom left hand corner.

The packaging is very basic, however the pad didn’t arrive damaged to me in any sort of way and minimizes the use of non eco friendly materials.

The Hammer

The Hammer is another huge mat from XTracPads. Its about the length of my keyboard and the height of two keyboards, however, it’s about as thin as a credit card! This is definitely the slimmest pad I’ve ever seen.

This product has an odd appearance, however, I like it. The top of the mouse surface is made of a thin layer of plastic which is styled like blue honey comb- its super smooth, great for gaming.

The rear of the ‘Hammer’ is pure white in colour and is made of a fairly grippy material, although I’m not sure what it is. Beware, dust particles and dirt from your desk stick to the bottom of the pad very easily and it’s quite difficult to remove them.

Comfort wise, this product isn’t anything special. As it’s not a soft surface pad but a hard surface one instead, your wrists aren’t going to have any comfortable support to rest on. However, If you’re buying this mat solely for gaming, the poor comfort isn’t going to be a let down for you, as the gaming performance from this pad is awesome.

We tested the Hammer using our favourite PC First Person Shooter, Battlefield 2. It performed much better than other XTracPads we have tested in the past and the whole mouse movement is smooth and effortless. If you apply Teflon tape to your mouse as well, like we did, your little furry rodent will glide across this product with great ease.

Like most gamers, we like to be able to take out favourite mouse mat to LAN Parties. Usually, this means rolling up the pad, tying an elastic band round it and popping it into our bag. Unfortunately though, when we tried this with the Hammer it didn’t seem to want to roll up as much as we’d of liked it to and it didn’t enjoy flattening itself out afterwards. For many gamers, this is a big fall back.

Even though the backing of the XTracPad is very grippy, it still managed to wander around my desk top. It often angled itself to face me, maybe because it’s attracted to me…then again it could just be because the bottom of the pad isn’t thick enough to generate enough friction to stop the pad from moving- I think it’s the latter.

Conclusion

So there we have it, the Hammer of XTracPads. Now it’s my turn to be a judge, smack my hammer down and give you a conclusion.

Firstly, this pad is great for a gamer because it offers awesome gaming performance and is a suitable size for a gamer- not too big, not too small. Also, its wafer thin so your wrists will be at the same level as your mouse while gaming, this is great in my opionion. However, this pad has some set backs for the gamer, firstly its not the most comfortable to use, so long gaming sessions are out of the question. Also, it doesn’t roll up easily, so isn’t ideal to transport- then again its wafer thin, so as long as it sits comfortably in your bag, no need to worry.

I don’t think this mat is ideal for the casual user, simply because, it’s not comfortable enough. However if you bought yourself a wrist wrest and shoved it in front of this product, you’ll get great performance and great comfort.

Pros

• Very Good Performer
• Thin as a Credit Card
• Great size for Gaming
• Costs around £10

Cons

• Not Very Comfortable
• Doesn’t Roll up Easily

Introduction

The Fat Mat is the one of the latest editions to the XTracPads family. Even though you could use this mouse mat for just normal everyday use, the material that has been used and the soft foam like layer underneath has been designed with the ‘Professional Gamer’ firmly in mind.

XtracPads is a company that was started by a group of hardcore gamers in 2002 and specializes in designing high-end mouse surfaces and accessories for mainly gamers.

Features:

• Whisper quiet nanofiber™ textile
• Soft and comfortable
• Frey resistant edges
• Extra thick Sure Grip rubber backing
• HUGE mousing surface

Specifications

• 12″ X 16″ x 1/4″ (305mm x 406mm x 6.35mm)
• Sure Grip rubber backing
• Nanofiber™ textile surface
• Made in USA

Packaging

The Fat Mat arrived in a sturdy thick cardboard box with polystyrene inside.

The mouse mat itself came rolled up in a plastic tube.

The Fat Mat

When taken out of the tube, the pad didn’t curl up, it just lay dead flat. According to XtracPads, the reason the Fat Mat didn’t roll up again is because of the way the product has been made, it uses a cellular airbag which enables the flow of air through the mat so that it flattens out almost instantly.

The XtracPads Fat Mat looks like a normal mouse mat. However, this pad is bigger, smoother and definitely… thicker.

The bottom of the pad has many lines of rubber on it to prevent slippage during game play or normal computer usage.

