Artisan shiden-kai
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I have yet to see a real review of the shiden kai so I thought why not do one myself
The most important for a gamer is to find the perfect mouse for you, but for the mouse to perform its best, you also need a good mousepad.
Some people prefer hardpads and others prefer softpads. I definately prefer softpads as hardpads sacrifice too much accuracy for their speed and they aren't exactly what you would call comfortable
According to artisan, the shiden-kai should give both(great speed and great stopping) and thats what got me interested in the mousepad
The mouse used in this review is the zowie mico
Speed + Control:
The way I measured this was using putting the edge of the mousepad onto dvdcases(1 dvd case is 14mm) to see how many dvd cases it takes to make the mouse move
Artisan shiden-kai
And I thought the zowie p-tf was fast for a softpad but I was wrong the shiden-kai is definately the fastests out of the 3 mousepads.
The mouse started moving after just 2dvdcases although slowly. But Despite its speed its seems to have great control too unlike hardpads as this is the mousepad that gave me the highest accuracy in quakelive out of the mousepads in this review.
The only con would be it might be just a little too fast for very low sense gamers (45+cm/360)
Zowie p-tf
Definately faster than the steelseries qck but nothing like the shiden kai. After 3dvdcases the mouse started to move slowly across the mousepad. The control was also good but the mousepad for some reason is won't sit flat and it keeps being slightly up in both sides of the mousepad therefore ruining the accuracy in some instances
Steelseries qck
Slowest of the 3mousepads yet doesn't seem to offer more control the the other two mousepads. However if you use a very low sensitivity this is a great mousepad
Build quality:
Artisan shiden-kai
Very very high. Although it doesn't have stitched edges like the artisan hien or zowie g-tf/p-tf I don't see any way the edges would fray or the material would wear as there isn't any threads to be seen and theres no coating that can wear also.
Zowie p-tf
High build quality with triple-stitched edges so like the shiden-kai, the surface you will move your mouse on won't start fraying. The edges does fray a little but its not something that will have any impact on the performance of the mousepad.
Steelseries qck
Lower than the other two, but so is the price so that is as expected. The edges will eventually start to fray and theres nothing you can do about it. But this will still last longer than any hardpad.
Materials used and comfort:
Artisan shiden-kai
The materials used in the shiden-kai is unlike any I ever seen. The surface doesn't feel like cloth, nor glass, yet its made of both. One would think that it would make it uncomfortable, but it doesn't. Out of the three mousepads this one is the most comfortable. This makes me wonder how comfortable the xsoft version is as the one I got is the medium
As the surface, the foam used is also of very high quality and grips nicely to the surface. You can move it slightly if you push it with your hand but as soon as you have your hand on the mousepad it won't move anywhere
Artisan have put a very nice illustration of the difference in the foam used in their mousepads and the rubber used in other mousepads
Open cell foam found in mousepads like the qck
Special structure foam found in artisan mousepads
Another good thing is that the material doesn't absord your sweat or water.
The only drawback in the material used is you wouldn't want to bend or fold the mousepad as it can cause broken lines. You can roll it though carefully with the cloth-side up
Zowie p-tf
Highly textured cloth that cause the mouse to glide more effortly than lower textured cloth. The surface is coated with polymer coating that seem to wear over time leaving the glide uneven. Its also more rough than the other two surfaces and therefore slightly less comfortable
The rubber is soft and comfortable but the problem is that the bottom is not too great making the mousepad glide around which is very annoying
Steelseries qck
The surface is made of some lower textured cloth(atleast lower than the zowie) and the open cell rubber as described earlier. And its definately very comfortable. Despite the lower build quality the the zowie and artisan it doesn't slide around at all
Effect on lift off distance:
Artisan shiden-kai
The shiden-kai seem to greatly lower the lift off distance, so much so that the zowie mico have trouble tracking at even 1cd! And with the cm storm spawn you would want v30 firmware to have the best tracking on this thing. The reducing in lift on distance is great news for people using mice with the s3688(Deathadder 3g and others)/s3888(Deathadder 3.5g and others/avago 3060(Mionix 3200 and others) sensors
I don't know if its the color used or the surface that reduce the lift off distance so much but I doubt the color alone would have such a great effect as the mousepad isn't THAT light colored
Zowie p-tf + Steelseries qck
Both of them seem to give the same higher lift off distance
Edited by HaiiYaa - 7/4/11 at 11:17am
+ PICS ON PAGE 2
http://www.gup.co.jp/eng_top.html
I have yet to see a real review of the shiden kai so I thought why not do one myself
The most important for a gamer is to find the perfect mouse for you, but for the mouse to perform its best, you also need a good mousepad.
