SteelPad 5L Gaming Surface

Testing

For this part of the review I’m going to be using my trusty Logitech G5 laser mouse along with my favourite FPS game – Counter Strike:Source.

Steelpads + G5
Right off the bat, I could tell that the Steelpad 5L surface was designed for precision rather than speed. As the mat is made from cloth, it causes a fair bit of friction, meaning that the mouse will not slide around on the mat without your intervention. In fact, it was actually possible for me to tilt the mat up by around 20º before the mouse started to move.

As cloth isn’t exactly the hardest wearing of surfaces, SteelPad have sprayed the cloth with a plastic coating to increase its lifetime considerably. Already I have used the mat for around 1 month, and it appears to be lasting better than my previously used Ratpadz GS.

Counter Strike Result Counter Strike
In game, I found the mat assisted in the prevention of ‘over-shooting’ (where you move the mouse too far ahead of the target). This certainly helped my overall score as you can see above.
Steelpads 5L
The only slight problem I found with the mat was its height. Being quite a bit thicker than most mats and having a rather sharp edging, the mat regularly rubbed against my wrists. Use of this mat along with a gel wrist rest is certainly advisable.