SteelPad 5L

Examination:

While many of SteelPad's past mouse surfaces have been black and offered very little in the way of graphical details, the SteelPad 5L certainly offers stunning graphics. As can be seen from the pictures in this article, the appearance of the mouse pad is certainly surreal. On the top of the pad, in the lower left hand corner is the 5L branding and SteelPad logo, while towards the middle of the mouse pad is another detail and is marked "5L". On the bottom of the mouse pad, is the rubber surface to ensure that the pad does stay in contact with the desk, and will not slide around at all while in use.

The five-layer design for this mouse pad is to bring fourth the important mouse pad qualities of a plastic surface -- durability and stability -- while combining the softness and smoothness of a cloth mouse pad. As a result, you end up with a unique five-layer design that SteelPad has mastered, and from feeling this mouse pad, it does indeed feel like a cloth mouse pad on the top, while picking it up, it has the rigid characteristics that one would only expect from plastic.

Once again, the five layers are a plastic coating, cloth, soft polyisoprene, hard plastic, and rubber elements. While the SteelPad 5L may be a larger mouse pad than many on the market, it only measures in at 380 x 280 mm. For a comparison shot, below is a look at the SteelPad 5L on top of the Razer Mantis surface.