Some people prefer hardpads and others prefer softpads. I definately prefer softpads as hardpads sacrifice too much accuracy for their speed and they aren't exactly what you would call comfortable
According to artisan, the shiden-kai should give both(great speed and great stopping) and thats what got me interested in the mousepad
The mouse used in this review is the zowie mico
Speed + Control:
The way I measured this was using putting the edge of the mousepad onto dvdcases(1 dvd case is 14mm) to see how many dvd cases it takes to make the mouse move
Artisan shiden-kai
And I thought the zowie p-tf was fast for a softpad but I was wrong
the shiden-kai is definately the fastests out of the 3 mousepads. The mouse started moving after just 2dvdcases although slowly. But Despite its speed its seems to have great control too unlike hardpads as this is the mousepad that gave me the highest accuracy in quakelive out of the mousepads in this review.
The only con would be it might be just a little too fast for very low sense gamers (45+cm/360)
Zowie p-tf
Definately faster than the steelseries qck but nothing like the shiden kai. After 3dvdcases the mouse started to move slowly across the mousepad. The control was also good but the mousepad for some reason is won't sit flat and it keeps being slightly up in both sides of the mousepad therefore ruining the accuracy in some instances
Steelseries qck
Slowest of the 3mousepads yet doesn't seem to offer more control the the other two mousepads. However if you use a very low sensitivity this is a great mousepad
Build quality:
Artisan shiden-kai
Very very high. Although it doesn't have stitched edges like the artisan hien or zowie g-tf/p-tf I don't see any way the edges would fray or the material would wear as there isn't any threads to be seen and theres no coating that can wear also.
Zowie p-tf
High build quality with triple-stitched edges so like the shiden-kai, the surface you will move your mouse on won't start fraying. The edges does fray a little but its not something that will have any impact on the performance of the mousepad.
Steelseries qck
Lower than the other two, but so is the price so that is as expected. The edges will eventually start to fray and theres nothing you can do about it. But this will still last longer than any hardpad.
Materials used and comfort:
Artisan shiden-kai
The materials used in the shiden-kai is unlike any I ever seen. The surface doesn't feel like cloth, nor glass, yet its made of both. One would think that it would make it uncomfortable, but it doesn't. Out of the three mousepads this one is the most comfortable. This makes me wonder how comfortable the xsoft version is
as the one I got is the mediumAs the surface, the foam used is also of very high quality and grips nicely to the surface. You can move it slightly if you push it with your hand but as soon as you have your hand on the mousepad it won't move anywhere
Artisan have put a very nice illustration of the difference in the foam used in their mousepads and the rubber used in other mousepads
Open cell foam found in mousepads like the qck
Special structure foam found in artisan mousepads
Another good thing is that the material doesn't absord your sweat or water.
The only drawback in the material used is you wouldn't want to bend or fold the mousepad as it can cause broken lines. You can roll it though carefully with the cloth-side up
Zowie p-tf
Highly textured cloth that cause the mouse to glide more effortly than lower textured cloth. The surface is coated with polymer coating that seem to wear over time leaving the glide uneven. Its also more rough than the other two surfaces and therefore slightly less comfortable
The rubber is soft and comfortable but the problem is that the bottom is not too great making the mousepad glide around which is very annoying
Steelseries qck
The surface is made of some lower textured cloth(atleast lower than the zowie) and the open cell rubber as described earlier. And its definately very comfortable. Despite the lower build quality the the zowie and artisan it doesn't slide around at all
Effect on lift off distance:
Artisan shiden-kai
The shiden-kai seem to greatly lower the lift off distance, so much so that the zowie mico have trouble tracking at even 1cd! And with the cm storm spawn you would want v30 firmware to have the best tracking on this thing. The reducing in lift on distance is great news for people using mice with the s3688(Deathadder 3g and others)/s3888(Deathadder 3.5g and others/avago 3060(Mionix 3200 and others) sensors
I don't know if its the color used or the surface that reduce the lift off distance so much but I doubt the color alone would have such a great effect as the mousepad isn't THAT light colored
Zowie p-tf + Steelseries qck
Both of them seem to give the same higher lift off distance
Edited by HaiiYaa - 7/4/11 at 11:17am
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