Following on from the success of the original Icemat comes the Icemat 2. With two major differences, its black and according to the box it's "even larger". This has to be the understatement of the century. Its huge, a beast of the mouse mat world, almost gargantuan in size.

What is the purpose of a mouse mat like this I hear you ask? To game. The whole concept of gaming mice and mats was born from the success of world-popular games like Counter-Strike and Unreal Tournament, where total precision is needed for those all-important headshots.

Nice retail packaging, securely packed inside - it is glass afterall.

Dimension wise the mat is huge. 10 by 12 inches, yes that's a whole 120 square inches of gaming surface to cruise your mouse around. Consider that the mouse mat is made entirely of glass - or more accurately frosted 4mm thick blackened glass - and you've got a lot of weight. Weighing in at almost 700grams it going to be a lot heavier than your standard mouse mat.

Foam surround to keep the pad safe.

Design wise it's been nicely thought out It's got rounded corners and sides meaning it should resist chipping and also won't cause any discomfort. And just in case you forget it, it has the Icemat website address printed onto the bottom of the glass facing upwards so it looks like it was implanted into the glass itself, a very nice touch to an otherwise plain mouse mat.

The Icemat has tackled the problem of sliding mouse mat's very well by fitting six rubber feet onto the mat that will grip most surfaces it is placed on, as well as its immense weight, and I'm sure we've all missed a vital shot before because our mouse mat has slipped with the mouse now, haven't we?

As for sticking mice, this has been solved by rather elegant solution of pads. Little pads made from Teflon you stick on the bottom of you mouse's feet and helps it glide over the ice rink of the Icemat. They are actually one of the key components in the success of the Icemat, without them the pad is nothing like as smooth.

Since there are currently no benchmarks available for mice and mouse mats I went to great pains to test it, spending all day playing CS to see how well it performed - the things I do to for techangel! I did feel my game play was noticeably better; I was certainly less annoyed with the mouse mat slipping around or being very rough. It definitely makes a difference from my tattered collection of free mouse mats which are far from smooth.

There was a small problem with the review sample pad, the 'back-right' of the pad had some strange white 'scuffs' on it, something like ink or paint on the surface. I'm not sure what it is, but it didn't wipe off (easily at least). It would be annoying if a retail purchased pad had something like this on it but from my experience of the company's public relations they take quality very seriously so this issue could be taken up with them and would, I think, yield results.

Conclusion:

Probably the smoothest, and undoubtedly the best looking, mouse mat around. I'd love to recommend it to even the most infrequent of gamers. They have improved on the first Icemat by making this one compatible with optical mice, so that is no longer an excuse not to buy one. However, a more valid excuse is not having enough space - its simply huge. Be warned, also, that it needs cleaning every few days especially if, like me, you also use it as a coaster for drinks, plates and cereal bowls it soon becomes dirty and loses its smooth finish. A quick wash in cold water and thorough drying does rectify this.

Unfortunately we also have to consider it's price, which is where I feel it might dissuade a lot of people. The Icemat costs 37.50 euros on their own site, meaning it is still cheaper than the top of the range Steelpad 4S but 10 euros more than the original Icemat. It seems at UK resellers it often costs around £30. That's really quite expensive, there's no debating that. It's a good one for birthday presents, or if you're just flush, but those of us with more average spending power should try looking at the new Steelpad 4D (review coming very soon).

+ Must have for serious CS or other game players
+ Incredibly smooth
+ Very stylish
- Very pricey
- Takes up huge amounts of desk space

Yet another choice award for Steelpad/Icemat products, top quality stuff again.
Like they say, you get what you pay for.

Related:
Icemat.com
Steelpad.com
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