Mousepads come in various forms and sizes; From super large to peasant small, plastic to cloth, and thick to thin. Nowadays, you have several choices for arguably one of the most important accessories for competitive gaming. This is where our gaming mouse pad buying guide steps in. It will help you choose the best mousepad for all your hardcore gaming sessions.

If you are reading this, you have already made the right brand choice. We started off by focusing on creating a large gaming mouse pad for various different competitive games. Several hundred hours went into testing and refining what we are proud to call our ultimate gaming mousepad.

Gaming Mouse Pad Buying Guide Lineup:

THE BASICS OF A GAMING MOUSEPAD

There are three main components of a mousepad: THE SURFACE, THE BASE, and THE EDGE. Each component is important in its own regard. We are going to break down the three of them below and tell you how we have perfected them in our cloth gaming mousepads.

THE SURFACE

There are several types of surfaces available on the market today. For cloth pads, the type of fabric, the weave, and construction are the most critical features. Don’t be fooled by other products labeled as “CONTROL” or “SPEED” optimized mousepads, it is just a marketing gimmick used to drive sales. The key is to have a mousepad that combines both SPEED and CONTROL. So when designing our mousepad, this is exactly what we aimed to achieve:

In addition to getting the perfect flow for the mousepad, the friction of the surface was also an important consideration. Because our surfaces are huge and primarily designed for people using their gaming mice on low-DPI, we wanted to have a surface that was slick enough where the wear down on your mice’s feet would be minimal. We also wanted the surface to be comfortable enough when gliding your hand (wrist) along the surface.

Ultimately, we engineered a unique surface on our mousepads (and wrist rests!) that satisfied all the requirements above – providing you an enhanced and comfortable gaming experience.

THE BASE

The skeleton of a mouse pad, and often the most overlooked component. The base can make or break a mousepad, and is often the difference between good and great mousepads. The base comes in several thicknesses, and this can play a significant role in your gaming experience:

• Slim base (2mm) - ideal for those that prefer a more solid feel. Similar to using a plastic/hard surface mousepad, but with more comfort.
• Heavy base (5mm) - ideal for those that prefer a more comfortable feel. The surface is much softer and comfortable. In addition, the added thickness is ideal for LAN parties/tournaments, as you are not sure what kind of surface you'll be playing on. The added thickness helps negate any uneven surfaces the mousepad would be on, giving you the flattest surface possible.
• Standard base (3mm) - the best of slim and heavy. It’s not too thin, but not too thick either, providing a happy medium. We use this base for most of our mousepads.

THE EDGE

You have the surface and the base. Both these pieces are usually secured by an adhesive. But overtime, you have probably seen that it will always begin to fray as the surface and base begin to detach. This is often the case with cheap-quality mousepads.

To solve this issue, we decided to provide a thick stitched frame around the perimeter of the mousepad, securing the seams between the surface and the base. This anti-fraying frame greatly increases the lifespan and aesthetics of your mousepad, and survives the test of time with your game sessions. As a further benefit, this also allows you to wash your mousepad with ease. The construction is strong enough to survive machine washes (with a dash of soap), making your surface look brand new (just remember to air dry only).

RISE OF THE BEST EXTENDED MOUSE PAD

Typically, when you think of a mousepad, you think of a small square dude that is for your mouse only. However, extended mousepads have become increasingly popular over the years, as they not only provide you massive room for your mouse, but they also support your gaming keyboard. Most gamers today use mechanical keyboards as their preferred gaming gear. By placing your mechanical keyboard on a Glorious extended mousepad, the overall typing experience is significantly increased.

On a mechanical keyboard, the surface material of your desk can vastly change your typing experience (i.e. typing on a glass desk is very different compared to typing on a real, wood desk). Our Glorious extended mousepad can absorb vibrations produced from striking keys on a mechanical keyboard and ultimately provide a more “solid” and “anchored” feeling when using your mechanical board. The extended pad’s surface also provides added grip and helps in preventing your keyboard from moving around.

These are the main reasons extended mousepads have become so popular – they are a no-brainer product for every hardcore gamer. AND they look badass; Just take a look at our gallery page for inspirational PC setups from our customers.