The first thing you notice about this pad is how wide it is… just over 9 inches! The pad is constructed from three physical layers. The bottom layer is black silicone, and feels rather sticky. The middle layer is a nice dense rubber foam, and the top layer is a flexible plastic. The pad’s edges are cut very cleanly, and one edge (the edge facing the user) is tapered so your arm doesn’t rest on the harsh edge.
The pad does not slide at all once it is placed on a flat surface. The grippy silicone does a tremendous job of staying in place, and no other mousepad I’ve tried has ever passed the “no-skid” test 100%. This will be a boon to gamers that have a crease in their desk or other physical defects that can compromise the grip of their mousepad.
The rubber foam is colored grey and very dense… which gives the pad a nice solid feel without being completely rigid. The top coat of the pad has an interesting texture, similar to the Steelseries mousepad (reviewed here). The top layer appears to be clear plastic with different graphics printed at different depths of the plastic. It is an interesting optical illusion… there appear to be shiny glass bits trapped within the plastic. The top texture feels a bit like fine sand, which provides a good compromise between an ultra-slick pad and an ultra-control pad.
The plastic top doesn’t really “breathe” so the base of my hand became moist with perspriation with extended use. The advantage of this is that the pad is impervious to liquids, and will certainly last a lifetime.
With a moderte flick, I can consistently throw the mouse about 5 inches (about half the length of the pad). Slicker mousepads would allow the mouse to fall off completely.
