Steelpad S&S, Conclusions
The Steelpad S&S:
The Steelpad S&S is a very different mousepad to the Gamma Pad. It's bigger, thinner, lighter and more flexible. Contrary to its name, the "Steelpad S&S professional gaming mousepad" isn't made from steel, rather a hard plastic material. The company responsible did produce some earlier 4S and 3S mousepads which were metallic - but they were aluminium, not steel.
A zip-up carry sleeve is included in the box with the Steelpad S&S, which is a nice inclusion as a way of protecting it when travelling to a LAN etc. The carry sleeve also has a separate zip-up pocket on the back, which would be handy for holding your mouse, a few packets of penguin mints, or any other essentials.
The Steelpad S&S design is simple, but effective. The hard top surface texture is fine and relatively smooth (definitely a lot smoother than my trusty old Ratpad), similar to the mousing surface on the Gamma Pad, but a little finer to my naked eye. My highly technical testing method of running my fingernails across it seems to confirm this.
The bottom surface has a tacky rubber material across it, which gives the pad very effective grip on all surfaces I tried it with. In my opinion this approach is better than having feet, as it allows the entire surface of the mouspad to contact the desk, removing any possibility of flex. The rubberised surface certainly works. I tried the Steelpad S&S on my work desk, my home desk and various other surfaces around the house, and it gripped well.
The Steelpad S&S is also rather large, measuring 320mm x 265mm across the middle of the mousing surface, and the full size is usable. As a comparison, we can see the Gamma Pad sitting on top of the Steelpad S&S in the photo below:
Thickness is around 2mm, which combined with the Steelpad's slight flexibility means that it will always sit flat on the desk, and is comfortable to rest your wrist on.
Usage:
The Steelpad S&S certainly feels good under a mouse. I wouldn't classify myself as even a pretend hardcore gamer, but my MS Explorer 3.0 seemed to glide across the surface, even more easily than the Gamma Pad (which in itself was a definite improvement over my Ratpad in my opinion). The Steelpad S&S is definitely the smoothest mousepad I've used. Precision also appears excellent from the workout I've given it. Tracking seemed to be spot on all the time. Try as I might, I couldn't make my optical mouse mistrack or just plain go bezerk, as it has been known to do at the most inopportune times with other mousepads I've used (usually while I'm flying a chopper 2 feet above the ground, with predictable consequences). The surface of the Gamma Pad seemed as precise to me, but the Steelpad is just that bit smoother, as well as significantly larger. I didn't find myself having to reposition the mouse on the Steelpad at all - I think those extra centimetres are definitely useful. Again, I tried the Steelpad with Ye Olde Ball Mouse, and it worked fine as well.
The other thing I really liked about the Steelpad was its thickness, or rather lack thereof. Being so thin, and sitting perfectly flat on the desk, I actually forgot the Steelpad was there when in the heat of a Doom3-related panic attack, and to me that's a sign that it's a good surface to be using. A thin mousepad feels more comfortable to me (which I've only now realised after using a Ratpad for the last four years), and I didn't experience the wrist soreness that I found with the Gamma Pad (or indeed have noticed at times with my Ratpad).
Conclusion:
The Thermaltake Gamma Pad and Steelpad S&S are both good mousepads in their own right, but they have different target audiences.
If you like flashing and glowing things, then perhaps the Gamma Pad is for you. Personally, I'm not a fan of bling bling in PCs and would probably rather have a lava lamp for the same effect (that's a hint for any of my friends/relatives who may be reading ... and a reminder that it's my birthday this month), but if you are, the Gamma Pad can deliver. Glowing stuff aside, as a mousepad the Gamma Pad is very good, albeit a little small for my liking. The surface is precise and smooth, my only other criticism being the height at which it sits above the desk.
The Steelpad S&S is hard to fault. It's large, it's precise, it's smooth, it's thin and it's flexible. Certainly the best mousepad I've used. There's not much more to say. Highly recommended.
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