XTracPads Hybrid Mousepad

Usually mousepads fall into either the “soft” or “hard” category, based on whether they are built with cloth or plastic material. Today we have a unique product from XTracPads called the Hybrid Mousepad. It attempts to combine the best of both worlds – the smooth, soft feel of cloth and the durability and slickness of plastic. Read on for our testing conclusions on the Hybrid.

Look and Feel

The design of the Hybrid is what makes this mousepad unique. The base material is cloth, but the blend of plastic into the Nanofiber™ surface makes this a very distinctive product. The manufacturer has bonded the plastic to the cloth on a molecular level to achieve an amalgamation of the materials.

The rubber base underneath the surface of the pad houses the Sure Grip rubber material. It is securely and evenly attached with no overlap or frayed edges. The entire pad is very similar in thickness as other pads I have tested, with a 4.77mm thickness. This still amounts to very little elevation of your mouse.

The size of the mousepad is quite wide at 16” W x 10” H x 0.16” D and the design on the pad is compromised of a hexagonal pattern. On the right side, a top-to-bottom black stripe is added along with the XTracPads logo and Hybrid product name. The look of the pad is somewhere in the middle between a simple, understated look and the gaudy designs you see on some pads. It doesn’t jump out at you, but does look nice compared to a straight black design seen on other competing products.

Features

• Cloth and plastic surface
• Comfortable and fast
• Frey resistant edges
• Sure Grip rubber backing
• HUGE mousing surface

Specifications

• 10" x 16" x 3/16" (254mm x 406mm x 4mm)
• Sure Grip rubber backing
• Cloth and plastic mousing surface
• Designed in the USA
• Made in USA

Performance Testing

Testing of the Hybrid was performed by playing a few hours worth of the typical FPS games that I enjoy. I spent a few hours playing my favorite of the Quake series – Quake 3, and then some time playing Quake Live and Crysis. There are many, many other games out there to play – but I always use First Person Shooter games for a true test of a mousepad.

The first and most important test result is how well the mouse tracks with the mousepad. Overall, the tracking with the Hybrid did not disappoint. My Logitech MX518 tracked 100% consistently and there was never a case where an abrasion or other problem with the mousepad caused my mouse to skip. There was even consistency throughout the entire mousing surface and my aim / movement was as smooth as ever in all of the games that I tested.

The surface of the Hybrid has a very interesting feel to it - not as soft feeling as a typical cloth pad, but much softer than a typical hard plastic pad. It is quite smooth, though, which is the most important point from my perspective. It does not feel rough or grainy, just more firm than cloth mousepads feel.

Comfort wise, the Hybrid is about average when compared to other mousepads. I found that extended gaming sessions were tolerable when using the Hybrid, but not as comfortable as a softer cloth pad or a spongy pad. This is one of the trade-offs for the durability offered by the Hybrid.

My keyboard and mousepad are used on a fairly old desk with fading veneer coating. This coating makes is pretty slippery and makes for a good surface to test the SureGrip rubber base of the Hybrid. I can happily say that at no time during my gaming sessions did the mousepad slip from the spot where I had originally placed it. At all times the pad stuck right to the spot where it was originally placed.

Portability

A nice feature of the Hybrid is that it can be easily folded up and transported in the plastic tube that it was shipped in. The flexible material makes it easy to roll up the pad whenever you want to take it with you. The only downside to this is that it takes a bit of time for the pad to flatten out after it has been stored for a long time in the plastic tube.

XTracPads Hybrid Mousepad

XTracPads has developed a really unique product with the Hybrid, and it does come as close as you can get to “the best of both worlds” when it comes to mousepads. The smoothness and comfort of a cloth pad are approximated with the Hybrid, and the durability and slickness of a plastic pad are completely provided.

The Hybrid is very easily portable and sticks to the surface like a glove, even during intense gaming. It tracks dead-on too, so it is ideal for all types of gamers. At an average online price of $25-$30 USD, I have no hesitation to recommend the Hybrid to all my fellow gamers who will appreciate a high-quality mousepad.

Pros: Dead on tracking, slick and smooth surface, Sure Grip backing keeps the pad planted, easily portable.

Cons: Not a true cloth feel, not as comfortable for extended gaming sessions as other mousepads.

Rating: 4.0 out of 5

www.xtracpads.com