Review: Do gamers really need a mousepad as premium as the Ironclad? Razer thinks so, but our opinions is... Probably not.
Razer wants gamers to have really nice things. It keeps releasing what can only be described as premium items and then getting a touch disappointed when they don’t quite make it. The mirrored Lycosa limited edition keyboard which we gave an Epic Fail to comes to mind, as do some of the company’s Starcraft gear: good stuff on paper, but gear that’s either poorly thought out or just too damned expensive.
Sadly, the Ironclad falls in the latter category.
It’s a pretty solid mousepad, make no mistake on that front. And we mean solid – its upper surface is made from a single piece of aluminium about a millimetre thick. Under that is a layer of textured rubber to grip to whatever surface you rest it on. It is supremely well-made, and certainly luxurious.
It’s bit of a mixed bag in use, though. The ultra-smooth sandblasted surface means more of a mouse’s feet make contact with the pad, meaning it actually equates to more drag on your movements. At the sametime, the sandblasting still leaves a microscopically rough surface – you might not feel it to the touch, but the high-pitched grinding noise your mouse makes as it moves across the Ironclad suggests otherwise. It’s not particularly comfortable to feel, though the noise is less of an issue if you game with headsets.
In terms of performance, it does deliver an accurate sense of feedback, probably thanks to that raspy feel. It’ll be a great choice for snipers. But it doesn’t really add anything to our gaming experience.
It does, however, leave a $70-shaped hole in your wallet if you wish to buy one. And that’s just too much, not matter the quality of the product.
Issue: 137 | June, 2012