ZOWIE G-TF Mousepad (Speed Version) Review

While mousepads might not be the first thing you think of when we start talking about computer accessories there are lots of gamers out there who can't live without their gaming mousepad. Technology has moved on such that the mousepad is not essential for a mouse to operate, in fact most new mice do work on all surfaces that you are likely to use. This might be the case, but you will find that on some surfaces the mouse sticks, or it doesn't track properly as the surface is not perfectly uniform, this leads to lots of problems. Games love every advantage they can get. The need the precise DPI that works best for their mouse and demand the fastest response times. Mousepads have been designed to make mice move across them with improved control while moving faster. This helps aid reaction times in games and could even help you out in more everday applications like Photoshop where high-sensitivity is needed. The mousepad we're looking at today is from ZOWIE who you may not have heard of until very recently when we looked at their gaming mouse, though they are certainly hoping to change this in a big way. Their products could currently be classed as a bit more up-market compared to others as they are concentrating on design, performance and build quality. That said, they have no choice but to give you good value for money, so we already expect quite a lot from their products. Features: The speed edition of the popular G-TF faster than ever Newly designed rubber base for increased stability Liquid resistant surface allows for easy maintenance Triple-stitched edges preventing fray and increases the lifetime of the pad Rolled edges for added comfort while playing 100% compatible with all types of mice Perfectly oversized for gamers & designers: 440 x 320 x 2 mm / 17.3 x 12.6 x 0.08 inch PackagingFrom the front of the product we have a small glimpse at the mousepad material through a transparent window, but frankly all you can see is its black. The rest of the box shows us that this is the G-TF Speed Version. From the left hand side of the box we see the features in 4 languages. From the bottom of the product we see the features in 3 other languages and that its made in Taiwan. From the final side we see just the G-TF and ZOWIE logo's. A Closer LookAs it is a mousepad there is not really much to see. Here is the mousepad from the top. The back of the mousepad has a plastic rubberised coating and is very reflective. It sticks to a desk fairly easily. The mousepad itself is a good 4mm thick which gives it a comfortable and durable feel. You can see how closely woven the material is which helps to make it waterproof. This snapshot tries to show you some of the stitching which makes this mousepad so durable. PerformanceWhile it is hard to quantify the performance of a mousepad, we will at least give you our opinions and impressions on various aspects of the mousepad. Firstly, due to it being 2mm thick it feels very durable, it can easily be rolled up and you know it will not deteriorate. This is also partly due to the stitching on the sides which is triple-stitched and so you know it will never fray. The mousepad is also waterproof which while this shouldn't really be needed does add to the lifetime and durability of this mouse. While not essential it does make it superbly easy to clean and manage. Moving to the performance itself, I was using the ZOWIE MiCO for most of the testing which proves to be a supreme combination and it is impressively fast. I believe the speed of this mousepad can't be matched by any other cloth mousepad on the market. The ZOWIE mouse glides over this mousepad as smoothly and as effortlessly as possible, however I did find while testing this mousepad with an older style optical mouse that is not designed for this mousepad it did make the mouse harder to control as it either slid easily or hardly moved. Clearly the MiCO's feet balance the mosuepad perfectly. During gameplay the tracking and smoothness could really give you some improvements to your general performance. During office type use we found the mousepad to be really comfortable, and it does work well as a wrist support as it is much more comfortable than a desk. The precision that can be achieved with this mousepad greatly improves the general everyday tasks and especially in Photoshop where sensitivity is key. The mousepad is also whisper quiet and certainly no extra noise is generated. The size of the mousepad while being large does seem to be about right for most uses although you will never use the full area you certainly don't want to be falling off the edge! Final ThoughtsWhile we always gladly take a look at anything that will improve your gameplay and general comfort while using the computer, it is just a mousepad after all and in some cases isn't really necessary. That said, the build quality is very impressive and it feels very nice to use. The performance is also certainly there in bundles. While some of you may see this as a large unnecessary product it does give lots of improvements and if you are a gamer who really does want to be one of the best then this is one of those products that coupled with the perfect mouse could well give you a big advantage over your competition. For that reason this could be quite a good purchase, if you are willing to spend quite a bit of money on a mousepad, especially if you couple it with a ZOWIE mouse. While this product is fairly expensive and does have a few faults as such we can't really knock it as it does what its meant to very well and we are certain that lots of gamers out there would love to get their hands on one of these. Pros: Extremely fast mousepad Waterproof so easy to clean Ultra durable Fairly large Mouse glides silently Cons: Takes up a lot of desk space Doesn't work too well with cheap mice Is not cheap Attached files DSCF1687.jpg (52 KB) DSCF1688.jpg (69.8 KB) DSCF1690.jpg (46 KB) DSCF1691.jpg (43.3 KB) DSCF1704.jpg (124.8 KB) DSCF1706.jpg (74.5 KB) DSCF1706A.jpg (52 KB) DSCF1706A.jpg (42.3 KB) DSCF1723.jpg (118.4 KB) DSCF1725.jpg (49.9 KB) gold.jpg (14 KB) G_TF_4c988018ebfac.jpg (14.6 KB) zowielogo.jpg (13.7 KB)