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Friday August 18, 2006
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 The SteelPad Qck heavy, from gaming equipment company Steel Series, is an extra-big, extra-thick mouse pad that's perfect for professional gamers: It measures 17.7 by 15.7 inches, which gives you more than enough surface area to play with. The pad, made from cloth covering a think layer of rubber with non-slip material on the bottom, is dense enough to make up for uneven surfaces.
Plenty of desktop space is a must if you want to take full advantage of the Qck heavy. On my desk, the Qck Heavy covers up an annoying divot that has made using a mouse awkward; the pad smoothes it out nicely. The surface gives your mouse movements a silky feel, with just enough friction that you're not gliding all over the place. The one negative I noticed was the smell. If you leave your body in contact with pad long enough, your skin starts giving off a funky synthetic odor. But hey, a stinky arm and wrist aren't too bad a cost to pay for a quality piece of gaming equipment that can smooth out less-than-optimum desktop terrain. The SteelPad Qck heavy goes for $29.95 at Steel Series' site. Thanks to our intern Errol Pierre-Louis for this post!
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August 19, 2006 2:45 PM
I'm actually in the market to replace my poor, worn out Ratzpad GS! The problem here with gaming mousepads and such is that they tend to be so so expensive, even for a mouspad. This one looks like a step in the right direction though-I was considering the fUNCpad and the Icepad, and both of those can easily sell street for 40-50 USD, which is just a little much for that gaming "edge," in my opinion. I don't mind blowing cash to deck out the innards of my computer, but the mousepad? Still, this looks like a nice compromise. It's only 30 bucks, it's nice and large, and compared to the smaller Ratzpad GS (only 10 USD) it just might be an improvement. I love the stinky arm comment, that's awesome. :) A question or two though-since its made from cloth, is the material smooth, almost nylon-like on the top? And is the cloth taut enough across the top that it's not going to wind up getting air under it and making funny cloth ridges when you move your mouse side to side?
August 20, 2006 12:15 PM
I've had a change to use the stealpad qck heavy for about a month now since my brother brought one home from china and its great. The funky arm smell thing is true and was pretty funny.
August 21, 2006 11:40 AM
Hey guys, thanks for your input. Phoenix, to answer your question the pad's taut and durable. The material is very smooth and nylon-like. I doubt it would ruffle at all. I've had that same problem with other cloth pads, but the qck heavy's cloth is thicker and sewn into pad a lot better than most. You'd have to actually slice into it for it to bunch up or ruffle and even then it would be tough. And yea, the arm smell is pretty odd. But just keep some cologne handy to spritz your wrist and you'll be fine ;)
August 22, 2006 6:55 PM
Thanks for the feedback, Errol! I just might have to pick one of these up! My poor ratzpad is not only smooth in some places, it's starting to collect a little dust and dirt, which can't be any worse than the funny arm smell. ;)