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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.

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