- Joined
- May 23, 2001
- Location
- Asteroid B-612
Santa came way too early for me. I got myself a new mouse and 17" monitor today and I needed a different mousing surface. Not wanting to spend any money (or wait a month for one) I decided to test out different flat surfaces I have lying around. Keep in mind that I prefer BALL MICE because they don't track when you lift them up (and they're less flaky or picky about the surfaces you use). But these results should apply to optical mice as well.
I tried each surface for atleast 2 days. I do a wide variety of tasks but here's essentially what I do on a daily basis.
- 3D Modelling (requires precision and speed control)
- First Person Shooters (UT mainly, requires loose/free movement)
- Graphics work (also requires precision)
- other stuff
I need the best of both worlds; Low resistance, even texture, some texture (for optical tracking), and the ability to comfortably drag my hand a little if I need to slow down the mouse for precise work. Here's how each surface faired.
Materials tested = Conclusions
_______________________________________
Aluminum/Steel = slippery and very trackable, but likes to grab my hand. Only usable when wearing gloves. It also gather fingerprints faster than any other surface. This lead to more frequent mouse cleaning. It's good for use in summer (because it's cold) but will give you corpse-hands in winter.
Plastic (PVC, Polycarbonate, or arcylic) = not very slippery, but is very trackable. Slows down mouse quite a bit but doesn't grip my hand as much. This is the best choice for detail work, but not for gaming (it's slower). Other plastics (Urethane, ABS, Nylon) are not good for tracking because they're in they seem to be close enough to the teflon mix that they grip the mouse feet a little. They also "grab" my hand alot.
Avoid plastic unless it was specifically made for mice.
Glass = Has all the benefits of Aluminum/Steel (tracking and reduced friction), but all the annoying side effects of plastic (won't let go of my hand). Another noticable down side is how noisy it can be.
Textured Plastic (ratpadz, fUnc, EverGlide, etc.) = These are great for mousing, but their biggest downfalls are their silly pricing ($20 for a hunk of plastic?) and the fact that they're so thick. If you reach the end of the surface your mouse plummets off the side.
Performance is the best available for a commercial made product and these are ideal for gaming on-the-go. They're also sturdier than the other available types.
Cork = Although it's very trackable, it has too much of a mushy feel. It also "tickles" my hand too much.
Generic rubber/fabric mouse pad = Although usable it is far from ideal. It also feels extremely mushy and "tickles" my hand and pinky finger asleep.
Finished, furniture quality wood = This was my favorite surface for quite a long time and it works as well as paper products. You will however need to find a way of securing it with either rubber or felt feet. The only downside being that they're heavy and you may need to make your own (you wouldn't want to use one with unfinished wood because you could easily get splinters). Whenever I'm at school I prefer using the desk over the stupid cloth mousepads they have.
Regular white copy paper = This was suprisingly good. Very trackable, slippery, and didn't grab or "tickle" my hand. The problem was that it's so thin and slippery that I couldn't keep it from sliding around WITH the mouse. Taping it down near the edges might be acceptable, but would be very ugly.
Cardboard (thin grade) = This had all the benefits of paper without the unwanted side effect. But after a few days of use the main work area became dimpled and bumpy.
Flat Color Matte Board (almost any color you want) = Not only is this one of the cheapest options, but suprisingly enough it works better than any other material I've tried. It doesn't resist movement at all
and is soft enough to not "tickle" my hands. Since it's extra thick I was able to stick it to the tray on my desk without adding lumpy areas to my mousing area.
UPDATE: The Matte board decayed and warped from the excessive friction of using a mouse on it
__________________________________
The NEW Verdict
I now used finished/tique wood with a light finish, or a sheet of galvanized metal. The metal doesn't work great with optical mice but it works wonderfull with ball mice. I bought a small sheet of galvanized steel in the air conditioning/ducting isle of Home Depot. The finished/tique piece of wood I'm using are from two different desks. One is tique finish particle board, the other is a lightly finished piece of Oak. These work extremely well and don't grab my hand at all.
I tried each surface for atleast 2 days. I do a wide variety of tasks but here's essentially what I do on a daily basis.
- 3D Modelling (requires precision and speed control)
- First Person Shooters (UT mainly, requires loose/free movement)
- Graphics work (also requires precision)
- other stuff
I need the best of both worlds; Low resistance, even texture, some texture (for optical tracking), and the ability to comfortably drag my hand a little if I need to slow down the mouse for precise work. Here's how each surface faired.
Materials tested = Conclusions
_______________________________________
Aluminum/Steel = slippery and very trackable, but likes to grab my hand. Only usable when wearing gloves. It also gather fingerprints faster than any other surface. This lead to more frequent mouse cleaning. It's good for use in summer (because it's cold) but will give you corpse-hands in winter.
Plastic (PVC, Polycarbonate, or arcylic) = not very slippery, but is very trackable. Slows down mouse quite a bit but doesn't grip my hand as much. This is the best choice for detail work, but not for gaming (it's slower). Other plastics (Urethane, ABS, Nylon) are not good for tracking because they're in they seem to be close enough to the teflon mix that they grip the mouse feet a little. They also "grab" my hand alot.
Avoid plastic unless it was specifically made for mice.
Glass = Has all the benefits of Aluminum/Steel (tracking and reduced friction), but all the annoying side effects of plastic (won't let go of my hand). Another noticable down side is how noisy it can be.
Textured Plastic (ratpadz, fUnc, EverGlide, etc.) = These are great for mousing, but their biggest downfalls are their silly pricing ($20 for a hunk of plastic?) and the fact that they're so thick. If you reach the end of the surface your mouse plummets off the side.
Performance is the best available for a commercial made product and these are ideal for gaming on-the-go. They're also sturdier than the other available types.
Cork = Although it's very trackable, it has too much of a mushy feel. It also "tickles" my hand too much.
Generic rubber/fabric mouse pad = Although usable it is far from ideal. It also feels extremely mushy and "tickles" my hand and pinky finger asleep.
Finished, furniture quality wood = This was my favorite surface for quite a long time and it works as well as paper products. You will however need to find a way of securing it with either rubber or felt feet. The only downside being that they're heavy and you may need to make your own (you wouldn't want to use one with unfinished wood because you could easily get splinters). Whenever I'm at school I prefer using the desk over the stupid cloth mousepads they have.
Regular white copy paper = This was suprisingly good. Very trackable, slippery, and didn't grab or "tickle" my hand. The problem was that it's so thin and slippery that I couldn't keep it from sliding around WITH the mouse. Taping it down near the edges might be acceptable, but would be very ugly.
Cardboard (thin grade) = This had all the benefits of paper without the unwanted side effect. But after a few days of use the main work area became dimpled and bumpy.
Flat Color Matte Board (almost any color you want) = Not only is this one of the cheapest options, but suprisingly enough it works better than any other material I've tried. It doesn't resist movement at all
and is soft enough to not "tickle" my hands. Since it's extra thick I was able to stick it to the tray on my desk without adding lumpy areas to my mousing area.
UPDATE: The Matte board decayed and warped from the excessive friction of using a mouse on it
__________________________________
The NEW Verdict
I now used finished/tique wood with a light finish, or a sheet of galvanized metal. The metal doesn't work great with optical mice but it works wonderfull with ball mice. I bought a small sheet of galvanized steel in the air conditioning/ducting isle of Home Depot. The finished/tique piece of wood I'm using are from two different desks. One is tique finish particle board, the other is a lightly finished piece of Oak. These work extremely well and don't grab my hand at all.
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