Written by John Carswell  on November 07, 2006

Accessories: Think a mousepad doesn't make all the difference when it comes to PC gaming? Think again.

Tweet

Comments

It is difficult to quantify the difference between a high-end mousepad and the average ones that most gamers are using. Perhaps moving from one to the other is most comparable to the switch from a ball mouse to an optical one. No matter, the first time your mouse slides silently across a snag-free surface, the difference is immediately noticeable and becomes a necessity. Put simply: if you are a gamer using a high resolution mouse on a piece of foam, you're cheating yourself. Up for review is a pad from Icemat, a company that has gained a good deal of renown and trust from PC gamers due to their high quality mousepads.

A ten-by-twelve inch plate of glass with a colored backing, the Icemat 2nd Edition is an attractive but unassuming piece of hardware. Any shine from the surface is all but unnoticeable and the Icemat logo underneath the glass takes on a frosted appearance. Smooth to the touch, the Icemat 2nd Edition is hefty, thick, and has the solid feel of a quality product. It should be noted that this reviewer has been using a mouse pad from SteelSeries (both SteelSeries and Icemat are owned by Soft Trading) for over three years without issue so I have little doubt that the Icemat 2nd Edition is built to last.

As for the Icemat 2nd Edition's performance, it works flawlessly as expected. Once the included УPadsurfersФ (super-slick mouse feet) were attached to feet of the mouse, it slid quietly across the Icemat's surface. The lowered friction between the pad and mouse allowed me to nudge the mouse and watch it slide a ways before stopping. It is this lack of friction that makes the Icemat 2nd Edition so important to gaming.

Whether you are going for a head shot or trying to select a unit in a busy battlefield, it is difficult to overstate the luxury of having a mousepad that offers up almost no resistance to even your most gentle push. Those snags and catches that cause small lurches are gone and the precision that most gaming mice are built for becomes unlocked. Minute movements come naturally, allowing for flawless targeting and those odd mouse jerks required to move the mouse out of a grove are gone for good.

A mundane but important point to be made is that, between the Icemat's weight and its six rubber feet, the pad did not slip on the polished wood surface of my desk. Additionally, the pad's width is enough to ensure those prefer high-sensitivity settings on their mice will have plenty of room to work with.

My only complaint is that Ц while the included Padsurfers eventually worked on the Microsoft and Logitech mice I tested - the Icemat 2nd Edition does not include feet that are entirely compatible with Logitech's MX series of mice. However, I was able to jerryrig a workable solution and, if nothing else, Icemat sells (separately) pads made specifically for MX-series mice. Still, considering the popularity of MX mice with gamers, this oversight takes some value away from an otherwise excellent product.