Razer Vespula Dual-Sided Gaming Mouse Mat (Dark Grey)

I picked this up because my eXactMat which I've had for quite a few years had started getting pretty nasty and cleaning it just wasn't worth it. This is a solid mousepad and really the only option if you want a hard pad with a wrist rest. Sadly this really is just a stripped down and cheapened version of the exactmat. It is made out of plastic and while it feels fairly sturdy it has nothing on the aluminum of it predecessor (they were both the same price). Still a good pad and really the only option like it but I wish they hadn't ditched the quality of the original.

I bought this mouse pad to replace one that I had for ages that had finally fallen apart. I cant say I did much research, I just went to Frys and picked one that was large and good for gaming.

Ill talk first about the looks. The grey and black color scheme looks really good and the green bumpers accent the pad pretty well. It would be nice if they were black also (to match my computer color scheme, but that doesnt matter to me much). the wrist rest has the razer logo right in the middle of it and is attached to a skid pad that is the exact same size as the mouse pad (which helps to keep the pad from moving around during heavy gaming). The mouse pad itself is pretty thick and rigid with a smooth side (for speed) and a rough side (for precision) and which side you are on is denoted by a small symbol in corner of the pad (if you cant figure it out from touching the pad surface ).

It not only looks good, but it works well too. I like the rough side best since I tend to pass my targets on the speed side and I can still move plenty fast on the rough side. I have never noticed pointer jumping, inconsistency in speed, or anything like that It performs just as you would expect from a premium mouse pad

The only thing that bugs me about this mouse pad is the wrist rest. it is tall and narrow (which does not work well for me). when I was first using the pad, it actually hurt my wrist to the point where had to flip the mouse pad around (since the rest was attached to the skid pad). I was hoping the rest would relax some after some use but it is still as stiff as when i got it. it doesnt bother me much becuase if I dont want to use it, Ill rotate the pad 180 degrees and play with out it. This is the only real inperfection I could find... I would not have counted off for this if the wrist rest was removable from the skid pad. Sure rotation the pad 180 solves this but my desk top space is limited and it looks funny to have your wrist rest opposite where your wrist is.....

All in all, I recommend this pad to anyone. I have been using it for a year and it is still like brand new (except i have rubbed the razer symbol off the wrist rest from use). That was very important to me since i tend to shred up mouse pads. Sure 35 USD is a little steep for a mouse pad but its 35 i dont have to spend again for a while.

Bought this to replace my years old and worn Steelpad 4D.

FIrst of all aesthetics, I personally really like the looks of it, some of you out there won't but that's personal preference. The 4 green strips in the corner of the mouse pad are raised rubber strips that helps the mouse pad grip the table, in addition to the rubber matt which the wrist rest is attached to. The rubber matt on this is miles better than the one on the Steelpad, with that mouse pad when I'm playing BF3 the mouse pad will shift under my hands as I'm playing. With the Vespula it feels like the harder I try to shift the rubber matt the harder it grips. The wrist rest is made out of quite a stiff memory foam, I find it quite comfy but can take a bit of getting use to.

The Vespula is a hard plastic mouse pad with a smooth 'speed' side and a rough 'control' side, I've always used the control side on the Steelpad 4D and compared to that surface my G9 mouse glides a lot smoother on the Vespula surface. The mouse tracks very well and I haven't had any incidences of the cursor jumping or other issues. As it's still brand new I can't comment on how durable the surface is, Razer claims it has a durable anti-scratch coating on it so only time will tell if it lives up to that claim.

Now onto the cons, the wrist rest is quite high (2.5 cm) so depending on the size of your hand and how you sit in front of your desk the wrist rest may or may not be comfortable for you. I personally find it helps me in first person shooter games as it elevates my wrist off the table and allows me more freedom to control the mouse. The only other con I can think of is the price, I paid the equivalent of $39 USD for this pad here in New Zealand, according to Amazon they have it for $27.25USD and Newegg has it for $23.95USD so you people in the USA will pay less than what I paid. Still this is far from a cheap mouse pad, and it's up to you whether you are willing to spend this much on a mouse pad.

There will always be people out there that swear by their $2 best buy pad/magazine/tabletop/whatever, I personally really like this mouse pad, and I would recommend it to people who are looking for a versatile dual sided hard pad.