this is the one to go for. In more recent developments, I found the new Goliathus clothpad from Razer to be a cool alternative to the QcK. Indeed, the QcK feels somewhat too smooth and “sticky” to some players and if that’s the case for you, the Goliathus Speed Version (not to confuse with the Control version) will most likely please you with its more speedy and straightforward gliding type, all while being a very traditional cloth.
The new Fibertek cloth
The main new cloth fabric that stands out of the competition is called Fibertek. It has been specifically developed for optical and laser mice and was initially popularized by the Everglide Titan mousepad, but the material is now available with prints from Razer and other competitors. Fibertek is made of an “inter-woven” fabric that allows very smooth tracking, but still allows for quite a lot of speed, which is very interesting. If you think Fibertek feels like regular cloth, you’re totally wrong. It’s a totally new breed you need to try to see if you will like it. What makes this cloth even better is its durability: it is some tough cloth we’re dealing with here.
You might love or hate Fibertek, but it’s definitely one option to strongly consider for any gamer.
Lastly, both classic cloth pads like the QcK and the ones made of Fibertek have gotten thicker versions for people who like more cushion under their hand or for those that expect to play under really irregular surfaces, such as cheap tables in some LAN Parties. There’s certainly a clothpad made for you out there.
Hardpads
Now hardpads are a bit of a different story. I consider the debate to be still up in the air with this type of mousepad. While there’s is no doubt that hardpads do feel like they have the “potential” for more precision, it seems like they aren’t performing that well and that consistently. Some say that professional gamers aren’t giving them enough of a shot, but this is still the stats we have right now: clothpads are destroying hardpads among pro-gamers. If you ever bought a hardpad, you indeed probably got the following feeling: it surely feels very precise and all your move are exact, but comfort, smoothness and consistency all seem to be lacking, and when it comes to that high-stress and Redbull-packed online finals you’re about to play, most of us get the feeling we should get the clothpad out of the drawer for this one.
Companies seem to have noticed these habits of gamers who are slowly letting go of hardpads. For example, Steelseries has seem to try to mix cloth and hardpads to better convince customers in buying the obviously more profitable hardpads by mixing them with cloth pads in the 5L. The 5L is a 5 layers mousepad made of different fabrics such as both plastic and cloth, claiming that it owns all the great properties of both types, more specifically the durability of hardpads and the softness of cloth pads… but what the is the durability of the hard layer worth once the actual main cloth surface is used up? Just thought I’d throw that fact out there.
The 5L concept got many gamers excited just as planned.
Moving on to recommendations
Moving on to recommendations, let’s not forget the price factor. The 5L is obviously still a great pad appreciated from gamers and reviewers, but it is also a customer’s nightmare and an hardware’s company’s dream: the 5L has the high price tag of a hardpad, but is obviously topped with a cloth pad, and even the most resistant cloth pad such as the FiberTek will never go through several years of intense use… so the addicted 5L users will indeed have to pull out another 55$ each time they feel like their cloth pad layer lost its original feel….
And this is where we get to what’s so attractive about cloth pads: they are comfortable for everyday use, they perform AND you get used to something that doesn’t cost more than 20-25$ to replace. This last point is a big one because you’re most likely like any high-end mousepad user that likes the original feel of its favorite mousepad, the feeling you get when you play on a mousepad that’s fresh out of the box. In some of my previous writings, I have specified the benefit of getting used to something that’s cheap and not likely to get discontinued, and cloth pads definitely meet those requirements before hardpads. In where we’re at in the evolution of mousepads, hardpads seem more to be the new “hot things” to try out than to be the trusted classic professionals use, so they are more likely to get discontinued.
I hope you now have more food for thought to make your decision on what mousepad to buy, and see you soon in another article!
