eXactmat
Manufacturer: Razer
Type of pad: Hard, dual surface
Material: Plastic surface, aluminum base + gel eXactrest
Size: 13”x10.4”
Price: $32.95

Razer has always been a leading name in precision gaming peripherals. However, it wasn't until recently that they were drawn into the limelight of the professional gaming scene, when gamers who were fed up with problems with their Logitech or Microsoft mice turned to the Diamondback for its precision, performance, and unique design. Their new mouse, the Copperhead, has been accepted with open arms and many consider it to be one of the finest mice ever made. Beyond their mouse offerings Razer also produces some very nice mousepads.

The eXactmat comes in your standard plastic and cardboard display packaging. The rugged anodized aluminum design of the mousepad means it doesn't really need a lot of protection from bumps and what not. The package includes the aluminum based mousepad and gel-filled wrist rest that is designed to fit under the mousepad to prevent movement and add a level of comfort to the user. The pad rests on the wrist rest and uses the wrist rest's interlaced rubber for desk gripping. If the wrist rest is not used, the eXactmat has 4 solid rubber grips on either side of the pad that do a very nice job of keeping it in place as well. The eXactmat is predominantly black, while the outside border leaves the natural aluminum color exposed. Razer has put their logo and specified which side of the pad is being used in a bright green color on the surfaces which creates a very cool looking mousepad.

Using the eXactmat was very enjoyable. Both surfaces are very well crafted and greatly excel at what they are designed for. In games, the “control” (rough) side of the mousepad was excellent for use with my low sensitivity. It offered quite a bit less resistance than the “speed” (smooth) side of the mousepad, which was ideal for use with high sensitivity, like I use in Quake 4. I also found the control side to be quite well suited for use in Adobe Photoshop CS when I created my most recent piece of artwork making fun of ZeGermans. The wrist rest of this pad was quite disappointing. I had expected this feature to add a significant amount of comfort to my wrist when moving the mouse. Instead, I found that the wrist pad is only effective when the user is sitting at an elevated position above their desk, or sitting with perfect posture in their chair. I know that most gamers are unable to play in ideal circumstances all the time, I have even played Counter-Strike with my monitor on the floor and lying down. Because of this, it seems strange to me that Razer made this wrist rest with the pre-made indentation in it for where your wrist is supposed to go. It reminded me of some of the desks at school, where they have a pre-made indentation for where your rear end is supposed to go, legs, cheeks, and everything. When you sit down in the chair the part in between the legs tends to prod at you uncomfortably, and if you were to slouch in the chair, as most hip young people do these days, it becomes extraordinarily uncomfortable. It's as though Razer created this wrist rest with the idea that one size fits all, when indeed that is far from the case. I found that while using the mousepad it was more difficult to move my wrist to adjust for larger ranges of motion with my mouse, and it actually started to cramp my arm after trying to use it for extended periods of time. I don't mean to take away from the mousing experience of the mousepad itself however, when using the surface without the wrist rest, the performance was by all accounts superb. All types of mice track well on this mousepad and are fully compatible.

The construction of this pad is second to none. All of the components of the pad are fastened together excellently to produce a very solid product. Razer's idea of making the core/base of the pad out of anodized aluminum was a stroke of genius, as it greatly increases the strength and durability of the finished product. After dropping this pad from desk height, more damage was done to the floor than to the pad. This means that moving the pad from place to place, LAN party to LAN party, is perfectly safe and rather easy also. Using aluminum also allowed Razer to make the surface amazingly hard, second only to the glass of the Icemat, while remaining relatively light weight. The ruggedness and portability of the eXactmat make it an excellent choice for a hard mousepad, but the wrist rest failed to impress.

Pros:
+Aluminum construct
+Dual surface
+Grips desk well
+Included wrist rest

Cons:
-Wrist rest is probably uncomfortable for most gamers

Score:
8/10