Steelpad 5L Mouse Pad
Review by: Steve
Edited by: Ji4m
Provided by: SteelSeries
Price: $45 Canadian

Introduction:
SteelSeries is most commonly known for their famous gamer's mouse pads, the SteelPad series. Although they are also starting to venture into many new products such as gaming headphones and security software, they have not forgotten the SteelPad which started it all. Today we're looking at the latest pad in this series, the SteelPad 5L.

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In The Box:
(1) Steelpad 5L

Specs:
Dimensions: 380 x 280 mm

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Features:
The Steelpad 5L is a hybrid mouse surface, with both cloth and plastic construction. It's composed of five main layers, and to best describe each layer and it's use I've put an excerpt from the SteelSeries website below:

"The first layers consists of plastic coating on a cloth material, utilizing the strength and durability of plastic and the feel of quality cloth. The middle layer is composed of specially designed soft rubber foam to provide the feeling of softness. The bottom layers provide stability, as a highly durable plastic layer guarantees the shape of the pad, followed by small soft rubber elements offering complete non-slip steadiness."

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I found the top surface of the 5L to be much more visually appealing than my past Steelpad S&S which only had their logo in the lower left corner. The entire top of the 5L is a very wicked and eye-catching image with their logo still incorporated into the bottom left corner.

This pad works well with all types of mouse products, from ball mouse to optical and laser.

With a size measuring 380 x 280mm (15" X 11"), the 5L isn't a tiny mouse surface like some. In comparison to my Steelpad S&S, it was slightly larger still.

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Testing:
To test the Steelpad 5L it got a full week of daily heavy use to allow me to become comfortable with it in all aspects of use. In terms of fast paced gaming I feel that it didn't have the speed the Steelpad S&S had, but that is because of the difference in materials, with the S&S being a plastic only surface. Overall I was extremely happy with gaming on the 5L. There is definitely nothing that I disliked about that experience. The same goes for the general use of this pad as well. The five layers makes this a very comfortable mouse pad to use for extended periods of time. I also prefer a larger mouse pad surface which I have enjoyed in the Steelpad products that I have used. The antislip surface on the back of the mouse pad works amazingly well. You can press your hand against the pad on an angle and push as hard as you can and I doubt the pad will move at all, it didn't on my desk that's for sure.

Conclusion:
In the end, the Steelpad 5L proved to be a very worthy mouse pad on both the heavy gaming front as well as for home users who want a comfortable and high-performing mouse pad. Don't think you need to be a gamer to enjoy all the benefits of a Steelpad! I personally really enjoyed the feel and performance this mouse pad had to offer..

Pros:
Great all-around surface, does hardcore gaming and general use very well
Large size
Sweet image design on the top!
Grips well on desk surface and doesn't slide

Cons:
None.

Rating: 10/10

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