| Maxtill G-pad Mouse Pad - Page 1 of 1 |
Over the last few weeks I have been evaluating the Maxtill G-pad mouse pad. Now I can hear everyone already saying “Mouse pad? What is there to review about a mouse pad?” To this I have to answer: A LOT!!! Read on and you will see what I am talking about.
For a little background, Maxtill is a manufacturing company from the Republic of Korea that is focused solely on special mouse pads. They offer a few different models and styles, and as an extra impressive touch, will personalize their products with your logo. The review samples sent in all feature the BigBruin.Com logo, but the one they seem to display most prominently on their site features the Playboy bunny...
Let’s start with the packaging... It is unlike any I have ever seen with a mouse pad, or for that matter, any computer related item. The Maxtill G-pad comes in a Nylon carrying case that has Velcro closure on it. It almost looks like a small brief case or document pouch.
Inside there is an elastic strap with Velcro fasteners to hold everything in place. Once you open up the carrying case you find all kinds of goodies. There are bags of helpful things to get your mouse pad set up and level, including; felt leveling pads for the G-pad base, extra little rubber feet like the ones already on the base of the pad, “Padmates" which are a Teflon pads for bottom of mouse, and a cleaning cloth.
 
The rubber ball feet proved very helpful for me, as I have a home brewed mouse tray on my desk and I normally have the edge of the mouse pad hanging off the edge of it (see picture below). At first, with just the ball feet that came on the pad it wobbled, but I was able to add some ball feet to keep it stable even when hanging off of the mouse tray.
Here are the rubber ball feet on the bottom side of pad. I have indicated the two that I added to stabilize the pad when hanging off the edge of my mouse tray.
I also applied some of the included Padmates Teflon mouse pads to the bottom of my Logitech MX 500.
Last (and in my opinion least) in the carrying case is a piece of plexi glass with the same rubber ball feet on it as the mouse pad. I have no idea what this is for, unless it is just to add protection for the G-pad while transporting it in the case, but why they put the rubber ball feet on it is beyond me.
All right, now that we have covered the goodies, let’s take a look at the pad. Calling it a 'pad' is some what misleading. There is nothing soft or pad like about it, with the exception of the carrying case. The Maxtill G-pad is made from Tempered Glass combined with special polymers and alloys, and has a somewhat ceramic feel to it. According to the Maxtill website, the pad can be broken but is somewhat resilient to breaking. They have a video which shows them dropping it onto a hard floor from about chest level... It bounces a few times but does not break or chip. Personally I grew to like the G pad too fast to want to risk dropping it to find out for myself. As you can see, the pad comes it two colors, black and a frosted transparent color.
As you can see ours came with the "Big Bruin" name and tag-line on it, the Big Bruin and Maxtill website URLs, and of course the G-pad logo. This is a very nice touch that could be very beneficial to businesses for advertising, or to anyone who just wants a custom look on their mouse pad.
Everything up to know has been real nice, but let’s face it... When it comes to mouse pads, what is really important is how the mouse feels on the pad and how easily and accurately you can control the pointer on the screen. This is where the Maxtill G-pad excels! To give a fair comparison I used a few other mouse pads for a couple of days each, to get a good feel for what I liked and what I didn’t. I rounded up an Icemat pad, another Maxtill pad called the K2 (which is a kin to the standard cloth covered rubber pad but a bit stiffer and thinner than normal), and last but not least my beloved Ratzpad.
I have been using the Ratzpad for over two years and really didn’t think anything would ever take its place on my desk. Next I tried the Maxtill K2, and I was not happy with the effort it took to make the mouse move around on this pad, and really think it is best suited to use with a ball mouse. Moving on, I tried the Icemat pad next. Although it was better than the K2 pad, it had a rough scratching feeling as the mouse moved over it and it even made a sound similar to finger nails on a chalk board. I would put it above the K2 pad but not as nice of feel as the Ratzpad. Finally I placed the Maxtill G-pad on my desk, and my mouse and I immediately felt at home. As much as I loved my old Ratzpad, this pad had a more of an “in control” feel to it. Sometime with the Ratzpad it almost felt too slippery and you would mouse past where you wanted to go when moving the mouse very quickly.
The Maxtill G-pad is just the right size for my likings. I never once ran off the pad no matter how wild the gaming action got. There obviously are no bench marks to be run on a mouse pad so everything is about the “feel” you get from the pad and mouse combination. With the combination of the Padmates on the bottom of my mouse and the Maxtill G-pad, I felt much more accurate and in control in all the FPS games I played.
Conclusion:
The Maxtill G-pad is an awesome mouse pad. Its packaging is second to none and it looks great as well. It offers a better feel of control than any mouse surface I have seen or used and does so with a style all its own.
The only downside to the G-pad is that it is currently not available for sale outside of Korea. They are actively pursuing distribution in the USA and elsewhere, and once they find a partner in the USA, we might get a better idea on the price. Yes, the cons are big ones! However, I think once they become available here you will see that they are well worth the wait. The coolness factor of showing up to a LAN party with your mouse pad in a cool carrying case like this one, and then whipping out a unique mouse pad with your name or logo has to be worth waiting for. Plus all the goodies that come with this mouse pad make it a definite winner.
I give this pad four and half stars with the availability issue in the USA being it’s only draw back.
Final Rating (4.5 out of 5 stars):  
Pros:
• Great feeling of control
• Customization – You will be able to order custom images or text on your G-pad
• Bundled with an ample supply of all kinds of useful extras
• Very durable, I don’t think you can wear one out
Cons:
• Availability, as of this writing, the Maxtill G-pad is only available in Korea. This is a situation we hope to see change very soon.
• Price because it is not available here yet, we have no idea on cost
Special thanks to Maxtill for providing the G-pad and K2 mouse pads to BigBruin.Com for review!
Please drop by the BigBruin.Com forum and feel free to discuss this review!
Page 1 | Home | Forum | Review Index | Page Views:
|
|
|
|
