Ballistics Report

fUnc Archetype Pros

Price
Ranging in price from $24.99 for the all-plastic non-custom model to $45.99 for the custom design aluminum billet, the Archetype is generally cheaper than the 5L.

Durability
Short of a fire, nuclear incident or considerable physical abuse, the Archetype just simply will not wear out. The hippies are crying, mother nature is dying, but on this Archetype your grandchildren’s mice will still be flyin’.

Styling
The basic black is attractive enough, and with aluminum base and custom surface options, only you can blame yourself if you find your Archetype to be ugly.

fUnc Archetype Cons

Umm.. it’s bad for the environment?
OK, seriously, if the worst complaint I can come up with is that the mouse pad is somewhat louder than the 5L, it’s a pretty good mouse. Just a warning though: once your mouse’s teflon feet wear away, expect considerably more noise.

SteelPad 5L Pros

Size
They may say it’s the motion of the ocean that matters, but the extra space feels good when you’re pixel hunting in Photoshop and using a low-DPI setting on your mouse.

Comfort
Not only is it bigger, it’s softer. The SteelPad 5L hopes to harness foam’s advantages without its weaknesses. The advantages it certainly has down pat.

SteelPad 5L Cons

Price
This is relative. $40 isn’t that much for something that will arguably last you 2-5 years or more, but it is more expensive than the Archetype. You can buy the Age of Empires III theme pads for 33% off, however.

Durability questions
Again, relative. The 5L’s surface is more likely to wear through than the Archetype. Both will take several generations to wear through – the 5L several computer generations, and the Archetype several human generations.