Conclusions
I've
reviewed a ton of gaming mats. Everything from the Everglide
Giganta and The RatPadz
Mousing Surface to the Icemat
that was made from glass. What each of these products have accomplished is superior
gaming experience with varying degrees of success. My personal favorites are the
Giganta and RatPadz units and I have a personal preferance for the RatPadz unit
because of its larger cutout. That's the pad that I use everyday.
The
Everglide Gaming Mat does an excellent job of replacing a mouse pad. What it doesn't
do is a good job of replacing a solid pad like the Giganta or the RatPad. The
solid pads offer superior feel, especially the RatPadz unit due to its grainier
design. If you've ever used one of the solid plastic pads that I refer to then
you understand exactly what I am talking about. What
concerns me the most about the Gaming Mat is how easily it is damaged. Even if
it hadn't arrived dogeared I wonder how long it would be before one of these units
was damaged. The biggest market that I can imagine for this unit is the mobile
computer user who wants an easy to stow mat that offers better tracking and durability
than an ordinary mouse pad - albeit less than a solid plastic pad. Hopefully Everglide
will swap shipping these units over to a cardboard type of envelope rather than
the bubble wrap lined manilla one they currently use.
At
$10 it offers very good value but I found that pricing on the RatPadz unit is
now down to $12 at some vendors. Considering many mouse pads retail for $10 or
more at a commercial store it would be a wise investment to upgrade. The question
I think people should ask themselves is whether they want a more durable solid
pad or a pad that is somewhat stronger than a conventional pad with cool graphics
on it. Personally, I'll stick to the RatPadz unit on my main computer and the
Giganta on my second computer.
Victor
Oshiro January 17, 2002
