Hard vs Soft Mouse Pad: Which mouse pad surface is right for you?

With the release of the MM500 v2 gaming mouse pads, we thought we’d take a moment to talk about the different types of mouse pad surface available and consider which might be best for you.

For many people, a mouse pad is a mouse pad. As long as it’s there, they won’t think much about it. However, we’re people of culture here in the gaming community, so we know that there’s more to it than that. In addition to size, and features like RGB lighting or USB passthroughs, the surface type of the mouse pad is important. Here’s why.

As the title implies, mouse pads are mainly split into two categories: hard, or soft. Most of us will be familiar with the soft variant, as it’s far more common and affordable. While most will find the soft mouse pad sufficient, it’s worth pointing out its pros and cons for posterity before we move on to hard mouse pads.

Soft mouse pads offer several advantages. They are cheaper to make and can be rolled up, making them easier and more cost-effective to ship, which keeps the price low for the end user. Additionally, there's a greater variety of sizes available. Given that soft mouse pads are essentially pieces of cloth (a gross oversimplification), they can be easily cut into various sizes.

Another advantage of being able to roll up soft mouse pads for shipping is that they can be produced in very large sizes with negligible impact on manufacturing and shipping costs. This allows them to be made into what’s become known as a “desk pad”, which is essentially a super wide mouse pad, such as the MM500 v2.

In addition to giving the user almost unlimited mousing space, the keyboard can also be placed on the desk pad. This improves the sound and feel of the keyboard, especially mechanical keyboards like the K65 PLUS WIRELESS.

Hard mouse pads, predictably, come with a different set of pros and cons, with the main selling point being speed.

Hard mouse pads are almost always faster than soft mouse pads. If your playstyle and preference preference the lowest possible friction, then a hard surface is the correct choice for you. If we’re talking pure speed, soft mouse pads simply can’t compete.

Additionally, the materials used in hard mouse pads varies more. Plastic, Metal, and even Glass are easily found, but it can take a bit of trial and error to discover which material type is correct for you. It's worth mentioning that because hard mouse pads are not made from porous materials, they are much easier to clean. If you take pride in keeping your gaming setup tidy, hard mouse pads are an excellent choice.

The positive aspects stack up very compellingly right up until it comes to size.

Hard mouse pads are rigid and thin, which means that it’s difficult to make them large as the bigger they get, the more fragile they become. This makes them difficult and expensive to ship, this means that it’s very difficult to get a hard mouse pad any larger than around 40cm x 40cm. This means that you lose all of the size-related advantages we mentioned earlier.

For the vast majority of gamers and general PC users, a soft mouse pad will be the most suitable choice. They are more affordable and come in a wider range of sizes. Hard mouse pads, on the other hand, are best suited for gamers who need minimal friction and don’t mind a smaller surface area.