SteelPad S&S Review
“The Tools are just as important as the talent”[mEm]D
SteelPad S&S is a hard plastic based mousepad (not steel) created for consistency and accuracy. Dimensions are ( 320 x 270 ) and a 2mm thickness
Firstly I think I should state I am a very stubborn person when it comes to gaming gear. I am not a fan of change. I use the Intellimouse 3.0 combined with the func matt 1030 surface, have done for years. When my cousin Mark ‘Phunky’ Harwood asked me to Review the SteelPad S&S I jumped at the chance, because I felt even though I have much love for ‘my’ Gaming setup, I am still be able to give a fair hearing for other products alike.
O.K lets start with the packaging and contents. The product comes in a folder type box which shows clear pictures of what you are buying and also states main features of the mouse matt
- improved surface, for higher accuracy
- compatible with all mice
Inside the packaging you will find your mousepad is in its own zip bag with 5 mouse skates, I assume these mouse skates work best with the mousepad… I only assume because my default Intellimouse skates are fine as they are.
The Pad itself
Ergonomics are great, no raised parts to snag on.
Aesthetically pleasing to my self, because it doesn’t look like something out of a p.diddy video (with all that jazz)….simplistic yet sleek, with the SteelPad logo on the bottom left.
The mousing surface is of a textured matte black finish, the placement surface looks interesting, shiny with what seems to be a sprayed on soft rubbery material, which must be the thing that makes it stick so well to my desk.
Time for the low-down
I have used this mousepad for a solid week now, and I must admit I am shocked.
First point I must make is that the placement side of the mousepad works very efficiently. Once placed down, it will not move unless you want to move it.
It took me less than 20 minutes to get used to it after using my func matt for so many years, reason being I guess is because it possesses similar qualities, although possibly a step up in mousing surface evolution.
At first I dissed the mousepad hard!! the textured finish takes a little getting used to outside of the game, basically because mouse movement will generate sound from the friction, which is also felt as well as heard, but the friction you feel is a consistent one so when you are in game, believe me it is most beneficial.
Flick and Lock shots are very easy to achieve on this mousepad….almost too easy!
I haven’t felt this amount of control over my mouse since I went to my funcmatt from a cheap clothed surface.
I am a wrist aimer/ arm pivoting player, for my style of play the S&S is damn good. What I also noticed is that the mousepad is very nice for stop/motion shots, what I mean by that is;
when you lock onto your enemy quick to get the first shot off, then to reposition the curser to their head.
The friction is consistent from the start of the mouse movement to the end.
I would have to say the size of this mousepad is far too big for what I can accommodate. I have limited desk space, so when in use my keyboard is pretty much falling off. Although I see the size as an overall downfall, I must give it its props, with it being the size it is, there is now no need for the pickup and centre mouse actions…basically you shouldn’t ever run out of space, unless you use a ridiculously low sensitivity.
Conclusion
An excellent product, I honestly believe SteelPad did their homework on this one. Every ambitious gamer out there will always be looking for ‘the edge’ something that sets them apart from the rest, could be team play, game sense, tactics or tools. As far as tools go the SteelPad S&S is a high quality tool to possess.
Pros
-high quality mousing surface
-large area
-comes with zip bag for protection of mouse surface
(Just found the zip bag has a place for mouse when travelling to events)
-mouse skates included
Cons
-large area
-the price, it costs around £20 which I think is a little steep.
-sound of mousing friction
Overall score 8.7/10
Would recommend to any aspiring professional gamer.
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Nice review D, I need a mousemat for lans and such now, this may do the job.
Interesting, I need a new mousemat.
cool. Thats one thing ive never bought - a mousemat, like danny i have used the same mousepad for years. But who knows maybe just maybe
when we at Lan try this mouse matt out, make your own decision.
I personally think its killa
I have been using this pad since release, it is brilliant, i love plastic mats. When i was in warning i was the only one not to use a razer exact mat everyone else used one
If you’d like a smaller similar mousemat try the steelpad 4d it is very similar but is double sided with a smoother side to. It is also smaller.
Nice review D, I agree with the right combo its good.. can be bad with wrong pads.
thnx guys, hope it was informative enough.
nice article, i have a steelpad 4d that i got at the start of the year, until then i’d always just used my desk, and it was gives a lot more precision it think, its a double sides surface, one rough side one smooth, i use the smooth side and over the year its become sort of totally flat in the places where i moved my mouse a lot - the centre and just belwo the centre - i’m not sure if it’s made it worse tho using its normal now.
terrible spelling there :/ rewrote the same thing like 3 times in diffrent ways and forgot to edit it right
think i might get this to replace my smashed icemat (one angry CSS moment in NA.
)
haha, bin there…i use to punch my monitor
ditto till i got a TFT ;p
Ive had the s&s for about a year now, very nice pad. Nice review D
chrz man, damn son…coulda told me about it a year ago!
Should have a review of the new SteelSound 5H V2 within the next week or so, these headphones look pure Evil!
http://www.steelseries.com/products/steel_sound/steelsound_5h_v2/information