The pad seems very spongy, great for a wrist to lean on (it’s that thick), so is very comfortable to use.

On the top of the mat is a thin layer of black cloth which aids in creating the smooth surface.

Unfortunately, the cloth top and bottom of the pad is a magnet for dust and your last night’s food crumbs.

The size of the Fat Mat certainly isn’t a problem, its definitely large enough for gaming and isn’t too large that it won’t fit. I’d say it was probably around 1.5x the size of a normal mouse pad.

Testing/Usage

I tested the Fat Mat using a Logitech MX518 Gaming mouse- as I did with the Giganta Lazer 4. The pad performed flawlessly in classic first person shooters such as Battlefield 2 and Call of Duty 4. The smooth, but gripping surface of the XTracPad meant that the MX518 glided across it with ease.

Normally when playing games with my MX518 on a low DPI I often run out of ‘pad’, however this wasn’t the case with the Fat Mat.

I also tested the Fat Mat using a cheap Targus mouse and still, it performed very well.

Not only does the XTracPad perform well, its also very comfortable to use. Due to it being very thick and spongy, it also acts as a great wrist rest.

Conclusion

Here are some factors that I liked about the Fat Mat:

• The mouse is very controlled.
• Good size for gaming.
• The price of $28.95 (about £14).
• Works well with most mice.
• Comfortable to use and also acts as a wrist rest.

Normally, I’d also have something bad to say about a product. However, I really cannot fault XtracPads’ Fat Mat.

I am therefore going to reward the Fat Mat a respectable 5/5.

Thank you XtracPads for making this review possible.

Introduction

The Pro HS™ is produced by a company called XTracPads who specialize in mouse pads and mouse accessories such as mouse grips.

The XTracPads Pro HS™ is a medium sized mouse mat which falls under the category of hard surface mouse pads and was developed with gamers in mind. It is designed for optical mice and is described by XTracPads as having a “Super Slick Plastic Surface.” The mouse pad has a simple hexagon pattern which is apparently used for “enhanced tracking” but does this all help to provide an excellent gaming pad?

Features:

• Super slick plastic surface
• Hexagon pattern for enhanced tracking
• Sure Grip rubber backing
• 8.5″ x 11″ x 3/32″ (216mm x 280mm)
• Plastic mousing surface

Packaging

The best way to describe the packaging the mouse mat comes in is a ‘cardboard pouch’ that the mouse mat fits securely in.

This stops the mouse mat from bending during transit. As the ‘pouch’ can be easily resealed it is ideal for carrying your mouse mat to LAN parties.

Inside the packaging was:

• The XTracPads Pro HS™
• A small sticker that has the XTracPads logo on.

However there is really nothing more you could expect.

Impressions

The Pro HS™ has a very simple yet effective design.

The background is a static image that looks as if it has been lifted straight from an untuned television. It also features a honeycomb pattern.

Testing/Usage

To test the Pro HS™ I used a Razer Diamondback™. This is an optical mouse, which the Pro HS™ was designed for. Firstly I tested the mouse mat during standard computer use, internet browsing, a few online mini-games and browsing pictures and music. The Pro HS™ excelled at this and the mouse was very responsive and didn’t jump- unlike my previous experiences using the mouse on both cheap mouse mats and several desks. The mouse glides effortlessly across the mouse mat which becomes very useful in circumstances that require a lot of mouse movement such as games. The “Hexagon pattern for enhanced tracking” is obviously working as the mouse did not act strangely at all during testing, where as on a standard generic mouse mat it frequently did.

The second test I carried out was a gaming test. I firstly played a game of Supreme Commander- which requires a lot of mouse movement on the large maps. The Pro HS™ makes the game much more enjoyable as mad panics to quickly move from one section of the map to another become quick and effortless. The Pro HS™ has also improved the precision of the mouse making issuing orders much easier. The second game I tested on was Battlefield 2. This can quite often develop into a “frag-fest” that requires a quick response and deadly precision. The Pro HS™ provided both. Meaning that lining up a shot becomes much quicker and multiple kills could be pulled off quickly. Sniping was also much easier as lining up a headshot became quicker and more precise.

Conclusion

Pros

• Excellent surface for an optical mouse
• Helps to prevent the mouse from ‘jumping’ around the screen
• Looks good
• Can be bought for £5.50 ($10.95)

Cons

• If folded it doesn’t always flatten itself properly