Introduction

Those free cloth mouse pads you received with your computer just won't cut it anymore in today's world of precision and speed. Teflon, Metal, Glass, etc. surfaces are all out there for you to choose from in the mousing world. The Icemat is known for its cool glass look and awesome performance, yet it hasn't stopped there. Icemat has introduced the Icemat 2nd Edition.

Specifications

Contents, features and specifications can be found on Icemat's website.

Size: 300 x 250 x 3,2 mm
Color Options: Black, Red, Blue, Yellow, Silver, White, Green, Purple
Extras: Icemat PadSurfer

Packaging and Contents

Click images for a larger view

The Icemat 2nd Edition comes packaged in a catchy white/blue box with the image of the Icemat 2nd Edition in your color choice on the front. It list some details about the product, some of which are quite funny: "Looks Damn Cool." The box itself is wrapped in plastic to ensure you are getting a product that has not been tampered with.

Click images for a larger view

Since the Icemat 2nd Edition is made out of glass, it is firmly packaged between two pieces of foam to keep it from the dangers of shipping. I'd like to mention that when the Icemat came to my door, I heard glass moving around in the box. Sadly it was broken, yet Icemat simply requires you to send either a picture of the broken Icemat or the unit itself back to them, and they'll send you a new one.

Click images for a larger view

Inside the box there is Icemat's round pad surfers. I'll talk about these later, on the next page.

Color Options

One of the new options with the 2nd Edition Icemat is the assortment of colors.

Comparisons

Click images for a larger view

The size of the Icemat is large when comparing it to your free cloth mouse pad yet to another high quality mouse pad, like the Razer eXactMat, it is just about the same size.

Testing

Click image for a larger view

To test out the Icemat 2nd Edition I pulled out the mice I had at hand. I'll be playing a wide selection of games, including Counter-Strike: Source, Battlefield 2, and Unreal Tournament 2004.

Click image for a larger view

The Sunbeamtech X-1300, with stock feet, slid all over the pad and had no problems at all reading. Switching between 650 and 1300 dpi caused no problems with jitter either. This was an amazing experience.

Click image for a larger view

The Logitech 4 button mouse had a few problems with the Icemat, this was only due to the fact that I have lost all the original feet on the mouse, and some spots are still sticky from the glue holding the feet on. It just caused the mouse to stick and jump because of the ultra smooth surface. Yet, I always use that mouse on my Razer eXactMat and I never have those kind of issues.

Click image for a larger view

The old Logitech ball mouse worked fine in the beginning, yet once the pad picked up a bit of sweat, the ball mouse became completely unresponsive.

Click image for a larger view

The Logitech 4 button mouse was the mouse of choice to install and test the Pad Surfers on, due to its lack of feet. Installation is simple, just pull off the back paper, and stick the pad onto your desired location. Installation of the Pad Surfers enhanced its performance by four score. The Logitech performed even better than the Sunbeamtech X-1300 had performed. Note this is the 2nd Edition of the Pad Surfers as well. The original Pad Surfers were just long strips you cut to your desired size.

Conlusion

Overall, the Icemat 2nd Edition is a good performer in the performance mouse pad market. Uniqueness, style, and performance all bring out good qualities in the Icemat 2nd Edition.

The frosted glass appearance of the Icemat is both unique and stylish, as there are very few glass mouse pads out there today. It is also a great size, not too small, yet not too big. The downsides of the Icemat 2nd Edition is its lack of a carrying case (to prevent scratches during transportation), price and that it is almost useless to ball mouse users.