Conclusion
Before testing out all of these mousepads, I thought the Supermat-like mousepad I had purchased from my local LAN center more than a year ago was a high quality mousing surface. After testing out all of these mousepads, I feel like stabbing myself in the eye for not purchasing one sooner. It is pretty undeniable that having a high quality surface to run your gaming mouse over not only increases the performance of the mouse, but also enhances the overall computing experience.

There are several things a gamer should look for in a mousepad, but the most important thing is that you find one that suits your needs. The ratings assigned in this experiment are purely the subjective opinion of just one gamer out of millions, results may vary from user to user. The only thing I can truly give a solid rating on are things like value and craftsmanship, but for the virtue of total comparison I have thrown together my top all-around choices.

For a gamers looking for a hard mouse surface, the Func sUrface 1030 Archetype is a dream come true. Providing the best combination of size, quantity, quality, and value, it is my top choice for a dual surface mousepad. For single surface mousepads, there is nothing better than the combination of a SteelPad S&S, and the S&S padsurfers. For gamers looking for a soft surface, there are lots of really nice choices. My personal favorite while testing these pads was the Func F-Series F30.R. It provides amazing tracking performance for a really reasonable price. Seeing as how it really isn't a true soft mousepad however, the Mantis – Control is probably the best choice for low sensitivity gamers who need lots and lots of low friction surface area to maneuver their mouse.

Remember how I said the most important thing is to find a setup that suits your needs? Well, I went beyond the standard configurations that I received, and I tested out some of the mousepads with the S&S padsurfers attached to my mouse. The results were pretty incredible, as the friction on almost every surface seemed to decrease, and the friction on the F-Series F30.R seemed to disappear entirely. I could barely flick the mouse and it would go flying half way across the surface. However, some of you, in fact most of you, probably don't have the same preferences I have. So maybe a surface like the X-ray Aqua2, which offers great quality at a great price, would suit your needs the best. Or perhaps the Razer eXactmat and eXactrest would fit your gaming style better than it did mine. People even modify the stock mousing surfaces for the best personal fit, Rambo for instance, wears down the abrasive surface of the SteelPad S&S before he uses it.

We would like to thank Soft Trading, Razer, X-ray Technology, and Func Industries for providing us with these products to test. The final point GotFrag Hardware would like to make in this article is that all of these surfaces are of the highest quality available and are already widely used throughout the gaming scene. The best decision is an informed decision, so get out there and try these mousepads for yourself. Game on.

If your laser mouse does not track well on any of these surfaces, you should update its firmware. Mouse firmware updates are very easy to do and the necessary files can be found on the manufacturer's website.
Logitech G5
Razer Copperhead

For more information about the products tested in this experiment, visit the following manufacturers' websites:
Func Industries
Icemat
Razer
SteelSeries
X-ray Technology