Hard Mousepads
It wasn't immediately that people started to recognize hard mousepads as viable gaming surfaces. But eventually it caught on, and some of the most impressive mousing products ever created have been hard mousepads. According to Jason “Alchemist” Baker, hard mousepads are better for the LAN environment, where imperfections in the tournament tables can lead to the demise of softer, shape conforming surfaces. Apparently a lot of people agree with him, because all of the top gaming peripheral suppliers are pouring resources into creating the most innovative hard surfaces yet.

sUrface 1030 Archetype
Manufacturer: Func Industries
Type of pad: Hard, dual surface
Material: Plastic surface, plastic base (base also available in Aluminum)
Size: 11.5” x 9.5”
Price: $25.00

It's been almost 5 years since Func Industries released their Original sUrface 1030, the first double-sided enthusiast mousepad. With the Original 1030, Func appealed to two kinds of gamers: those who wanted a mousepad for their high sensitivity and those who wanted one for low sensitivity. Well it turns out that those are pretty much the only kinds of gamers there are, and the success of the Original 1030 represented this. Since then however, the name of Func in the gaming mousepad world has been pushed to the backburner while companies like SteelSeries and Razer control the limelight. Their new product, the sUrface 1030 Archetype, aims to change all that.

On it's outermost layer the packaging of the Archetype is pretty standard; plastic shell with eye-catching advertisements. It serves its purpose quite well and really is not important in terms of product performance, as it does not attempt to alter the flat, rectangular surface within. Pulling back this plastic shell reveals the glimmering beauty that is the aluminum case the Archetype comes in. The shiny aluminum is embossed with the Func Industries logo and in spite of being largely unnecessary, comes off as a lovely addition to the package.

Inside the aluminum case lies the sUrface 1030 Archetype, surrounded by a nice velvety molding that holds it firmly in place. The case also contains a full product manual that explains how everything works together (as if it was not self-explanatory), and a mouse cord clip that slides effortlessly into place in one of two locations on the top edge of the mousepad. The main product itself, the sUrface 1030 Archetype, is a visually pleasing piece of equipment as well. The black and grey with orange highlights color scheme fits in well with almost any surroundings, and if in your case it doesn't, Func offers customizable Archetype surfaces on their website. The size of this pad was more than adequate for me, but for many gamers these days that use enormous surfaces like Supermats, it is probably a bit small. I found that in most game situations, there was ample space for me to move my mouse without part of it slipping off the pad.

I use a somewhat low sensitivity while gaming, so the ability to move my mouse a substantial distance with minimal effort is a quality I find desirable in a mousepad. Because of this, I preferred the rough side of the sUrface 1030 Archetype. The surfaces of the pad themselves are the same surfaces that Func uses for all of their products: the 30.R (rough) and the 10.S (smooth). Both of these surfaces performed flawlessly in testing. I noticed that clicking directly on unweighted lines in Photoshop was considerably easier on the smooth side of the pad, as it was easier to move the mouse in smaller increments due to the larger amount of friction. In gaming, I found it quite easy to quickly rotate 180 degrees on the rough surface and frag enemies that appeared behind me. While using the pad I also noticed that it was quite difficult to slide around on my desk. This characteristic might be frustrating for busy students who want to quickly slide their mousepad out of the way to make room for homework or a book, but for gamers and industry professionals alike, having a mousepad that isn't going anywhere is of huge importance. The Archetype uses 7 grips that consist of clear, soft rubber that does its job admirably. Overall tracking on this surface was superb, and all 3 types of mice were fully compatible (but eww I hate ball mice). Perhaps the best feature of this mousepad was the mouse cord clip, which is a luxury I have actually never had before. All too often I have been the victim of my mouse cord being pulled short and not being able to make a shot. Having the mouse cord clip takes care of this problem by making ample slack constantly available.

The construction of the pad itself is top notch. I found no deformations after dropping the pad from desk height onto a hard tile surface several times (but the mousepad part did go flying out of the base part, which indicates at least a small amount of impact deformation, but nothing that was permanent), and the plastic material used with this particular model makes it very lightweight and totally prevents creasing, which can be a problem with some other types of surfaces. The only disadvantage the plastic construct might cause is that it could be considered somewhat more difficult to carry transport and place in awkward locations. If you take into consideration that cloth pads can be rolled up and bended to fit in any tight space, and the fact that the aluminum “carrying case” that comes with the Archetype is considerably more bulky than the mousepad itself, then you have quite a valid argument. In addition to this, if you were to accidentally step on or apply large amounts of pressure to the Archetype if it were not on a flat surface, it is very likely that the mousepad would crack and become virtually unusable.

Pros:
+Construction is top quality
+Package is gorgeous
+Mouse clip
+Dual surfaces
+Oversized

Cons:
-Rigid

Score:
10/10