Almost three years ago, I wrote my first article for the SteelSeries SteelKeys 6G which was an amazing keyboard at the time. I did a fair few more after that but slowly I tried to move myself away from reviewing scene, since no matter how bad the product was I felt the pressure of having to recommend it.

So when ESMarket asked me to review a new pad from PureTrak, I was a little apprehensive at first. They later revealed to me it was a PureTrak Talent and I instantly felt the excitement I did all those years ago. I have had some experience with these as Fizz/Gonzo/PeetyG all use them. So here we are once again about to pick this pad apart and see what makes it so different to the rest!

The parcel arrived in a Hard Tube; I was instantly thinking Everglide Titan. For those of you who don’t know, the Everglide Titan was made famous for two reasons, it had a pretty orange and white Fnatic design on it, and more importantly it came in a protective tin tube. This Tube is unique however, it is used as the postage container, your LAN mouse pad container, and also the products packaging all in one. For the cost of $1.20 (yes I looked it up) this is by far the best mouse container in production.

Inside the tube I was greeted by some more goodies

1. The PureTrak Talent (483mm x 356mm)
2. Promotional PureTrak A4 wall poster
3. Tell a Friend PureTrak coupon (valid for 25% off, regardless of purchase size)
4. Free 30day Ventrilo Server coupon from parent company PureVoice (enclosed with purchase email)

It’s the little things that count. While the container and coupons provide even greater value for money, I am left thinking how much better the paper wall poster would be if it was a sticker. None the less it was nice to get a little extra.

Moving onto the mouse pad now, it’s BIG! It’s roughly the same size as the largest Razer Goliathus or QCK, however it’s like the widescreen version, slightly wider but not quite as deep. It is also quite thick (6mm) roughly the same as a QCK Heavy.

The pad’s thickness also caters to the most uneven of LAN desks’. If you have ever played at TheBunker and got the 3rd Pc with the massive Desk Join in the middle you know why this thickness is needed.

One of the first things I look at is the edges, previously with the Razer pads especially; I always find the edges to be poorly cut. The PureTrak Talent seems to be cut with a higher precision, with no visible fraying occurring. The rubber backing is very much the same as any high end cloth pad with one exception. Its surface is slightly adhesive to touch (like when you pull a sticker off something). While I didn’t notice any difference in the ‘stickability’ of the pad to my desk, maybe on glass or other surfaces it could prove to be an improvement. The PureTrak Talent Logo is also part of the surface. In some pads the logo is attached after production rendering that corner of the pad useless, this is not the case with the PureTrak Talent.

It could be argued that the textured pattern is the most unique feature of the pad. PureTrak Talent has gone for tiny little hexagons (much like a honeycomb). With people complaining that some of the solid black pads don’t work well with laser mice, and others complaining that heavily coloured pads are just as bad, this seems to be a good compromise. PureTrak have persisted with this textured pattern since 2007, and it seems to have paid off. Other companies are now releasing pads with similar patterns but double the price.

So after all this time talking about the packaging and how it looks I think it’s time to take it for a test run.

Testing variables

• SteelSeries Intellimouse Explorer v3
• HyperGlide Mouse Skates for Microsoft V3
• Default Hertz and Default Windows Sense

I replaced my Fnatic QCK with the Puretrak and could instantly notice two things, my mouse glides a lot faster, and in return my sensitivity feels about 20% faster. Even comparing it to the Razer Speed, it still feels faster. This could possibly be the fastest cloth pad I have ever used. A long time ago, when hard pads ruled the desks, it was because of the speed they could produce with just a set of mouse skates. However it was soon learnt that hard pads wear down both your skates and the pad itself at an alarming rate, and so the exodus to cloth pads resulted. It sounds corny I know, but this pad could restore the balance, It offers the speed of a hard pad, but the durability of a cloth pad. This pad is seriously quick!

On a final note before I get into my conclusions, the packaging claims the pad is ‘Stain Resistant’ and ‘Machine washable’. While I’m sure no one is willing to test this on their brand new pad, I in fact did test this on a limited edition Raptor Gaming QCK and it was never the same. So read into “Machine washable” however you like. Stain resistant on the other hand could be handy, if it could prevent this from happening to my Titan, then It just sealed the deal.

When it comes to cloth pads, they are plenty that offer similar features so it’s the little differences that make it count

I would recommend the PureTrak Talent to anyone who is sick of paying $50 and up for a pad that arrives in a blister pack. Anyone who thinks a $50 mouse pad should be cut accurately. Anyone who is trying to replicate a hard pad, but doesn’t want to fork out for skates every month. And finally anyone who wants a good quality affordable cloth pad that will work under most conditions.

You can purchase your very own PureTrak Talent from ESMarket that ships from Melbourne.