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XTRAC Hammer, XTRAC Ripper XL, Steelpad QcK+ Mousepads and Mad Wax

Join the community - in the OCAU Forums! Date  23rd March 2005 Author  Gibbon Editor  James "Agg" Rolfe Manufacturer  XTRAC Manufacturer  Steelpad XTRAC Mad Wax and Conclusions XTRAC Mad Wax: Along with the Hammer and Ripper XL, XTRAC sent a bottle of their Mad Wax for review. "Mad Wax" is a Carnuba wax blended with liquid Teflon, used to buff and lubricate plastic mousepads. Note that it's not for cloth mousepads, for obvious reasons. Mad Wax can be used as an alternative to add on/replacement Teflon mouse feet, or in combination. It's supplied in a small bottle, and although the bottle doesn't actually say how much wax it contains, I'd estimate it at around 20mL. The instructions say to "apply a dime sized amount to a clean, dry cloth and apply to your mousepad using a circular motion". Allowing for the strong Australian dollar, I approximated with a blob about the size of a 10c piece. The wax itself is white and fairly runny, and it's very easy to rub into the mousing surface of your mousepad. Then it's just a matter of using another clean cloth to buff the wax off. I threw on The Karate Kid for inspiration, and attacked the XTRAX Hammer. Wax on, wax off! After much rubbing, buffing, rubbing and buffing (hmmm), here's the end result! Mmmmm, waxy goodness. The photo may not show the difference, but the mousing surface definitely had more of a shine to it after the Mad Wax application. Does it make a difference for mousepad usage? Well, yes, I'd say it does. The mouse certainly slides over the surface more easily after the Mad Wax application, feeling that bit slicker. Time will tell how long the fresh waxy surface will last, but the bottle contains enough Mad Wax for quite a few applications. Conclusion: So, how do these three high-end mousepads stack up? As plastic mousepads go, the XTRAC Hammer is certainly a fine example. Its large, smooth mousing surface, super-thin profile and accurate tracking make it a winner in my eyes. The XTRAC Ripper XL and Steelpad QcK+ are in my opinion very similar mousepads. They both have a fine woven upper cloth surface, with a rubberised backing. They are both roughly the same thickness, and have the same feel both in and out of use. They both offer the same flexibility. If you're looking for a cloth mousepad and like them big, either of these mousepads would suit you down to the ground. I'd find it hard to recommend one over the other to be honest. After using the XTRAC Ripper XL and Steelpad QcK+ for a while, I can see that cloth mousepads do have their place. People who regularly lug their PC to LANs would benefit from being able to roll their mousepad up and throw it in a bag without having to worry about bending and creasing, etc. They're certainly much, much better to use than the "wetsuit" cloth mousepads of old. I'm very impressed, and almost converted, but down deep I think I'm still a plastic mousepad kinda guy. All three of these mousepads are intentionally large, will appeal to people who want a massive mousepad. Lots of mousepad real estate is certainly a good thing in terms of keeping your mouse on the surface during the heat of the moment, but these three mousepads really do take up a lot of desk space - they're all a little too big for my liking. I found that I was really only using the left 2/3 of the mousepad, the rest of the pad was really too far away to be comfortably used. XTRAC's Mad Wax is an interesting product and does the job of cleaning/lubricating and generally conditioning the XTRAC Hammer (the only mousepad I tried it on) very well. A quick wax every few months should see the Hammer maintain its silky smooth surface, enhancing its performance. In summary, if you want a really big mousepad, whether plastic or cloth, one of these three mousepads would certainly fit the bill. I'd recommend any of them. However, at present, these mousepads and Mad Wax are not that easy to find in Australia. Some XTRAC mousepads are available through ozxtrac.com. The Steelpad QcK+ is available from some local retailers - check the where to buy page on the steelpad website. Thanks to XTRAC and Steelpad for supplying the review samples. << Back OCAU Main Page Select Page Page 1 - Page 2 - Page 3 - Page 4 -

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