XTracGear Carbonic, Ripper & Ripper XXL

I've been using the XtracGear Ripper, Ripper XXL, and Carbonic on a few different systems within the new Phoronix office since Xtrac sent out these review samples. Fortunately the timing is optimal as while my gaming days are exceptionally rare these days, it's been right during the rollout of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive on Linux: I've been checking out the game a fair bit plus having to work on a new test profile for it, etc.

While gaming is the main focus of these high-end mouse pads, having plenty of different ones at Phoronix over the years, I've grown accustomed to using fine surfaces for my mice. I also prefer high-end, ultra-sensitive gaming mice and mouse pads even for systems where I'm bound to coding and other business tasks.

The Carbonic, Ripper, and Ripper XXL all fulfilled their duties of being a good mouse pad: edges were not fraying, the surface was very soft and comfortable, while all the mouse tracked well. The mice for these different pads were a variety of Razer mice (the DeathAdder, Salmosa, and Lachesis mostly) plus the ROCCAT Lua.

At just ~$15 for the XtracGear Carbonic it should be easy to consider if you're after a gaming surface but not looking to spend much, it offers just enough room, and is very durable. The XtracGear Ripper is a nice choice if you're looking for a bit more surface than the Carbonic and it's the Ripper that I've decided to now use at my main computer. The only one of these products that may be a bit hard to justify would be the XtracGear Ripper XXL: I've yet to encounter a need for providing a bit of cushion to my keyboard or other components on my desk and it just takes up a godly amount of space. However, if you're looking for something to place your laptop on and also an external mouse, the XtracGear Ripper XXL is much more reasonable to consider. It'd be great to use the Ripper XXL if wanting to place your laptop/mouse on any surfaces that might be fragile/scratch-friendly. XtracGear's products can be found available for purchase at most major Internet retailers and you can learn more or buy direct via XtracGear.com. Thanks to XtracGear for sending out these review samples and being interested in the Linux gaming market!