Steelpad is a name that is well known in the gaming scene, creator of all kinds of surfaces and gaming accessories. For this review I’ll be checking out the Steelpad S&S gaming surface and the following accessories; Steel Cord Holder, Steel Grip, and the Steel Gaming Glove. I’ve have used countless mouse pads, some great and some that were really bad. I’ve seen a lot of Steelpads at LAN parties and my best friend happens to owns a 4D, however I have never tried one. Out of all the pads I’ve used I stuck with the RatPadz one, lets see if the S&S pad can hold up and becomes my new favorite.
The packaging is simple like all of Steel’s products no über graphics and shiny logo’s just a cardboard box simple as it’s supposed to be.
This is the first mousepad I’ve ever seen that comes with its own protective covering, great for all those diehard LAN gamers. A nasty scratch on your pad is the worst nightmare of any gamer, with this its just unzip and frag. On the back of the cover is a separate pocket which can easily hold your mouse or a whole lot of other stuff, think of the possibilities. You can carry your peanuts and battery’s together with your mousepad.
Included are some “all around pad surfers” there like new shoes for your mouse to go along with the suit you just bought. I tried them but I wasn’t too thrilled with it, it made a scraping sound on the S&S pad. These particular pads didn’t really fit my Logitech MX900, for al you MX users Steelpad does sell “pad surfers” for the Logitech MX series. Well I still had some teflon pads from Steelpad so that went on it straight away, now it’s much smoother.
Pad Surfers on the left, Teflon Skates on the right
After removing a protective film from the backside of the S&S mousepad I found that it was covered in what looked to be silicone. This prevents the pad from ever slipping from your desk. I prefer this kind of anti slip to another method; most pads use little rubber feet’s only attached to the pad with a sticking backside. I knocked some of these feet off my RatPadz while attending a LAN Party so this is a big plus.
A caliper was used to measure the thickness of the mousepads for comparison. As you can see the RatPad is considerably thicker which can cause wrist fatigue with a lot of use. The Steelpad is much thinner which eliminates the need for a wrist rest and does not cause any fatigue. The S&S Pad is only 2mm thick, while the RatPadz is elevated 6.5mm, this raised surface isn’t really RSI (Repetitive Strain Injuries) friendly, but the S&S lies flat on my desk.
Measuring in at 270mm in length and is 320mm in width, the S&S Pad is nice and large but not to big to be of any problem. I have used the S&S Pad for over a week now, and I didn’t have any pain in my wrist after prolonged sessions, something I did have with the RatPadz unless I used a wrist support.
As you can see the S&S Pad has a denser grit of dimples and bumps, while the RatPadz has a wider grit with deeper valley’s. However the RatPadz is smoother to the feel, the mouse slides over it like ice, while the S&S is a bit less slick. However I’ve gotten used to it and I like it better now.
Well I have used the pad for about 2 weeks now and need to tell you guys that that RatPadz is now used by my little sister, I’m sticking with this one. The Steelpad S&S is great value for money and one of the better gaming surfaces you can buy. I leave you with some late night sessions of Counter Strike Source.
The cold holder is what it’s called, most gamers have been there; your fragging like there is no tomorrow and you accidentally let go of your mouse from the weight of your cable it slides of your mousepad, BOOM Headshot, your dead al because of that darn cable! At this time your likely to throw a round some hardware or bashing your keyboard.
Time to fight back, well that’s where this little device is for, basically it’s a piece of solid steel machined to something useful and weighs about 200 gram’s. Using this product is real simple, just unscrew the thumbscrew a bit, lay down the cable, and tighten it. Well that’s it, I took a photo of an older mouse with the cord holder to show you how its used. Overall a great product however I think it’s just a bit expensive setting you back about $16.50
The mouse grips are made of a foam material with a sticky backside, you are able to cut it to size any size you like and feels nice to the touch. I added the foam to my Logitech MX900 mouse and it did make a difference. The only problem I had was using the largest piece on my mouse which made is so I couldn’t put it back in the cradle to recharge. So I had to take it off, a shame because it really did enhance the grip.
I’ve been using it for about 2 weeks now and none of the edges came lose so that’s great and yes I do use my mouse intensively. So it’s a great product and I would recommend it to anyone who’s into gaming it really works.
Well what can I say, It’s a glove, and why not? Golf players have gloves why shouldn’t gamers? The glove has a huge Velcro locking strip so you can pull it tight on your wrist. But when trying it on it was a whole different experience.
Although the glove fit well, it had a nasty seam at the pinky finger causing discomfort. It does give you great wrist support, however it doesn’t do what the package says, which is a better more grip. It was the opposite of that and I lost my grip and the mouse would just slip away under my hands. Aside from that I think its too expensive since it’s the same price as the Cord Holder.
I think that Steelpad needs to put a little more research into this product. I would suggest adding some rubber to the palm of the glove and make sure no seams are in the fingers. It could be a good product but simply put, it isn’t. or at least it isn’t at this point.
Conclusion
The SteelPad S&S is Great for gaming giving a nice and large area to swing your mouse at. The carrying/protection bag also is a big plus to prevent damage to the mousepad. I wasn’t to thrilled about some of the accessories and in my opinion they want to have as many gaming accessories as possible at the cost of quality. However I was so thrilled with the S&S Pad that I’m still rewarding it with the OCModshop Seal of Approval, rating it a 9 out of 10. As for the accessories I am going to give them all a 6.5 out of 10. I would like to thank Steelpad for making this review possible.
Pros
- Great gaming surface
- Carrying bag
- Pad Surfers included
- Steelpad is very large
- Steelpad is only 2mm thick
Cons
- Accessories are expensive and could be improved