Page 1: The Pad
<B>Intro</B>:
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Welcome to the second mousepad review at ASE Labs. Now, I'm not one to really get excited about a mouse pad... I mean, it is JUST a mousepad. Regardless, many people use an expensive, or exotic type of mousepad rather than the plain old cloth type. The Icemat is the other product from <a href="http://www.softtrading.info">Softtrading</a>, the company that also makes Steelpad. Can the Icemat succeed where the SteelPad failed? Yes, and that's pretty impressive coming from me.
<B>Packaging and Shipping</B>:
Using a pretty fast shipping method, the package arrived in like 3 days. That's pretty good coming from Denmark. What do you expect when you buy a mousepad like the Icemat? More.
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The box is green and white. The product itself is nicely packed inside. The shipping packaging was just wrapping, but the box survived the trip fine. You also get some teflon tape with the pad, but I didn't use it.
<B>The Pad</B>:
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The Icemat is basically glass, with a black bottom. The pad is EXTREMELY smooth. Just like the Steelpad, the Icemat may cause some optical mouse to screw up, but if you are using a good third gen type optical mouse, you should be fine. I had some problems with my wireless Elite mouse, but it worked fine with my MS Intelli ver 3.
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The bottom of the pad has six rubber feet. In actuality, the Icemat could have only needed four of them, it is quite heavy, and the rubber is not slippery at all. It never moved, and I have to pick it up to move it.
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Six of these guys, three on top, three on bottom. This shot also is good because it shows the layering of glass.
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The pad is just lower than a foot across, but it is larger than a standard size pad, but not overly large as to cause workspace problems (such as the SteelPad 4S).
<B>The Test</B>:
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I used the pad since I got it. There is no comparison to a normal cloth pad, the Icemat is better. Tracking is near perfect (nothing is perfect). When I played Warcraft 3, it was great. Insane comps are still insane though... Will this pad help your game to kill everyone? Not at all, but it does give you a better control over it. Unlike the Steelpad, the Icemat is glass and not metal. Water (sweat) off of your hands will not condense as fast as metal, but over time, it will. It isn't bad though, but you do notice it, and it clears up in a few seconds.
Friction is a problem for different type of materials. Friction causes weird movements, and a horrible noise. The Icemat does not sound at all bad when using a normal mouse with no teflon tape. With the teflon tape, it is near in audible, but I don't use the tape due to the increase in height.
Cleaning the pad is pretty simple, use any glass cleaner... it is glass after all. I really can't comment on the durability of the pad due to me not wanting to drop it and break it. Suffice to say if you do drop something on it, or it drops, you'll probably have some broken glass on your hands.
<B>Conclusion</B>:
The Icemat is great, but spending $39 on a mousepad is pretty ridiculous. Seriously, this would be a good gift item, but as a personal pad... Well, if you have the money to blow, go ahead and buy it. If you do get it, you'll love it. There are two colors to choose from, and I'm not sure if each of the colors have different tracking properties. My recommendation? Buy it if you have the money.<br/>
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I'd like to thank <a href="http://www.softtrading.info">Softtrading</a> for sending me this mousepad for review. Let us know what you think in the <a href="/forums/">forums</a>.
<center>
</center>Welcome to the second mousepad review at ASE Labs. Now, I'm not one to really get excited about a mouse pad... I mean, it is JUST a mousepad. Regardless, many people use an expensive, or exotic type of mousepad rather than the plain old cloth type. The Icemat is the other product from <a href="http://www.softtrading.info">Softtrading</a>, the company that also makes Steelpad. Can the Icemat succeed where the SteelPad failed? Yes, and that's pretty impressive coming from me.
<B>Packaging and Shipping</B>:
Using a pretty fast shipping method, the package arrived in like 3 days. That's pretty good coming from Denmark. What do you expect when you buy a mousepad like the Icemat? More.
<center>
</center>The box is green and white. The product itself is nicely packed inside. The shipping packaging was just wrapping, but the box survived the trip fine. You also get some teflon tape with the pad, but I didn't use it.
<B>The Pad</B>:
<center>
</center>The Icemat is basically glass, with a black bottom. The pad is EXTREMELY smooth. Just like the Steelpad, the Icemat may cause some optical mouse to screw up, but if you are using a good third gen type optical mouse, you should be fine. I had some problems with my wireless Elite mouse, but it worked fine with my MS Intelli ver 3.
<center>
</center>The bottom of the pad has six rubber feet. In actuality, the Icemat could have only needed four of them, it is quite heavy, and the rubber is not slippery at all. It never moved, and I have to pick it up to move it.
<center>
</center>Six of these guys, three on top, three on bottom. This shot also is good because it shows the layering of glass.
<center>
</center>The pad is just lower than a foot across, but it is larger than a standard size pad, but not overly large as to cause workspace problems (such as the SteelPad 4S).
<B>The Test</B>:
<center>
</center>I used the pad since I got it. There is no comparison to a normal cloth pad, the Icemat is better. Tracking is near perfect (nothing is perfect). When I played Warcraft 3, it was great. Insane comps are still insane though... Will this pad help your game to kill everyone? Not at all, but it does give you a better control over it. Unlike the Steelpad, the Icemat is glass and not metal. Water (sweat) off of your hands will not condense as fast as metal, but over time, it will. It isn't bad though, but you do notice it, and it clears up in a few seconds.
Friction is a problem for different type of materials. Friction causes weird movements, and a horrible noise. The Icemat does not sound at all bad when using a normal mouse with no teflon tape. With the teflon tape, it is near in audible, but I don't use the tape due to the increase in height.
Cleaning the pad is pretty simple, use any glass cleaner... it is glass after all. I really can't comment on the durability of the pad due to me not wanting to drop it and break it. Suffice to say if you do drop something on it, or it drops, you'll probably have some broken glass on your hands.
<B>Conclusion</B>:
The Icemat is great, but spending $39 on a mousepad is pretty ridiculous. Seriously, this would be a good gift item, but as a personal pad... Well, if you have the money to blow, go ahead and buy it. If you do get it, you'll love it. There are two colors to choose from, and I'm not sure if each of the colors have different tracking properties. My recommendation? Buy it if you have the money.<br/>
<br/>
I'd like to thank <a href="http://www.softtrading.info">Softtrading</a> for sending me this mousepad for review. Let us know what you think in the <a href="/forums/">forums</a>.