All Mousepads aren’t created equal

What are you mousing with?

Do you have a ‘regular’ mousepad? You know what I’m talking about. It’s there, always making out with your mouse. Whether it be one of those flimsy porous foam-y types with a flower print, or maybe even one with a *gasp* gel pad for the wrist. Or worse, you are using NO mousepad at all! Anyway, as a gamer, we would like to have the best stuff to strut, right? Especially if we are to impress the ladies at our LAN parties – ok, there are no ladies there – but still, a true gamer would want every peripheral that he or she games with, to be top-notch. What does it matter if we have a super funky Logitech MX1000 Laser Mouse – if it’s sitting on a burlap cloth for a mousepad? It’s like having a Ferrari run on 13” rims with a plastic wheel hub.

It has been more than four years since Bob Colayco posted his surface 1030 Mouse Pad Review, and we feel that it is high time to take a closer look at another one.

Tin stamped case

Embossed design on retail case

Thunder 8 - black on black

Enter the X-Ray Thunder8 Professional Mousepad. It comes in many color varieties such as orange, emerald, blue and black. The one up for review is the black one, model T8/BK (black). The only difference is the color of the plastic base, but each mousing surface is black. Geared for gamers, this slick-looking mousepad has a reversible surface, as well as sturdy construction throughout.

First Impressions

From first opening the shipping box, our first impressions of the case was from its retail packaging. It came in a clam-shell type tin case, with the branding embossed on the front, along with rivets, giving it a sleek industrial look. If this were sitting on a store shelf, it will easily stand out against its competitors.

We tore off the shrink wrap, and opened up the sleek case. We found the packaging to be extremely snug (as to not have the product damage during shipping, we suppose). There were two layers of styrofoam sheeting above and below the pad. In the bottom layer, there is a rectangular indention where the removable mouse cord clip sits. The package includes a how-to-use sheet (funny, I thought these things were self-explanatory), but it didn’t mention anything about what applications were good for the coarse and smooth side of the pad. It did, however, conveniently mention that there is a small gap on the bottom left of the pad (called the ‘Easy Lift Corner’) through which you can squeeze in a finger tip to raise the mousing surface (to clean or switch side).

The Thunder8 measured 11.4” x 9.3”, and is quite large for a mousepad, enough room to maneuver in those tight situations in heated FPS combat. The base is made of tough non-flexible ABS plastic. On the underside lies 10 evenly-spaced out rubber pads, more than enough to keep it from sliding around on a desktop. The reversible mousing surface is shaped so that it can only be placed on the pad in one direction, keeping the logo on the top-right when placed properly. The dual-surface mouse pad is slightly flexible, but not enough so that we worry about cracking it.

The black metal mouse cord holder can be attached at any four points on the keyboard, all located on the ‘top half’ of the base. This reviewer had a very hard time installing it into one of the slots, and after 10 minutes of trying, he gave up. Seeing that the reviewer only used cordless mice, this point is quite moot.