The Competition

Before we set of with the “benchmark”, let’s throw some competition into the ring


Retail: ~€8

When I checked up on the cost of the Giganta from Everglide it seemed to have lost a lot of its initial launch price; I found it at online shops for as low as €5, while other version can be had for €10. This Giganta included here has been used for quite a while and wear can be seen (and felt) in the center. This has to be considered when looking at the final performance tests. The Giganta sits quite high and it took quite some time to get used to the elevated plateau on which your mouse rests. Once accustomed to it, the Razer Everglide provides a smooth ride, and is easy transportable due to it very hard and rigid plastic.


Retail: ~€5

I dug up one used old blue generic mouse pad for inclusion in this comparison, it’s quite soft, moving the mouse took some effort but was still doable. Gaming was out of the question though, not comparable to the Pro HS/Zoom and Everglide.


Up Close

Ripper

Smooth texture, but the small threads of the cloth are visible

Pro HS

No cloth here, the harder plastic of the Pro HS has a more defined texture

Zoom

Only at the edges of the hexagonal you can spot a texture, this very fine texture is present on the whole pad

Razer Giganta

Compared with the others, here you can clearly the texture which is defined by the hard plastic

Generic No-Name

Woven cloth, no special texture or design



The Performance Test

So on with the show, I took a large flat wooden panel and placed the no-name mouse pad on top, then I put my Logitech MX700 at one side and started to raise the panel until the mouse started sliding, at which point I fixed the panel in its place so it would remain at the same angle.

I then proceeded by placing each mouse pad with the MX700 on the panel and recording the events. In the movie attached below you can see which pad will make your mouse glide the best.


(right click -> save as.. advised)

So how did each one perform? Going from fast to slow:

1) X-Trac Zoom
2) X-Trac Pro HS & Everglide Giganta
4) Generic No-Name
5) X-Trac Ripper

The Ripper showed more resistance then the others and the MX700 actually needed a little push to get it moving.


Final Verdict

Let’s break things up into pointing out the things I liked and disliked:

X-Trac Ripper

PRO
Large surface
Easy to transport
Fairly priced

CON
Not for gamers
Does not exactly make your mouse fly over its surface


X-Trac Pro HS

PRO
Excellent accuracy
Easy to transport
Competitively priced

CON
None


X-Trac Zoom

PRO
Very very smooth
Very thin
Competitively priced

CON
Might be “too” smooth for some
Requires extra caution when transporting


X-Trac has an excellent line-up of mouse supporting products, anybody looking to upgrade their pointer accuracy will find the necessary ingredients to do so at their shop. The products tested today are of high quality and stood up well against the competition.

I’d like to thank Alan from Dex Systems for allowing us the possibility to evaluate their products.

Questions/Comments: Forum thread