Introduction

I remember my first mouse pad - it was about 7” x 9”, black in color with Tandy writer on it in red. It was constructed of a foam rubber base and the top was a rough cloth. I could remember how proud I was that I not only had a mouse pad and a mouse but none of my friends even had one yet. After about three weeks of use, it was sliding all over the place and the cloth was starting to lift up off the foam rubber base. I was devastated since that mouse pad set me back four bucks. I laugh at it now but back then I felt ripped off by an inferior product.

Today is much different than the way back when and I don’t even think you can purchase a mouse pad for that type of price anymore. Now there are engineers and designers who are hired by manufacturers to develop and test mousing surfaces. Notice that even the name has been changed from mouse pad to mousing surface. We have come a long way and progress is still being made. Choices are; hard surfaced, soft surfaced, control, speed and precision gaming and mechanical. If you have a laser mouse, you could purchase one for that, or if you’re using an optical, there is one for that, too. In the gaming category, all surfaces are available but its subcategories can be confusing. Two of the sub categories are speed and control and, depending on the type of gamer you are, these two types can make a world of difference in game play. Control surfaces are usually rough, giving the user the ability to stop on a dime when absolutely needed, while speed surfaces are smooth and all for a more fluid movement. Razer is a manufacturer of premier gaming peripherals and they do have their own line of gaming mousing surfaces.

The Razer Goliathus gaming mouse mat is available in two editions, Speed and Control. The Razer Goliathus Speed Edition mouse mat has a pliable, corrugated rubber base so the mat stays where you intended, and has a slick cloth weave top for precise speed control. The Goliathus has an anti-fraying stitched frame for durability and dimensions are: Space Saver - 270 x 213 x 3 (MM), Mid-Sized – 355 x 254 x 3 (MM), Large – 444 x 355 x 3 (MM) and Extended – 920 x 294 x 3 (MM). We will be testing the Mid-Sized version.