A Closer Look
Not much effort is made to dress this pad up; XFX is clearly confident it can sell on substance, rather than style.
Here we see both the textured rubber coating on bottom and the Edgeless Support System clamp.
“Installation” is simple: lay the pad flat on the desk, pry open the clamp until it fits over the edge of the desk, push back until you hit the stops. Make sure you have plenty of clear desk space before you begin, this pad is much longer front-to-back than most. Also of note is that while there seems to be no lower limit on desktop thickness, this clamp won’t work on desktops thicker than 2 inches.
Thoughts and Conclusion
As I’ve mentioned in previous reviews, the job of any really good input peripheral or accessory is to “disappear”; that is, to work so seamlessly and naturally that you lose all conscious awareness of it as an intermediate between you and your game. For me, the WarPad does exactly that. It doesn’t slide around, it doesn’t pinch nerves in my wrists, and it provides just enough friction to bring my mouse to a stop when I let go. The large surface means I can drop my mouse to 100 CPI and swing it around in large arcs for seemingly impossible no-scope snipe shots on the run. All of this was possible with my QCK Heavy, which is a more conventional pad of similar thickness, but the clamp keeps the pad in place even during the most vigorous play. The simple decision to wrap the pad around the edge of the clamp also means I can rest my wrist on the pad during more laid-back mousing tasks, and not have to worry about getting a sore spot on the inside of my wrist or forearm. Unlike many similar cloth pads, the WarPad also seems more resistant to hand salsa, with a few swipes of a damp cloth being enough to clear away any detritus. The asking price can be a bit steep ($49.99 from the manufacturer), but you can find it cheaper online without much difficulty ($32 average online at time of publication). Overall, I would say that this is an excellent soft mousepad for medium- to low-sensitivity mouse users, or anyone who just needs their pad to stay put no matter what.
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