Icemat, Steelpad 4D, & Steelpad 4S Mouse Pad Shootout

Bosco - November 15, 2003
Category: Mouse Pad
Price: Varies

Steelpad 4D Mouse Pad
The Steelpad 4D is in a thin cardboard box, but arrived to me (from Denmark no less) in fine condition. The box includes the Steelpad 4D, Padsurfers, Padsurfer instructions, and the mousepad 'feet' - a plastic grid that sits under the mousepad (more on why later).

This mousepad is the thinnest of the lot, with a very low profile (at a mere 1/10").

Its made of plastic, and thus isn't hugely sturdy, but is very durable. More interesting, it isn't solely an optical mousepad. This mousepad has 2 sides to it. One side is for optical mice, and the other for older ball mice. This is accomplished by using a separate 'sticky' pad as the feet, as opposed to having feet already on the mousepad: it has no 'bottom', so where would they go? The sticky pad isn't actually sticky, it just grips the mousepad & your desk (don't ask me how, its some sort of crazy plastic). It doesn't leave any residue and it doesn't damage the mousepad.

The mousepad itself is a lot rougher then I expected (I thought the smooth side was the optical side for a while) but with the Teflon tape, it glides fairly smoothly across the surface.