I’m not a fan of mousepads but the ones I have used have always been cloth and they’ve always held up for years, worked best with mechanical mice. I’ve since stopped using a mousepad with since I use a laser-based mouse. I do miss the padding on my desk. The Zowie Gear Mousepad presents itself as a cloth mousepad that has caught up with the times. It’s waterproof, durable, large in size, and will present the familar feel of cloth and the missed padding on my desk once again.
The Zowie comes wrapped as a tight cylinder inside a cardboard box. I am noticing a reduction in packaging (think “Green”). I had the mousepad out and on my desk in thirty seconds, and did not have to resort to a razor blade to do so. The mousepad was wrapped so tight that it kept its curled shape after I slapped it down on my desk, but disappeared after a minute of lying flat as I photographed it.
The material is decidedly cloth-like, but not quite what I remember from a few years ago. I guess Times have changed, and Zowie used interesting new materials in its product. The surface is a best described as a woven nylon, but its not nylon. It’s quite large, and sits on an eighth-inch bed of foam. This is not a mousepad that will lay flush with your desk, which reminded me of traditional cloth mousepads. The underside is a rubber. I found it to grip my desk exceptionally well and did not move once placed.
It’s a larger mousepad at 13 3/8 inches by 11 3/8 inches. Zowie offers other models are 9.8 by 8.5 inches. I thought it provided ample room for everyday use, but different sizes are available to suit personal usage patterns.
I have been using the mousepad for a few weeks under general computing and gaming. I use a Logitech laser mouse and have yet to experienced any tracking problems. I tried a mechanical mouse (an original Microsoft IntelliMouse) and found it worked great. Its great to place both your stick and mouse on and have a nice non-movable surface. My stick finally does not slide when making quick movements.
The surface is not a particularly “fast” one, but this could be expected from a cloth-like material. If you are looking for sheet of ice this is not the solution.
The pad is touted as being almost indestructible, being able to withstand waterlogging, being twisted and retaining its shape, and being able to resist sweat. The latter point is a problem for some users whose wrists sweat and mess up their mousepad’s appearance. I cannot personally comment on the sweating issue. I spilling water on it, and it refused to absorb a drop. The surface is so tightly woven that I could leave water droplets on the pad for 5-10 minutes before noticing any absorption. I twisted the mousepad into a figure-eight and tied it in place overnight, also placed a heavy book on it over night, only to have it spring back the next morning.
I enjoyed this product immensely that I wanted to write about it, and will continue to use it at my desk. I was thoroughly impressed with the durability of the material, and am glad to have some cloth under my wrist again.
Advantages
- Cloth!
- Durability
- Tracking
- Non-slip base
- Simple style / appearance
- Variety of sizes available
Disadvantages
