Sam Says: The best mousepads are those with a wrist-rest

I’ve never been a huge fan of mousepads. Professional eSports players might gasp, but I’ve always just used my desk, or if in bed, the nearest book I can find, and it doesn’t even have to be a hardcover. I was perfectly happy with this system until I spotted this on my colleague’s desk and asked for my own.

Wrist support mousepads have been around for a long time, but my past experiences have been tainted with rubberized surfaces that get sticky, or have too high an elevation for me to manoeuvre my hand freely enough to deftly aim at and miss people in Counter-Strike. This one, however, hits all the right spots.

Combining Form & Function

Keeping abreast of the many different mousepads and their features can be time-consuming. I could go on about the cloth surface made of rubber composites and synthetic fabric, providing a smooth glide for your mouse yet with enough texture for precise movement, or the supportive, non-slip rubber back it wears to keep things in place, but that’s not why we’re here.

Elephant in the room – this is one of, if not the most, aesthetically pleasing mousepads out there. The genius who came up with this has allowed room for creativity in terms of the various prints we can see on the market, but the consistent factor across the board is the built-in wrist rest – with a design we hold near and dear to our heart.

Ergonomics Vs. Freedom

Our wrists are an asset, especially as a gamer. If you play games often and haven’t yet had any wrist clicks or pain, you must either be young or have fabulous genetics.

The problem with wrist rests is that they anchor your wrist, which pretty much restricts your movement. For this design though, the valley allows for a lower pivot point, while the surrounding softness still supports the sides. The contours fit right up to the bottom of your palm, giving an unprecedented 180-degree cushioning experience.

It is also perfectly pliant – too hard a wrist rest and it’s uncomfortable, too soft and you won’t have any support. The weight of your hand should just slightly squish it. Because there isn’t any one supplier on the market, your best bet would be to test it out in stores, to see if both the softness (or hardness) and the size works for you.

We all choose products that fit our self-image, which is why I’m using it at work. Don’t worry, the feeling of internalized shame can’t beat your wrist’s gratitude, and judgmental glares will bounce right off. Your colleagues might even think you’re super cool and ask where you’d gotten it! Perks all around. This is the third day I’m using this mousepad and I’m still in love with it, so until the day it wears out, I don’t foresee racking my brains to look for any replacement.

P.S. On a more serious note, please do regular wrist and arm stretching exercises, even if they’re fine now. Riding the valley that can give you a 180-degree cushioning experience can only do so much. Or, you could just ignore the old lady dispensing advice on the internet.