For a long time now, I have been a self-proclaimed mouse and mouse pad snob. I am very meticulous about my mouse pad and use only the best. Recently I have been using the Razer Destructor because I favor hard mouse pads. These can often be easier to use if you rely on your mouse to play games at sites like http://www.partycasino.com/, in my opinion. However, there are a number of other high quality options and brands to choose from on the market at the moment.
Recently I encountered a company called QPAD that produces a variety of different mouse pads.  QPAD is a Swedish company that "built its success on a grassroots commitment to the gaming community. Like you, we thrive in the madness of competition and embrace the free spirit of gaming". Sounds like our type of people! They provided us with two mouse pads to review, today I will be talking about the QPAD XT-R. The XT-R is QPAD's op of the line model as of right now. I am going to review the quality to see if it meets my high standards.

Review Sample Provided by: QPAD

Review by: Wes

Pictures by: Wes

Specifications

Size: Large [35 x 26cm 13.7 x 10.2 inch]
Thickness: 4 mm
Color: Black
Surface: CarbytekTM Hard-top
Other: Including Q|Glidz and Q|Dome stickers. Delivered in a cool tinbox.

Packaging

Apparently, someone at QPAD knew how much I love interesting packaging because the XT-R came packed in a stylish metal tin.  Wrapped around the tin is a small piece of paper letting you know what is in the tin. On the back, they have included a quick product description in five different languages. I was happy to see that they acknowledge the importance of a good mouse pad for graphic designers and architects on top of the normal gamer crowd. The back also included a very small specifications list along with pictures of the main features of the mouse pad. Inside of the tin they carved out a perfect spot for the XT-R out of foam to keep it safe in shipping.

Performance

In order to test the XT-R properly I had to break out my collection of mice and just live with the mouse pad for about a week. I made sure to test the mouse pad with a few different laser and optical setups. To top it off I tested with a ball mouse just in case anyone is still running one (hey it happens). After a week of gaming and surfing the net, I honestly found that I could not even tell the difference from moving away from the Destructor. That in itself is the biggest complement I can give the QPAD about the XT-R. To be able to compare with the Destructor puts the XT-R in a class with only the best. None of the mice had any problems with tracking or gliding on the smooth "Carbytek" surface.

Overall

I was most impressed with the quality of the XT-R. Under the mouse pad you can see the groves that give it strength along with rubber feat to keep it firmly planted in even the most intense gaming sessions. The shape and size is perfect for most gaming styles giving you more room than most cloth mouse pads, without taking up more room than needed. The shape of the mouse pad also made it easy to use my gel wrist rest, although I would have liked to see QPAD produce one that fits with the mouse pad. Without a wrist rest the mouse pad's thickness may cause problems for some people (please keep in mind the thickness is not any different from some cloth pads, it just does not have the flexibility to be at comfortable if your arm is on it). In the end, this is the first mouse pad that has had the style and performance to draw me away from my tried and true Destructor, and because of that, I would recommend the XT-R to anyone looking for an improvement in their day-to-day pc experience.

Author Bio
garfi3ld
Author: garfi3ldWebsite: http://lanoc.org
Editor-in-chief
You might call him obsessed or just a hardcore geek. Wes's obsession with gaming hardware and gadgets isn't anything new, he could be found taking things apart even as a child. When not poking around in PC's he can be found playing League of Legends, Awesomenauts, or Civilization 5 or watching a wide variety of TV shows and Movies. A car guy at heart, the same things that draw him into tweaking cars apply when building good looking fast computers. If you are interested in writing for Wes here at LanOC you can reach out to him directly using our contact form.

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