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Ripper XL

Ripper XL

Written by John Yan on 10/19/2004 for PC  
More On: Ripper XL
Are you looking for a mouse pad that offers both size and performance? Do you need it to work with your favorite optical mouse? And do you really want it to be big? Like really big? Then XTrac might have the product for you as they have one big pad in the Ripper XL.

If there’s one thing you can definitely say about the Ripper XL mouse pad from XTrac, it’s that it’s huge. And if you’re looking for a mouse pad that will take up a good portion of your desk, then this is it. Measuring at 14” x 17 ¾”, this mouse pad is very generous in the amount of room it offers. There was even enough room to put my laptop on the top and use my MX510 mouse with the space left over.

The top has a nice soft cloth feel while underneath the pad, the backing is composed of a nice course surface that will keep the mouse pad from moving on your desk. Design wise, there’s not much other than a few hexagons in a strip down the right side. The company’s logo and web site is also listed in the bottom right corner of the pad. Other than that, it’s a pretty plain looking black mouse pad. Looks, of course, have no bearing on performance and if you’re a serious gamer you’re probably not looking for a stylish mouse pad in the first place.

Because of the soft, flexible nature of the pad you can easily roll it up to take anywhere. Roll it up, fold it, or cram it into book bags; you can finagle the pad any way you need to carry it around although I probably wouldn’t recommend folding it.

Using a variety of mice from Logitech, Microsoft, and Razer the Ripper XL allowed for smooth, silky movements. There were no issues with tracking and the mice glided on the surface with ease. It definitely feels different from the other general cloth based mouse pads that I have around the office. I do enjoy the Razer eXactPad more though with the two different sides but the Ripper XL also does a good job.

The large size might turn off a few people but then again, there are other sizes of the pad if you don’t need the XL one. As for durability, I don’t know how long a mouse soft pad like this will last with regular usage over a rigid one. With that unknown being the only question I have, I think XTrac has a nice mouse pad here. It’s definitely not for everyone but it does offer a good feel and plenty of surface area.
The large soft pad works well with optical mice and will please those looking for a good, large surface. The size will also throw off some people as well.

Rating: 8 Good

* The product in this article was sent to us by the developer/company.


About Author

I've been reviewing products since 1997 and started out at Gaming Nexus. As one of the original writers, I was tapped to do action games and hardware. Nowadays, I work with a great group of folks on here to bring to you news and reviews on all things PC and consoles.

As for what I enjoy, I love action and survival games. I'm more of a PC gamer now than I used to be, but still enjoy the occasional console fair. Lately, I've been really playing a ton of retro games after building an arcade cabinet for myself and the kids. There's some old games I love to revisit and the cabinet really does a great job at bringing back that nostalgic feeling of going to the arcade.

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