When it comes to gaming equipment and peripherals, they’re not something you can skimp on. Buying a gaming oriented keyboard or mouse leaves you with no shadow of a doubt that they’re the right tool for the job and the right tool for you to be your best. But what about surfaces, does the same apply to them? You can have the best gaming mouse money can buy as well as the best accuracy but if you can’t effectively communicate this to the game, you may as well stop playing. People use everything and anything from their desk surface to a cheap or even freebie mouse mat. So, what’s it like to treat a mouse mat with the same respect other gaming peripherals get and buy a fairly expensive one?
Well known for its high-quality gaming peripherals, 13-year old company Razer has asked the same question and their line of mouse mats are the answer. From desk covering to more portable mouse mats and a mixture of hard and soft surfaces, Razer has them all. Razer’s motto is “For Gamers. By Gamers.”, so let’s see if this holds true as, over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been using the double-sided, hard-surfaced, Razer Vespula. One side is designed to give increased glide and maximise movement (nicknamed the “SPEED” side), while the other is tailored for more precise movement to give greater control when it’s needed (unsurprisingly, nicknamed the “CONTROL” side). The Vespula also has the added benefit of a wrist rest for the greatest comfort and to avoid fatigue so you can keep on gaming.
Razer Vespula Gaming Surface
Having tried both sides for general usage (browsing the internet and so on) as well as various games - Call of Duty 4, Team Fortress 2, Killing Floor and Mass Effect, to name a few - I have built up a pretty good idea of how the Vespula performs and feels. During both general usage and gaming, I found switching between the sides made little or no difference to the glide or ease of precision the mouse had. This is not to say the surfaces are in anyway bad; both are very good and offer great speed with the precision to be right on the money when it counts. The mouse mat I normally use is a Steelseries QcK - a cloth covered mouse mat I bought for less than £7. While the QcK is good, due to being cloth it hinders the gliding of the mouse. This is certainly not the case with the Vespula.
When I found out I would be testing the Razer Vespula, I was originally uncertain of how I’d take to the wrist rest as, afterall, I’m not used to one. I am, however, please to say that my mind was shortly put to rest as it’s comfortable, easily adapted to and doesn’t hinder your movement in fast paced games. Another thing to note is movement, or in the case of the Vespula the lack of movement. With some mouse mats it’s a worry that it’ll be sliding all over the place and massively impact your performance in game. This was not the case with the Vespula as thanks to its rubber base, it wasn’t going anywhere.
Overall, the Vespula is very good. While the outset is quite a bit for a mouse mat, it’s not the most expensive in the market, you know that it’s a quality product and, when using it, it really shows. Some might find the surface a bit small but with my CM Storm Inferno it certainly wasn’t an issue for me. To conclude, it does everything it should, a great surface combined with being very comfortable to use. If you’re in the market for a new mouse mat then this is definitely worth a look.
