PC users often believe that in modern times, mousepad isn’t really necessary for gaming, but what they don’t know is that how much having a mousepad helps, especially when it comes to gaming, and in this post I’m going to clear all of your misconceptions about mousepads.
What’s The Main Purpose Of A Mousepad?
The main purpose of a mousepad is to protect your mouse feet and give you a smooth gliding experience, the last thing you want is to get dirt into your mouse and a rough mouse glide.
A mousepad comes in different materials and essentially gives an ideal surface for your mouse to glide on. Without a good type of surface your mouse will get damaged.
How Using A Mousepad Can Make You Better As A Gamer
Mousepads are essential for every gamer, especially if you’re an Esports / competitive gamer, without a mousepad , you’ll be doomed. That’s because a good mousepad above everything else makes you aim better, which is the number one thing in competitive gaming.
There are many good mousepad companies like steelseries which give you a wide array of options to choose from.
Using a mousepad will help your mouse to glide better and will improve the general accuracy.
Here’s Why Every Gamer Needs A Mousepad
- Mousepad Prolongs Mouse Life By Protecting Mousefeet: The feet on your mousepad are what enable your mouse to move freely, if even one of the feet is damaged then it will become a very bad experience for you as a gamer.
A damaged mousefoot will make your mouse glide rough and you won’t be able to aim properly. When you use a mouse without a mousepad , what happens is that the tiny dirt particles on the surface collide with the mouse feet and since it’s a rough surface, constant drag from the dirt slowly deteriorates the feet of your mouse. - Mousepad Keeps Your Sensor Clean: A mousepad is a clean piece of special cloth that protects your mouse from dirt, using your mouse on a regular wooden table or any other surface will make sure that dirt and debris get into the sensor of your mouse.
The accumulation of this dirt will slowly make your mouse unresponsive and suddenly it’ll stop working. - Mousepad Helps You Aim Better: This is the most important reason to get a mousepad, a good mousepad will provide a smooth enough surface for you to aim better and it will make your aim more consistent.
- Mousepad Reduces Load On Your Wrist: Long gaming sessions almost always hurt your wrist which make you take a break from gaming and destroy your rhythm, a good mousepad will ensure proper movement of your wrist.
- Smooth Tracking/ Flicking: When you’re playing a game like CounterStrike or Valorant, you know that head tracking and flicking is so important, in fact it’s the basis of good aim, gaming without a mousepad will heavily affect your flicks in game.
A gaming mousepad will provide the perfect friction for your mouse which will enable you to flick and track your opponents easily. - Different Types Of Materials Give Different Accuracies: Some mousepads give different accuracies because they’re built from different type of fabric but the best ones are made from micro-woven cloth.
Here’s What’s Going To Happen If You Don’t Use A Mousepad
If you don’t use a mousepad, the worst thing that could happen is that your mouse will suddenly stop working because of dirt in the sensor. If this doesn’t happen then the feet will most likely corrode because of a rough table.
Oh and don’t even try to use your mouse on a glass table because it won’t give you smooth movement.
How To Protect Your Mousepad From Dirt
Although it is necessary to use a mousepad but eventually it is bound to get dirty, so make sure that you keep a soft lint cloth that you can use to clean your mousepad frequently.
You could also use a car vacuum cleaner and a toothbrush to clear out the dirt.
Best Alternatives To Mousepad
- Book : A book is the perfect thing to use if your mousepad is damaged or if you don’t want to buy one. Because it provides a smooth surface with the right amount of friction for your mouse to move on.
- Smooth Table Mat: A table mat isn’t the best thing to use as a mousepad alternative but it does a great job of providing the sufficient kind of surface for your mouse.
- Paper: A piece of paper is the cheapest solution and a great alternative to a mousepad.
How Much Do Mousepads Cost?
Mousepads can cost you anywhere from $2 to $20 , the high end ones usually cost about $15-20.
Conclusion
From the benefits that we’ve seen , it’s quite clear that mousepads are essential if you want to be a better gamer, especially when it comes to Esports where rigorous mouse movement occurs, using it on an uneven and porous surface will deteriorate the health of your mouse.