Introduction
Before we begin looking at this product, let me ask everyone one question:  When buying/building a brand new system how much thought do you give to what kind of mousepad you will use?  While answers surely would be varied, the majority of users would probably agree that the mousepad is not as essential as, say, your motherboard or CPU.  As the matter of fact, users of optical mice might even argue and say that the mousepad is not necessary at all since the optical sensor of the mouse will work on most surfaces anyway.  However, if you are a gamer or PC modder you will probably say that a good mousepad is necessary for accuracy in games or just sheer “good looks”.  To cater to this growing market of PC enthusiasts, several companies have developed specialty mousepads with different surfaces ranging from rubber all the way to glass.  One such mousepad is the Icemat 2nd Edition, which was sent to us all the way from Denmark from the wonderful folks at Icemat.  Let’s take a closer look at what this specialty mouse pad has to offer:

What’s Included & First Impressions
One of the first things that I noticed when I received the Icemat mousepad in the mail was the shear size of the box.  Could a mousepad really be this big?  It turns out that the Icemat measures approximately 12 inches wide by 10 inches high, which makes it a pretty good size mousepad.  Below are some pictures of the packaging and mousepad itself:

As you can see the Icemat includes feet on the bottom of the mousepad surface.  These are rubber and keep the mousepad from sliding.  This was a wise idea on Icemat’s part since the main surface of the Icemat is glass (even though it’s hard to see from the pictures) and would slide quite readily due to lack a of friction.  Besides the mousepad itself, adhesive strips are also included to adhere to the bottom of your mouse.  What good are these? 

Well, it turns out that these are actually Teflon strips.  Anyone who has cooked before will surely recognize the word Teflon as the substance that frying pans are coated with to prevent sticking of food.  The idea with the strips that Icemat included is similar:  Attach them to the bottom of the mouse and the mouse will glide smoother across the Icemat mousepad due to decreased friction between the teflon and glass.  This, for instance, is major plus for gamers who require an extreme range of accuracy in today’s fast paced first person shooter action games.

Other features of the mousepad as claimed by Icemat are listed on the box and are as follows:

• Long Lasting


• Solid and Steady


• Looks damn cool


• Amazing Accuracy


• Very Comfortable to use


• Doesn’t bend or loose shape


• Dimension 250 x 300mm – 10 x 12 inch

Sounds like a heck of mouspad – let’s see how these claims hold up in everyday usage and FPS gaming:

Everyday Usage
After removing all the accessories from the package I was curious at first whether the adhesive teflon strips were absolutely necessary.  My main concern was that my Logitech MX700 would not longer be able to charge in its cradle with these strips adhered.  With this in mind I initially left the teflon strips off and proceeded to just use the mouse on the Icemat.  While the mouse moved across the surface a lot smoother compared to a regular felt mousepad, it emitted an unwanted scraping noise.  Wanting to get rid of this noise, but hoping the mouse would still charge I attached the teflon strips on the bottom of the mouse.  Wow, what a difference!  The mouse glided across the glass Icemat even smoother than before.  The teflon really does make a difference worth noting.  Plus, my mouse still charges in its cradle just fine.

Using the mouse in everyday common applications such web browsing and word processing has never been such a great experience.  Movements are super smooth and also very precise with the Icemat.  While I do not do extensive graphics editing work, I could definitely imagine that the Icemat setup would benefit anyone working on projects requiring a degree of high precision for detailed work.

Gaming
The Icemat is impressive enough for everyday usage but how does it fare in a fast FPS videogame?  To find out, I went and lauched one my favorite FPS games, Battlefield 1942: Desert Combat.  After taking on the role as sniper, I was immediately impressed with the accuracy and smoothness of the mouse movements when aiming at opponents.  Even after gaming for an extended period of time the Icemat still feels comfortable.  If you play intensity/fast paced action games I can only highly recommend the Icemat 2nd Edition for you.  It will make an excellent addition to any gaming rig setup.

Conclusion
To sum things up, let’s weigh the pro’s and cons of the Icemat against each other:

Pros:

• large mousepad surface


• glass surface stays nice and cool during usage


• combination of glass and teflon results in ultra smooth and precision mouse movment


• as the box already says, “looks damn cool”

Cons:

• price

I must say that I’m very impressed by the Icemat 2nd Edition.  I didn’t think a specialty mousepad would be that more exciting from a regular mousepad, but the Icemat proved me wrong.  Even though the approximately $50 pricetag is a bit steep, I fell in love with the smooth and accurate mouse movements the Icemat provides.  If you’re a gamer or if you precisions work, I can only highly recommend the Icemat 2nd Edition to you.

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