I recently purchased this pad and I must say it shocked me. First of all it's pretty big which is a major plus on it's side and my mouse glides effortlessly, sometimes it feels like it's gliding on air. The pad is so amazingly thin you can tuck the edges under things without any problems and the non slip bottom keeps it in place at all times, even under heavy gaming. WOW!PAD LFR48 11.5" x 12.5" Graphite Large Format Mouse Pad
Since I found the Wowpad, I haven't used any other kind- I bought them for both my home and work computers. Some have said they slide on the desk; if mine starts to, I just wash the back surface. If there's any grunge stuck to it, a little dish detergent and water brings it back to life. It should have a slightly tacky feel, not sticky- just enough to stay put. My pad at home is wearing out on the top surface after 2.5 years, so I'm getting a new one. I've gone through several different mice, but I've always stayed with this pad. Both Logitech and Microsoft optical and laser mice all work great on it. It helps to clean the crud off the teflon mice feet, if you start seeing little spots on the pad it's time to clean. If the mouse feels like it's gliding you're fine; any resistance means the mouse feet probably have gunk on them. It's truly amazing how this pad lets the mouse glide smoothly and effortlessly. I recently upgraded to two 24" wide monitors; the pad is still large enough that the mouse doesn't "fall off" the edges. Highly recommended, I won't buy any other kind of mouse pad.
I am giving this mouse pad a 5/5 because it is a reasonable price and I have finally found something that works with my laser mouse that I like. This is my third try! 1st mouse pad the laser mouse wouldn't track correctly on. 2nd mouse pad the mouse tracked fine on it, but the gaming surface had an adhesive backing that was drying out and made crinkling noise. This mouse pad did have a chemical smell when I first opened it, but it went away in a day or two. This mouse pad is large, and my laser mouse tracks great on it. Not really a pad though - more of a gaming surface - very thin and hard with no `pad' whatsoever. Just what I wanted. :)
It is always interesting when product designers take a simple item and make it unexpectedly better. That is exactly what the creators of Wowpad have done. They have modified a simple mouse pad, originally designed to support a rolling sphere, to facilitate laser or LED mouse operation. In this role, it does an excellent job. With precise control and a large area, the Wowpad can't be beat.
Pros
Thin
Smooth operation
Cons
The tacky backing picks attracts debris
Ok yes it's big, yes it functions, BUT for the money you'd think it would at least stay in one place. I was expecting a Mouse pad with the soft foam backing but this is essentially a large piece of firm, thin plastic... and it slides all over the place. I taped mine down.
I've bought numerous brands of essentially this same product in slightly varying sizes (HandStands, 3M, etc.) and I can't say I dislike this one in comparison, however mine does "glide" across the desk as I surf. I'm a meticulous "neat freak" so before I even set it down for the first time I throughly wiped the desk using Pledge Multi Surface Wipes. In case you're wondering, the desk is executive-style with a completely smooth/sealed laquer finish -- it might as well be glass -- so it's not a question of poor adhesion. In any case, the conditions were ideal and I was committed to a permanent installation. Unfortunately, my pad began "meandering" right away. From previous experience I knew to try refreshing the underside stickiness with warm water and it seemed to breathe life into my WOW!PAD. The tackiness seemed to dissipate as the pad cooled down, quickly reverting to its original state.
If you can live with a bit of rodeo clown action in your day then it's not going to be a dealbreaker, but there are less "maverick" options which don't require cattle dogs to keep in line. For example: I purchased a 3M Precise Optical Mousing Surface (MP200PS) in the same order as my WOW!PAD and it hasn't flinched in any direction whatsoever. The tradeoff, sadly, means going from a six-lane highway to a truck stop parking lot.
In my years of searching I have yet to find a large, thin, quality mouse pad at a price any normal person might deem reasonable. You're either relegated to absurdly small "standard" dimensions or haggling with the easily-stained & fraying nature of oversized cloth pads -- the best of which IMHO has to be the HandStands Super Mouse Pad (17.5" x 13.5"). To sum it up, I really like the size & durability of my WOW!PAD ... I just wish it stuck as good as the other reviewers claim! I hope mine was simply a "dud" because I could then *easily* recommend this otherwise excellent product!!!
Pros: This mouse pad is so big that your mouse will never roll over the edge of it. It is very flat and thin, so that you may easily put the right edge of your keyboard on top of it. It is not what I would call a foam rubber mat at all. To my relief, there is absolutely no odor associated with this pad. The underside is slightly tacky, and while others have written that this pad slides around, I have not had that experience. It does not actually glue itself to the surface it is on, but it does not slide around, either. The top has a slight gridlike texture.
Cons: perhaps a bit more expensive than some of the other mousepads, and the design is quite boring, just black and dark gray. - Mousepads - Wowpad - Optical Mouse Pad - Gaming Mouse Pad'
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