The unpackaged beast

Packed in a clear plastic bag, there is no mention of the name of the pad or its features. No retail packaging implies internet-only ordering.

The pad itself is a fairly standard cloth type, with a rubber backing and a thickness of about 3mm. In the bottom right corner, you’ll find a small Rantopad flight-school style logo in white. That is the only decoration that this pad has been afforded.

The surface is slightly shiny and is smooth to the touch. It’s very smooth, and feels like it’s made of silk rather than cotton. The smoothness is thanks to the incredibly fine weave that the pad is made of. A fine weave isn’t always the best however, it can cause tracking issues as two points often look the same as the threads are so close together.

I personally prefer smooth pads, and cloth pads often fit that bill a lot better than solid versions. Hard pads are generally more stable (as they don’t bend over your desk) and some say faster (quick movements are easier as the mouse glides better; less friction). Cloth pads are smooth and have constant friction that lowers your speed slightly but are often a lot more comfortable and quieter than their hard surfaced counterparts.

The pad itself is nice a big allowing low sensitivity users to flail their mouse around as they see fit. The extra size may cause problems if you are using your mouse in a tight spot, but for most it’s the perfect size.

The edges of the pad aren’t very well finished and the top of this pad is already fraying. The bottom edge of the pad is most likely to fray badly if this pad is used a lot due to the constant rubbing and wrist sweat.