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