Manufacturer:Ratpadz.com
Version:n/a
Reviewed By:Erik Frechette

Mousing surfaces, they just don't seem to get enough attention from simmers and manufacturers alike. From the cheapest of the cheap, i.e. your desktop, to the ordinary rubber pad with a layer of glued to its top, mousing surfaces are generally pretty pitiful pieces of 'technology'. Well, there are a few companies seeking to change that and one of them is Ratpadz.com.

Designed by Kyle Bennet of [H]ard|OCP, the RatPadz have instant credibility in the overclocking web base. Being a fan of the [H]ard|ness, I finally found a place with the 'padz' in stock and placed my order.

The specs from Ratpadz.com: The Ratpadz.com Ratpad

9.5 inches tall X 11.5 inches wide
Ultraslick™ polymer mousing surface
Shaved edges to prevent mouse-hand fatigue
Longer lower-arch cutout for optimal surface use

First Impressions:

It's big, I mean BIG. I've been using standard mousepads since picking up my first P100 back in the very early 90's(it seems so long ago!) and I have always wished someone would create a mousepad that won't constantly see my mouse running over the edge. I think this monster just might do the trick. I have hands that are probably slightly larger than average as well, so the extra real estate of the Ratpad surface is very much appreciated.

The surface is slick and the sheet of plastic seems VERY sturdy. Though every review of Ratpadz I have read described the mousepad surface as having an arched shape, elevating the center of the pad slightly away from the desktop mine is designed with no such arch.

Let's Get on With it Already:

The system as tested:

Pentium!!! 800EB
256MB Micron PC-133 SDRAM
30GB IBM Deskstar, 7200RPM UDMA100 HDD
Shuttle 10X DVD-ROM drive
Yamaha 8424EZ CDR/CDRW drive
Hercules 3D ProphetII GTS 64MB AGP4x
SB Live! Value Soundcard
3COM PCI 10/100 Network Card
Standard Microsoft Intellimouse with wheel

"What is a high performance mousepad going to do for me, the hardcore sim-racer", I can hear you asking already. My answer would be this,"Make your life a hell of a lot easier!" Say goodbye to annoying 'mouse skips', the phenomena of having your onscreen pointer standing still while your mouse is sliding halfway across the room. The Ratpadz' textured mouse area keeps the ball rolling with absolutely minimal pressure. No more annoying 'pad slides' either. With eight rubber feet on its underbelly, my Ratpad only moves when I want it to. The rounded edges do in fact make long stints in front of the PC pointing and clicking more comfortable, though I still experience some hand fatigue after lengthy periods of constant use.

Turning the mouse sensitivity up allows for very minimal wrist/hand/arm movement being required to span the screen in a single sweep of the mouse(approximately 2 inches of actual mouse travel side-to-side!). While I wouldn't say the Ratpad helped me shave a second a lap off of my Monza personal best or made life at The Ring any easier, it has made navigating Windows much less of an annoyance. I point the mouse, my cursor follows. What else could one ask for?

This is a little off topic, but if you happen to play an occassional Quake3 deathmatch, you'll be thanking yourself with every frag that you picked one of these suckers up. Combining the excellent tracking attributes of its surface with the large area available gives you a great platform for slaughtering newbies or dying in style when the heavy hitters logon.  I know no real racer would be caught dead playing such *games*, but believe me when I say it works. ::)

The Verdict:

I have not ever dealt with a better mousing product. If you use Windows extensively, play various point-click games or live for all out fragfests, you owe it to yourself to spend the money and grab a Ratpad. Surfaces like these should be standard equipment for all retail mice, you won't go wrong with this one!