Posted: May 1, 2001
Written by: Dan "Tweak Monkey" Kennedy

Testing / Results

Before I tested the mouse pad, I insisted on removing The Card Cooler insert. I mean, it does look cool and all, but I needed something that fits my tastes.

Notice how the mouse is hanging its own weight from the bungee?

So how does this weird looking, glass mouse surface compare to the competition? Well, to be honest, it's hard to say. I've never owned an Everglide mouse pad, but I have owned many 3M Precise Mousing Surfaces, and up until the day I received my Mouse Bungee Pro (I'm sick of typing that so I'll just call it MBP from now on), I had Ratpadz on all four of my PCs. I had used Ratpadz religiously since they came out (and I'm a big supporter of HardOCP and Ratpadz), but to be honest, I like this MBP a bit better. Granted, they do cost a bit more than Ratpadz, but I'd still like to explain my reasoning.

For one, the MBP doesn't have that plastic feel that I had become used to on the Ratpadz. The first time you used a Ratpad you'll definitely notice what I refer to, at least if your mouse is like my Intellimouse Pro. It feels gritty, like there is dirt on the wheels or something. Once you get used to it, you'll hardly notice it... but anyway, the feeling is totally eliminated with the glass surface of the MBP. I believe Kyle (Ratpadz/HardOCP) tried to eliminate the gritty feeling on the later batches of Ratpadz (at least in one he sent me it feels like that), but it's still not quite as smooth as the glass.

Traction and grip, as far as a gamer or typical user should be concerned, are about equal. I kind of favor the MBP because I imagine the surface would never wear out. If you look at my year-old Ratpadz, you can see that the plastic has slightly worn over time, and the graphics are faded. Then again, that's a small issue.

One thing I dislike about other mouse pads is that eventually the design gets old. For me this isn't much of an issue, but it still made me wonder... what if some companies offered different or unique designs? Like, say.. a Tweak3D pad? ;)
With the MBP it's not an issue because you can put anything you want for the design -- if that's your thing.

I'm a big Jessica Alba fan. Mmmm...

Finally, the last and most obvious 'feature' of the MBP is the built in Mouse Bungee. Like I said, I didn't care for it as a standalone product, but I like it a lot better when it's part of the mouse pad. It really keeps me organized (well, as organized as I can get, that is), and it's pretty cool.

Cleaning

As you probably guessed, it's quite easy to clean the MBP, too. You simply remove the glass surface and examine it for dirt/debris (well, at least I did). Since it's glass, it's easy to see what kind of junk was clogging up the insides of your mouse. Then you could probably go as far as to wash it in the dishwasher, but I simply sprayed it down with some 409. It felt as good as new after a little cleaning.

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