If you attend a lot of LAN parties, then you no doubt have seen all of the “professional-grade” mousepads. Products from Razer and SteelSeries are common at these gatherings, where bragging rights are only as good as your equipment. More companies are getting in on this action, offering new products to keep the gamer in your satisfied. Nova is a new company offering several different gaming-grade mousepads, and we are reviewing their Master mousing surface, which boasts an accuracy of 8000dpi.
Product Details
For the low-sense gamers and all the lovers of wide surfaces, NOVA created the MASTER. This high-end product was designed, using the unique NOVA technology of bi-material surfaces. The MASTER offers a matchless glide. Also, thanks to its original design and well-made shape, the MASTER guarantees an ideal comfort for your arm.
Thanks to its 6mm thickness, you will be able to play on any surfaces given with a huge comfort boost. Besides the expected accuracy and perfection of our product, the MASTER also offers a rigid material.
Specifications:
- Wide surface – It’s the largest NOVA mouse pad. It mostly aims the “low-sense” gamers and will allow you to have large moves without going out of the mouse pad.
- 0 Mouse lag – Optical or Laser, your mouse will suffer NO loss of control on any NOVA mouse pad at 8000 Dpi. This is one of our biggest commitment.
- Glide – Perfect compromise for the ultimate sensitivity and response time. The friction is decreased by our unique material made of micro-pyramids of 0.04mm.
- Design – Trendy and high-tech, the Nova Master will satisfy any gamers with its awesome look. The mousepad is available with a grey or blue external material. The printed visual cannot be spoiled as it is added in between the mouse pad materials.
- Comfortable and robust – The front border is beveled (45°) to make sure there is no pain or tiredness while playing. That ensures a perfect comfort in any position. Non-slip base sticks to any desk surface thanks to micro-cellular foam layer.
- 2 years guaranteed !
- Size : 380 x 237 mm
- Width : 6 mm
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.
The pad performed very well with a variety of laser and optical mice from Microsoft, Razer, Logitech, and SteelSeries. The combination of slickness and texture allows for quick movement when you need it, but also feels comfortible for precision work. In actuality, it performs just as well as any other pro-gamer mousepad. What will make you buy it is a matter of preferance.
Since the pad has three layers, it is slightly thicker than the Razer Destructor, and grips your desk like nothing else. It is also very comfortable, having a good rubber layer and rounded edge. The top layer of plastic does tend to make your hand sweat a bit, however.
Pro gamer mousepads are never cheap, and the Nova Master is on the high end of this spectrum at $40. At this price I would expect some extras, like a protective carying case that both the Razer Destructor (reviewed here) and Steelseries SP (reviewed here) have.
Many gamers usually only use a portion of their mousepad, keeping their mouse close to the keyboard. For the average user, the extra-wide shape will be a waste. Gamers that like to use large sweeping movements with their arm (rather than small movements with the wrist) will totally fall in love with the Nova Master’s generous wide length.
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