Question

What mousepad (what kind of mousepad, e.g. what material and what pattern) would you recommend for an optical mouse, and why? Or perhaps a mousepad is not necessary for an optical mouse?

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Some thought about mousepads: Coding Horror :: Mousing Surface Theory.

Answer 1

I haven't used a mousepad for the last 5 years. Since switching to optical I find that most of the desk surfaces I work on is more then sufficient for using my mouse day after day. I also find my desk less cluttered.

Answer 2

As for me I'm always using a mousepad even for optical mice, simply because it greatly reduces wear on the table surface and dirt collected at the mouse's gliding feet.

I experienced bad performance with printed mouse pads, presumably because the texture of a printed image is too regular but it might be that this is a past issue with today's mice.

Answer 3

I'm also padless ever since i've gone optical, however, if i really need to use a pad (glass table) I simply use a sheet of (white) paper.

Answer 4

Stop looking. You have found the ultimate mouse pad.

http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-mousing-surfaces/razer-exactmat/

Its huge.

It's metal.

It has an integrated wrist rest.

It has two surfaces - one for precision work and one for fast action.

And most importantly, its the one I use.

That is all.

Answer 5

Some surfaces are too reflective and/or even for an optical mouse to work well; in which case find a nice matte mouse pad with any kind of fine texture or pattern on it. Other than that it should not matter too much beyond what feels nice to your hands.

Answer 6

I use a large, thin and somewhat sticky Wowpad brand mousepad (about $10 at Amazon).

It's paper-thin, I never run out of space on it (11.5" x 12.5"), it adheres to the desk (I find that I need to add a bit of double-sided sticky tape to keep it in place more firmly), and it looks cool.

It definitely works better than wood of the tables that I have at home and work, both in terms of gliding and improving resolution. I set my mouse to be very sensitive, and I appreciate it skipping less.

Answer 7

When I got my first optical mouse, I got rid of my mouse pad. I have been padless ever since. That said, I don't have any glass tables.

Answer 8

If you insist on having a mouse pad, well...any pad made with Neoprene will work, and just about all pads with prints on them are just that. The texture of the cloth surface provides plenty of optical variance for the mouse to detect movement

I do have to echo the sentiment of others though - just go pad-less. The palms of your hands will thank you later. Over time, those pads accumulate cruft, either as dirt passed on from use or from lint generated over time by friction on the pad...eventually, the pad will get nasty and you'll want to toss it.

Answer 9

I've not used a mousepad in years. It really is true, the optical mouse works like a champ on most any surface. like was mentioned previously, I've had poor results when using the mouse on glass tables. I would only recommend using a mouse pad if your desk is made of glass. If your desk is not glass, then you likely have no compelling reason to have a mousepad in the first place.

Answer 10

I use this mouse pad at work. It doesn't take up much space and I enjoy the little gel wrist rest. I'm pretty sure there are cooler mouse pads than this, but for the price, you can't beat it.

I've always had problems when I didn't use a mouse pad because the desk would have a shiney finish or scratches on it, so it wouldn't be smooth enough. I always get a mouse pad similar to the one I linked above.

Answer 11

I got this mouse pad from RocketFish a while back, because I work at a glass desk which doesn't get good pick up on an optical mouse. At my other non-glass desks I go mousepadless, even if it does wear out my mouse slightly faster, I need far less space than most mousepads would have a size for.

Answer 12

None. Simply, Not required.

Answer 13

Before getting a Optical mouse i did use IceMat:

(this is not recomended!)

When I got a Optical mouse (years back) I had to stop using it, IceMat being a sheet of frosted glass did of course not work at all. Since then I never used any mousepad at all. If I can't use the cool mousepad, then I rather have none! =) .

Unless having glass or easy scratching table or need of ergonomics I think there is not much point with a mousepad for optical mouse, it's just in my way on the table, less clutter == good.