The guys over at SteelPad have sent me the SteelPad QcK from their cloth based mousepad range to review.

To me the mousepad is just as important part of a players setup as their mouse and headset, the wrong type of mousepad can effect the way you control your mouse for them important frags.

The SteelPad QcK is a durable cloth mousepad created to be ideal for low sensitivity mouse settings with a specially designed non-slip rubber base. This is the smallest version of the QcK with dimensions of 12,6in x 11,2in (320mm x 285mm) and a thickness of 2mm which is still bigger than your average mousepad out there.

The first thing you notice with this version of the QcK is how thin the actual mat is, i come from using the DKT MegaMat for many years and the QcK feels much thinner, although once it is on your desk you cant really feel it. Im also very suprised at just how well the mat sticks to the surface of my desk, with it being so thin i was worried it may snag while moving the mouse but due to its rubber base it stays exactly where you place it.

The cloth has a very strange feel to it, although its not a rough surface your hand does not feel as if it gliding over the pad itself, although maybe i just need some new mouse-skates

One thing i noticed straight away about the mousepad was the fact that the front face of the mousepad easily collect dust and after a small bit of usage was quick messy, although a quick wipe down gets rid of this.

As for the actual usage of the mousepad in game, it worked very well with my Explorer 3.0 i had no skipping issuse what so all - but due to the small size of the mat i couldnt really use my standard low mouse sense and had to up it slightly.

I did find that the QcK seemed to have a issuse with my standard Microsoft Optical mouse though, any form of quick movement would cause some quite major confusion with the mouse and i would be looking into the sky in no time, i belive this will more than likely be down to the MS Optical having a weaker lazer - but still this is quite a issuse for a pad that is supose to work on all types of mice.

Conclusion:
Apart from the slight issuse i found with my MS Optical mouse the SteelPad QcK mousepad is a great little pad - and i do stress little i think most players would prefer the QcK+ or QcK heavy versions of this mat as it just too small for my likings.

Pros
- Nice packaged and design
- Once placed down, does not move without force
- Good tracking on the Explorer 3.0

Cons
- Too small for most gamers
- A bit too thin for my liking
- Tracking seemed dodgy with my standard MS Optical mouse

Final Score 7/10

I think this mousepad would be ideal for any players that have not yet bought a gaming mousepad, it would most deffiently improve your control of the mouse and see you rack up them extra frags.

I do infact like the QcK range, but this is more of a entry product i think most gamers would prefer the QcK+ or Heavy model