would always like to try new stuff, but first i need to know the prize, since i feel like in the recent years the companies really like to sell pads for like 200-500% of there actual value.

$40 mousepad. For fanboys hypnotized by buzzword marketing. Enough said.

Looks like a nice pad with the silicone base, and the smooth edges, but "less contact means less friction" isn't true, the weight from the mouse will just be more concentrated on the smaller contact areas, so it makes no difference. http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/frict3.html

I would worry that adding ridges could put more stress on the ridges, since they bear the weight of the entire mouse, instead of it being spread over the area of the mouse mat equally, which could shorten the effective life of the pad. In other words its like asking 10% of the mouse mat to take 100% of the wear.

Also I just think that if you make something ridged or dimpled, you definitely add friction, for example when the edge of the mouse feet sink into the pad, the ridges are there to rub against them.

So yeah, the whole ridged thing doesn't make sense to me, but maybe someone can enlighten me about it. I would like to know if there is a good argument for it.

I've heard of people saying the dimpled texture of the goliathus control is faster than the speed, but I've never tried the control. I've always wondered this and while what the link you provided says is true, it also provides an example about tires that makes me think of treaded tires vs racing slicks where the smaller surface area over the same even distribution obviously has less friction.

What you say about it wearing out faster and edge friction (depending on the mouse feet design) is probably true though.

Hm.

Can you guys recapitulate in a TLDR (but I read) version, simplified?

Btw in that link bst provided there is something I don't understand about the snow example, because in WRC the tires they use during snow stages are not wider (http://goo.gl/5qXgu7) they're saying wider = greater traction. But then again I'm not sure to even understand the concept of traction, because there is traction that people talk about in general, and I see a definition concerning engineering.

"Since there is no tread pattern, slick tire tread does not deform much under load. The reduced deformation allows the tire to be constructed of softer compounds without excessive overheating and blistering. The softer rubber gives greater adhesion to the road surface..." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racing_slick

So basically friction comes down to:

Surface roughness
Adhesion / stickiness
Deformation
Force / weight

All of which, less is better.

So the lowest friction mouse mat would be:
Smooth
Slick
Hard

And you would want a light mouse to use on it, and not press down on it too hard.

Thanks for that tire explanation.

I'm also wondering about icemats. I've never used one but aren't those textured glass instead of smooth? Maybe it changes the coefficient of friction by stopping adhesion.

I'm not sure, it could be there so the sensor can track? But I've never tried moving a mouse on a sheet of glass before, so could be something like that.

I think the main reason the control is faster is because its surface material is thicker, and so it doesn't deform so easily, like if you added another layer of material to a trampoline. Thats how it felt when I used it anyway. The speed mats have kind of stretchy thinner material so the feet dig in easier.

No cooller quote, useless

Should have called it sex instead of dex

artisan>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>anything steelseries will shit out

So have anyone tested this mousepad yet?

wondering as well... would like a durable but cloth like mousepad for my wmo 1.1a.

if it can last for a few years with the same feel out of the box im sold. ive bought a few QCKs over the years

It seems to be lasting for me, best durable surface I have used ever, however, the stupid non-slide bottom sucks, and it slides everywhere. Probably won't be a problem if you don't rest your wrist on it like I do, however I've had to try stick it to my table, to varying degrees of success.

Have been using one for months, best mousepad i have ever used.
Very smooth, doesn't show any signs of wear, easy to clean food/sauce spills off of and the i actually got a 5 dollar k-mart mouse on it to compare to a razer goliathus. On the razer pad it didn't read the surface properly, but worked really well on the dex, i'd say that's a good sign that it provides good tracking.

Also a nice looking pad, especially if u take a close look at the surface. Though this is a small pad so only use it if ur a high sens player.

Same, I have been using it for about a year now, and it really is fantastic, and great quality. HOWEVER, there is one major problem in that it doesn't stick to my table surface and slides everywhere, I've had to put double sided tape and rest the edge of my monitor on it to stop working. So frustrating considering the surface is so good and consistent.