Widescreen Gaming Forum

I am a Counter-Strike: Source gamer and am a member of a Swedish clan who plays tournaments and ranked matches. To perform well you need more than high fps and in-game knowledge. Without proper gaming gear you won't be able to utilize your skill to it's maximum potential. I am always looking for new gaming gear to help me perform at my best. I got the pleasure of testing a a couple of widescreen mouse pads, and the Mouse Grips from our sponsor X-Trac Pads. Note: Throughout the review, I used my Logitech MX518 (optical) mouse.

X-Trac Hybrid Mousepad

The XTracPads Hybrid mouse pad may look like a regular cloth mouse pad, but in fact, is far from it. The surface is made from a combination of cloth and plastic, hence the name Hybrid. The main feature of this mouse pad is its size, which purposely targets gamers with low mouse sensitivity preferences. In addition, it suits widescreen gamers very well, as we have more screen space to cover.

I've seen my fair share of manufacturers trying to create a mouse pad like this and I must say that this is definitely the best I have come across in this area. I prefer using a widescreen mouse pad because I use a very low mouse sensitivity setting. For example, I don't even turn 360 degrees when I move my mouse from the left to the right on this baby so the Hybrid’s wideness is a must for me.

Along with my low sensitivity settings, I also do a lot of fast movements and the mouse pad responds excellent when doing this as well as doing very precise movements. After some intensive testing, I haven't noticed the mouse doing any "jumps" on the mouse pad. I play FPS games mostly, so the mouse pad’s height isn't that important to me, but I do think they could have added approximately 1/8" on to the height. XtracPads's Sure Grip rubber backing definetiely stops the mouse pad from moving around on the desk when moving your mouse. I have a low friction desk and the mouse pad never once changed position, no matter how much pressure I used on it when I moved the mouse across it.

Right now, I'm sitting with the Corepad Magna, QPad XXL and the Hybrid on the desk and when comparing them, the Hybrid comes out as the winner. It has the size I want when compared to the Magna and has greater response and precision when compared to the QPad XXL. Also, it doesn't wear out as fast as regular cloth mouse pads do.

I tried my Razer Copperhead (laser) on the Hybrid but they just wouldn't match up. Even though it responded with slow movements it was still not acceptable in the desktop. I move my mouse fast enough to notice it there too. I tried using the latest driver and firmware, but it didn't help. This was a real bummer to me, because I really like my Razor Copperhead but luckily, I'm still OK using my MX518 instead, on this excellent mouse pad. I know there are issues using laser on many of these kinds of pads. The laser mouse didn't work on my QPad XXL either, so I ended up using it on the Corepad Magna. Unfortunately, that pad is a bit too small for my taste. The X-Trac site does list it as compatible, but I couldn't get the pair to work properly.

Pros & Cons

• Pros: Excellent precision and response. Smooth surface (even better with the included Mad Dotz). Works with both optical and laser mice. The size.
• Cons: Doesn't work with my Razor Copperhead. The edges get worn out pretty fast. Height is a bit low - I went out of bounds a couple of times.

Conclusions

The Hybrid is an excellent mousepad when it comes to optical mice. It simply kicks ass. The precision and response are excellent. Wide mousepads is a must for me and this is the best I have come across so i'm sticking with the Hybrid and my MX518. If you have a decent optical mouse the Hybrid will increase your precision. Some might think it is a bit pricey but you get what you pay for, a high quality mousepad.