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Quality Mat Glass Mousepad |
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Usage and Conclusions
The Quality Mat has a solid, well-made look and feel and as the name would suggest; a feeling of Quality manufacture. The mousing surface consists of a ‘fencing printed’ or painted reverse-dot design that leaves a regular pattern of clear dots in the coloured surface of the mat. While our review sample was anthracite (dark grey/black), the Quality Mat is also available in blue, red and orange. The symmetrical painted surface pattern of the mat significantly enhances the feel and performance of the mousing surface, as well as improving traction and accuracy.
Quality Glass tell us that the glass and painting is heated to about 600 degrees to actually melt the paint into the glass, which creates a very hard wearing surface. Not one to believe every piece of marketing jargon I hear, I actually tested this out, and must say that the printed surface of the Quality Mat is almost scratch proof and very durable.
Most other glass mouse mats have a plain or frosted glass mousing surface, which is often cold to the touch and has several other problems, however the ‘fencing printed’ surface of the Quality Mat gives the surface a much more pleasant feel – both to touch and to use. Also, unlike most other mouse mats, the Quality Mat has a uniform and symmetrical printed pattern. The Ratpadz has a series of random rounded bumps, and the Everglide’s surface consists of more jagged bumps. The repetitive pattern on the Quality Mat provides for a smoother and more consistent feel when rolling the mouse over the surface.
The ‘Quality-Mat.com’ logo printed near the bottom of the mat is written in the same raised paint, but in a clear area of glass. Luckily this is quite small and printed at the base of the mat, because moving your mouse over this area of the mat would detract from the uniform smooth feel noticed elsewhere. This type of logo printing is also the reason why I personally would avoid some of the customised or logo mats as displayed the Quality Glass website – given that the printing of the logo replaces the uniform reverse-dot pattern, I think the texture of the mouse surface in this region would feel quite different.
While the texture of the mouse mat did take some getting used to, it provided enough resistance to allow for precise mousing but also provided a smooth almost ‘silky’ glide across the surface. I found the Quality Mat’s surface comfortable, accurate, and easy to use, with a good balance of resistance and smoothness. As you would expect, general mousing is very easy when using the Quality Mat, and the mat’s in-game-performance is quick, responsive and accurate. The Quality Mat is also fairly quiet to use, especially when compared to some other mousing surfaces.
Quality Glass also supplies a length of Teflon tape when shipping the mouse mat, and recommends that your mouse-feet be covered with this tape. Ever since the chewing by the Everglide Giganta, Teflon tape is something that I have considered for my quite worn mouse feet. Applying the tape, allowing for extra to cover the feet and enough of the base of the mouse to stick properly is quite easy, and Quality Glass supply enough tape so you should be able to do the feet on two mouses.
With the Teflon tape applied to the bottom of the mouse, it becomes much more slippery. Obviously, the slipperyness is increased on any surface, but the hard surface and symmetrical pattern on the Quality Mat provides for very slick mousing. The mouse now slides – almost effortlessly – across the mousing surface, with the reverse-spot pattern providing just enough resistance to allow for precision. While the mouse feels much more slippery now, the tape combined with the ‘fencing printing’ do not make the mouse hard to control, it still remains accurate and the mouse cursor remains where it is pointed.
I have been using the super-slick Teflon-feet-covered mouse and Quality Mat for about two weeks now. I'm not yet sure if I am used to it or if I like how slick it feels. At this stage I think I prefer the extra friction and ‘silky’ glide that the mat provided before the feet were applied. However if you are the kind of person that likes a super-slick – but still very accurate – mouse glide, then combining the Teflon tape with the Quality Mat is definitely the way to go.
When I first started using the Quality Mat, I noticed a slight catch or bump as the mouse moved across the surface. While it was hard to see – but very easy to feel – the mousing surface had a tiny (smaller than a grain of sand) irregularity on it. Realising that the tiny defect was probably caused by the application of the paint to the top of the mat, I tried to scratch the bump off with my finger. When this failed we contacted Quality Glass, and they informed us that about 1 in every 100 mouse mats has an irregularity – often caused by dust during the painting process – and that they are usually detected in the manufacturing and testing procedures. Obviously they would replace any mats if a customer notices such a defect – the Quality Mat has a three-year warranty.
Unfortunately for me, the tiny defect was right in the middle of the mousing surface, and quite noticeable when using the mouse mat. Following Quality Glass’ advice, (they suggested removing the dust/over-spray with a coin), I attempted to scratch off the imperfection with a key. In all honesty I thought that scratching the printed surface with anything metallic would do irreparable damage, but this was not the case. After rubbing and scratching at the surface for about 10 or 15mins with the flat end of a large security key, I had done no damage to the printed mousing surface, however I had also done nothing to reduce the tiny imperfection. There was noticeable wear on the end of the key, however, which is an indication of just how durable the Quality Mat’s printed surface really is.
Because the imperfection was in the middle of the mousing surface, I really needed to remove it, so I resorted to a metal hand-file. Generally I use the file to smooth the metal edges of case-mods or the like, and it was not something I’d usually try to use on a anything glass, let alone a pattern printed on glass. However, after about 5 mins of filing at the imperfection I had worn it away, unfortunately I did also leave a few cosmetic scratches on the printed surface of the mouse mat. But, the durability of the Quality Mat’s printed surface certainly lived up to the marketing information, it is not something you are going to hurt during normal use. It's very hard to damage even if you try.
Even though I proved that the mousing surface is no smaller than what I am used to, I would be happier if the Quality Mat was larger. Also, if the glass manufacturing process allowed, it would be nice if the edges of the mat were more rounded.
Overall, the look, feel and construction of the Quality Mat live up to its name and the printed surface is very durable. It's a good looking, solid and well-made glass mouse mat. The rigid nature of the safety glass combined with the uniform pattern and texture of the mousing surface provides for smooth, comfortable and accurate mousing. The addition of a wrist rest is a nice touch, and the provided Teflon tape makes for a very slick mousing experience.
Currently the Quality Mat is available for order though the Quality Glass website at a cost of 25.85 Euro. Their order form indicates that they accept payment via PayPal or MoneyTransfer and have a delivery charge of 14.00 for shipment outside of the EU. This makes the cost of the mouse mat about AUD$65 delivered to your door. Keep your eye out for local distributors of the Quality Mat, as I expect this will reduce the cost once the mat becomes available locally.
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