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I’ve never liked mouse pads. They’re practical, but they look tacky to my eyes. Then I discovered tempered glass mouse pads, and that has changed everything.
1More Premium Than Your Average Mouse Pad
Most mouse pads are made of cloth (likely plastic), and they’re only slightly larger than the mouse itself. MyStudio series mouse pad from Logitechis primarily made of polyester. Mouse pads like this look somewhat cheap next to an aluminum laptop or a 4K monitor.
They make me think of the beige boxy PCs from my childhood, not the more aesthetic machines of today. Looks alone are reason enough for me tochoose a hard mouse pad over a soft one.
A tempered glass mouse pad feels just as premium as the machines it sits alongside—and I’m not just talking about high-end PCs! These days you can get a classy Chromebook for a couple hundred bucks or a MacBook Air for not much more than half a grand.
Whatever your budget, a tempered glass mouse pad makes sure your workspace continues to have a high-end vibe. You can get one for under $30, like thegeneric one I bought on Amazon.
2A Minimalist Look
Using a mouse pad has felt to me like dropping a traditional rug in a room filled with modernist furniture. Most are curvy and plushy in a sea of straight lines and hard angles. They’re often the only piece of fabric on a desk.
Tempered glass mouse pads are made of the same materials as their neighboring electronics. They are also more likely to blend into the design of the desk. Mine is black, large, and square. It looks more like a part of my desk than something left sitting on top. I imagine it would merge even more with a glass desk than one made of wood.
3Better Traction Than Doing Without
Doing without a mouse pad entirely provides the most minimalist look and, until recently, what I would have considered a prettier one. Yet this choice comes with downsides. Many mice audibly scrape against the surface of your desk, potentially leaving behind scratches over time. Your cursor may also be a little less precise as the mouse works just a bit harder to detect the surface it’s on.
Despite being made of glass, a tempered glass mouse pad provides excellent traction. Skeptical? Thesemouse pads are often advertised to gamers. I found out about the concept when I saw Razer makes a tempered glass mouse pad with RGB lights. That wasn’t the look I personally wanted, but I liked the concept.
Since replacing my old mouse pad, I’ve been no less satisfied with how my mouse feels to use (though, compared to a soft mouse pad, it does make more noise).
4Large Space for Gaming
Tempered glass mouse pads are often large affairs. Mine is easily twice the size of my keyboard. This provides a lot of room to move a mouse around without sliding off the edge. you may pan from one end of a wide-screen monitor to the other without giving a thought to picking up your mouse and repositioning it.
I don’t game much at my desk, but I do have a 4K monitor thatI use with my phone instead of a PC. That’s a lot of pixels to move a cursor across, and a large mouse pad helps. When you work full-time from your desk, any added comfort and productivity boost is a worthwhile investment.
5Works With Your Existing Mouse
You don’t need to swap out your mouse to get a tempered glass mouse pad. I’ve used two different optical mice, and both worked just fine. After all, these days you can use optical mice directly on a glass desk. Mice don’t attract many headlines because they’re not exciting (and they rarely need replacing), but they’ve come a long way.
Mouse pads, too, are better than we think. You can geta large desk pad wide enough to hold everything, including your mouse, keyboard, and whatever else. You aren’t limited to the standard fare of yesteryear. You can find a mouse pad that looks and feels every bit as nice as the mouse you place on top of it.
