Had a boogiebug aimpad xl for years, now got one of the OcUK desk ones, could be 10 years old easy. Looking a bit second hand now.
May have to investigate a Ukrainian leather deskpad…or put my existing one in the washing machine again, usually helps.
It's not that pricey for Artisan pads, it's just always worth buying at least two pads as the shipping costs are a 'flat' cost regardless of how many pads you order. They also include customs now as part of the shipping choice (DHL) so my last order was August last year for 2 pads (Zero Soft XXL and Hien Soft XL) and it cost 16,000 Yen - which came to 82 quid.Not ashamed to say I probably spent many days of my life looking into mousepads the past couple of weeks.
I just hate it and being in the UK we're in the worst possible scenario.
No matter where you look it's "Oh just get an Artisan"... yeah let me just look through the 18 quintillion different versions that Artisan has. Zero, Hien, Hayate Otsu, Raiden, Key 83 it goes on and on. Don't forget you have to then figure out what softness of base you want (X Soft, Soft, Mid) so multiply that choice again by 3. Even if you somehow then figure that out, good luck actually getting it. The actual Artisan site seems completely broken and afaik there are no UK retailers. You're talking about £80 if you import which is ridiculous.
Haha, I found this company called Matrova that has 7 different surfaces and 7 different bases. The choice paralysis was insane. I did end up getting one of their pads,but with so many combinations, I can't help but wonder if I got the best one. Still reasonably happy with what I got.Not ashamed to say I probably spent many days of my life looking into mousepads the past couple of weeks.
I just hate it and being in the UK we're in the worst possible scenario.
No matter where you look it's "Oh just get an Artisan"... yeah let me just look through the 18 quintillion different versions that Artisan has. Zero, Hien, Hayate Otsu, Raiden, Key 83 it goes on and on. Don't forget you have to then figure out what softness of base you want (X Soft, Soft, Mid) so multiply that choice again by 3. Even if you somehow then figure that out, good luck actually getting it. The actual Artisan site seems completely broken and afaik there are no UK retailers. You're talking about £80 if you import which is ridiculous. OcUK if you read this I know you stock Glorious and EGG pads but apparently Artisan are looking for retailers. The main thing putting me off Artisan though is the substantial differences in x and y axis. I can tell they look well made but what good is it being well made if the weave is so ridiculously biased in one axis that you constantly overshoot or undershoot.
You then have to look elsewhere because I'm sorry but £80 for a mousepad is just bonkers. Further searching leads you to stuff like the LGG Saturn Pro which you might be able to get for under £60 but still... meh.
It lead me to look into glass mousepads. At first I was like that seems way too far out and weird but the more I thought about it I liked the concept. I can have a pad that will just always stay the same and now being in the UK is actually a massive advantage for glass. We don't have these ridiculous humid environments so likely don't need arm sleeves or similar. Some brand called Tekkusai is getting a lot of traction and it's not ridiculous at about £50 for the soon to be released Singularity.
If I was forced to go cloth (which I might still) I think the Endgame gear EMC or EMB would be my pick. EMC is very close to Saturn Pro and price is reasonable and I give points to a company for actually having proper UK distribution (done via OcUK).
Not ashamed to say I probably spent many days of my life looking into mousepads the past couple of weeks.
I just hate it and being in the UK we're in the worst possible scenario.
No matter where you look it's "Oh just get an Artisan"... yeah let me just look through the 18 quintillion different versions that Artisan has. Zero, Hien, Hayate Otsu, Raiden, Key 83 it goes on and on. Don't forget you have to then figure out what softness of base you want (X Soft, Soft, Mid) so multiply that choice again by 3. Even if you somehow then figure that out, good luck actually getting it. The actual Artisan site seems completely broken and afaik there are no UK retailers. You're talking about £80 if you import which is ridiculous. OcUK if you read this I know you stock Glorious and EGG pads but apparently Artisan are looking for retailers. The main thing putting me off Artisan though is the substantial differences in x and y axis. I can tell they look well made but what good is it being well made if the weave is so ridiculously biased in one axis that you constantly overshoot or undershoot.
You then have to look elsewhere because I'm sorry but £80 for a mousepad is just bonkers. Further searching leads you to stuff like the LGG Saturn Pro which you might be able to get for under £60 but still... meh.
It lead me to look into glass mousepads. At first I was like that seems way too far out and weird but the more I thought about it I liked the concept. I can have a pad that will just always stay the same and now being in the UK is actually a massive advantage for glass. We don't have these ridiculous humid environments so likely don't need arm sleeves or similar. Some brand called Tekkusai is getting a lot of traction and it's not ridiculous at about £50 for the soon to be released Singularity.
If I was forced to go cloth (which I might still) I think the Endgame gear EMC or EMB would be my pick. EMC is very close to Saturn Pro and price is reasonable and I give points to a company for actually having proper UK distribution (done via OcUK).
I loved my Ikea leather mouse pad, used it for years - bought it back in 1999. Too small for gaming these days. Still got it remained in good conditional despite not really taking care of it. The best feature is has a metal plate to provide the shape.I have settled on a real leather deskpad from an Etsy seller in Ukraine...not cheap (£80) but it feels so nice. I am tired of all mousepad start to wear / worn where the mouse goes over the most and it turns like a grey colour? I try cleaning it by scrubbing it with soapy water under the sink but it doesn't change it much. I've gone through a couple of Razer and forgot the others. After a year or so, they are all the same.
Leather...it just shines like leather. I can also clean and condition it with leather cleaner and conditioner. I don't play FPS games though so I can't say how good it is on that but it is fine with general use.
So 41 quid per pad - and the latest Steelseries QCK Performance pads are 45 quid (also meant to be a really good pad and I'll likely try one out soon!).
Doesn't seem to be the case anymore.it's just always worth buying at least two pads as the shipping costs are a 'flat' cost regardless of how many pads you order.
You sure? This is what I see:They also include customs now as part of the shipping choice (DHL)
Shame that it's down to 2 pads max, although I still think it's a good choice to order 2 at once if you can.Doesn't seem to be the case anymore.
"For DHL (not EMS) shipments, up to two pieces can be shipped at the same shipping cost."
So max 2 pads.
You sure? This is what I see:
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First of all "Includes COVID emergency surcharge"... LOL.
"Customs duty and sales tax/VAT are not included"
I also forgot you have to give your credit card details to them and only have a debit card so literally impossible to get an Artisan for me. Maybe if someone wants to take the risk and order 2 Artisan pads I'll pay like £55 for one. Net yourself approx £15 taking your pad down to about £26.
Atk, PK1 Control, X-ray pad etc. - all available on Aliexpress with delivery to the UK in ~9 days. Stop going for these big name brands that are made in the same factory.