More and more mouse pads are appearing. The more you play the higher requirements you have for the quality of the mouse pad and the mouse. We have tested two of the best mouse pads and compared the two. These are Everglide’s hard plastic pad and Icemat’s glass pad. Which is the better and how they work with different mice? The test mice are Logitech’s Mouseman Wheel and Logitech’s Mousman Wheel Optical. First up is Everglide.
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Icemat is made from glass and makes Icemat look a lot cooler than Everglide. The frosted surface simply looks cool. At a first glance Icemat looks a lot more appealing than Everglide, but as we’re talking about a mouse pad the function is a bit more important than the looks. If you place the mouse in the middle of Icemat the wrist ends up on the edge of the mouse pad, separating it from Everglide which has a small cut.out from the wrist. Icemat work well with both mice, despite that it was with certain skepticism I placed the optical mouse on the pad. You may experience a softer movement, but at the same time the mouse doesn’t "flows" as easy as with Everglide even if the difference isn’t that big. If Everglide is long-lasting. Icemat will last longer at regular use, but if you drop something on the pad, or drop the pad on the floor, Everglide is the pad that will be with you the longest. (Although the most durable then is the regular old mouse pad ;-)). When you accelerate the mouse a hissing noise appears, not that loud, but enough to notice. That didn’t happen with the Everglide.
Grade
+ Design
+ Doesn’t ear
+ Precision
– Sensitive to hits and knocks
– Ergonomics
– Price
Grade 8,5 of 10
Everglide is available in four different appearances: Attack Pad, Original Mousing, Concav and Giganta. As the name implies Giganta is a larger model and that is the model we test here today. It’s made from hard plastic and the surface has a nice structure. This results in a nice glide. It’s also very easy to keep clean, just put it in the dishwasher when it gets too dirty. Another advantage is that you don’t get as much "lint" in the mouse as you get with a regular cloth pad.
The cut.out for the wrist is also positive as it gets easier to keep the mouse in the middle of the pad without having the wrist on the actual pad. There is also a wrist support to accompany the pad, if you want to spend the extra money. Another thing worth pointing out is that the surface of the Everglide tears the "skates" on the bottom of the mouse. Both mice worked well with Everglide’s pad, and difference when compared to a regular cheap cloth mouse pad is huge. The Everglide pad can also be bought with different prints, e.g. Quake 3.
Grade:
+ Ergonomic
+ Precision
+ You can pick motive
– Tear the mouse
– Price
9 of 10
Conclusion
Both pads work very well. Crowning a champion is close to impossible, both have their pros and cons. A drawback with Icemat is that it doesn’t have the same ergonomic design as Everglide. An Icemat with the same shape as Everglide would perhaps be interesting. If you want a cool mouse pad, it will be an Icemat, a more functional/ergonomic, an Everglide. An advantage with Everglide is that you can get a fitting wrist support. The fastidious hardcore gamer which demand precision and ergonomics will probably choose Everglide. Those who rate design is important and demand a low-tear mouse pad, Icemat is the obvious choice.
