Kingston's rebranding effort to build their HyperX line of business has extended beyond memory and SSDs, reaching into gaming peripheral components like headsets (Cloud II reviewed) and mouse pads. Our previous mouse pad reviews have looked at the Thermaltake Draconem and Razer eXactMatX, both of which are hardened, alloy pads offering grip from corner brackets or an under-mat. HyperX's alternative makes use of a softer cloth surface, deploying a rubberized underside for grippiness; the softer solution is something we've grown fond of over the past year, favoring them for their more gentle nature when dealing with teflon feet of high-end mice.
The HyperX Fury Pro Gaming Mouse Pad ($16) is the newest item to assume Kingston's gaming branding, joining the Fury RAM (reviewed) and Savage SSD (reviewed) of recent history. The Fury Pro mouse pad is built of a soft, cloth surface and gritty, rubber underside, making it easy to roll-up and take to LAN events. The mouse pad ships in sizes ranging from small to XL, with XL being 900x420mm (35.4” x 16.5”) for a desk-sized surface.
Although we've historically given praise to aluminum mousing surfaces, they're not always desirable; we've found that some of our mice – like the Proteus Core G502 – exhibit faster decay of teflon footing from even the smooth surfaces of alloy pads. This is seen on the surface of the rough side of our Draconem, where the surface has grown worn and begun to peel slightly. Residue from the teflon feet can be found in the regular mousing area of the alloy surface, and on the G502, we see worn footing that now drags more heavily.
Using a cloth pad removes this problem. It's a softer material than the teflon feet, so if anything is to wear, it'd be the pad. We haven't witnessed this yet and probably won't – I've got cloth pads from the 90s that are still good.
There's really only so much that can be said about a mouse pad. We can't objectively test it, really, and it's all about the mousing surface. The Fury Pro surface feels sleek, is gentle on the mouse, and offers high accuracy detection for the sensor. Transport is easily done by rolling the pad into a cylinder, then stowing it away in the original box.
I'm a fan of the size of the review sample we've got, a “medium” at 14.7 x 11.8 inches. Users who desire full desk (including coverage under the keyboard, for even distribution of weight in the event real-estate is cramped), the XL surface makes for an excellent solution.
Conclusion
HyperX's Fury Pro Gaming Mouse Pad provides a smooth, fast mousing surface that is easily kept clean and transported. The sticky traction of the underside means it moves nowhere. We've seen no decay of the surface in our two-month, somewhat abusive test period.
It's definitely a worthwhile purchase. If you're in need of a new mousepad, go for it – $16 for the medium, which I've got, and $30 for the XL full-desk surface. I'd probably buy the XL were I to choose again, though the 16.5” height will create limits for some users who lack desk depth.
- Steve “Lelldorianx” Burke.