Best gaming mouse pads 2018: the best mouse mats for gamers

If you would have told us a decade ago that the best gaming mouse pads would feature wireless charging a year ago, we would’ve looked at you funny.

However, a lot has changed in the last decade, and the best gaming mouse pads have changed in ways nobody saw coming. These MLG tablecloths have evolved to feature new tech and innovations that will change the way you look at that piece of cloth on your desk. They may follow the same general design that mouse pads have for decades, but now they feature cool stuff like Qi wireless charging, so you can finally kiss charging cables goodbye.

We don’t really need to tell you that the best mouse pads are important, but if you’re already using one of the best gaming mice and playing the best PC games on the best gaming PC, why wouldn’t you get the best gaming mouse pad? Don’t settle for less, get the best.

Unfortunately, when you set out to find the best mouse pad for gaming, you’ll find dozens of brand names and knockoffs saturating the market – making it hard to discern what you actually need. Fortunately, we here on the TechRadar editorial team have created a list of the best gaming mouse pads we’ve used over the last year or so. Whether you’re the type of gamer who likes to have their desk lit up like a Christmas tree at all hours of the day, or if you just need a slick pad that’ll let you dominate the leaderboards – we’ve found something just for you.

The Corsair MM600 isn’t interested in distracting you with brightly colored lights like the MM800. Instead, it offers a great deal more versatility than its higher priced sibling. This double sided mouse pad stays secure in place with rubber stoppers on each corner so that your mouse moves – not your mouse pad. The MM600 is also made of aluminum, and features a low-friction surface that will boost your response times in-game. 

Existing solely as a budget mousepad, the SteelSeries QcK does exactly what you want out of a mousepad and nothing more. The QcK’s surface material has a high thread count for extremely precise mouse control and a smooth glide. At the same time, its rubber base helps prevent it from sliding around your desk while you’re gaming. It comes in a variety of shapes and sizes and there’s even a higher end version with RGB lighting – the SteelSeries QcK Prism. 

Yeah, it might not look like much, but the Cooler Master Make It Yours is one of the best mouse pads for all of your gaming needs. It features a low friction cloth surface for near frictionless mouse movement, and has a nice neutral aesthetic that will help it blend into any setup. It’s not very thick, but it’s still wide enough to freely move around without accidentally moving off of the mouse pad.  

• This product is only available in the UK as of this writing. US and Australian readers: check out a fine alternative in the SteelSeries QcK.

Sure, everyone loves RGB lighting, but what if you’re looking for an unobtrusive, seamless desk surface? Well, the ultra thin – less than half a millimeter in height – Razer Sphex v2 is the mouse pad for you. Despite its thin profile, the polycarbonate surface is durable and optimised for laser or optical gaming mouse control. We picked the regular size, but if you have a smaller desk, there’s a Small size variant as well. 

The top of the Hiro+ is covered in a vulcanized silicone surface with a 3D structure to help increase your  gaming accuracy and speed. The base has a non-slip surface for steady mouse control, and the edges have been rounded for a smoother profile. Its surface is also coated to protect from water and grime, and makes for easy cleaning.

You thought that the best mouse pads for gaming were just for moving your mouse on top of didn’t you? Well, so did we – at least until we got our hand son the Corsair MM1000 Qi. Not only is this thing a great mouse pad, but it also features Qi charging. Launching alongside the Corsair Dark Core RGB SE, which itself features Qi compatibility, the MM1000 Qi is Corsair’s answer to the Logitech PowerPlay, but it takes it to another level by allowing you to charge your phone. It even costs less than the PowerPlay – it’s better in every way. 

If you’ve had your eye on a RGB mouse-pad to match all of your tricked out peripherals, and you didn’t want to settle for a rigid piece of plastic, you’re in luck. The Razer Goliathus takes Razer’s expert RGB implementation and throws into a soft gaming mouse pad that will let you score those headshots in comfort and style. 

You simply can’t go out looking for the best mouse mat for gaming in 2018 without considering RGB. All the hottest gaming peripherals right now boast about how they can light your desk up like a Christmas tree, and the Corsair MM800 RGB Polaris is no different. On top of Corsair’s always-fantastic RGB implementation, the MM800 uses a low-friction finish that’ll allow for quick and precise tracking across its surface. And if the lighting wasn’t enough, the MM800 uses Corsair’s special CUE2 interface to sync its lighting with your other peripherals and even your PC through RGB share. It’s even available in two materials: cloth and a micro-texture surface.  

The Scabbard is less mouse pad and more ‘gear pad’. The Asus Republic of Gaming (ROG) Scabbard pad can hold the laptop or keyboard and mouse. It has a non-slip ROG-red rubber base and low-friction Sheath woven surface for gaming control. They’ve even temperature tested the ROG Scabbard down to -30°C – but why you’d game in sub-zero conditions is unimaginable.  

Unlike all the other soft pads and plastic surfaces in this article, the  MSI Thunderstorm gaming mouse pad is made of pure metal. To be specific, this mouse mat is made of  an anodized, hairline-surfaced aluminum piece with rubber stoppers. The hairline textured surface is optimized for mouse control and speed, while its L-shape allows it to be situated close to the keyboard. Flip it over for a micro-textured surface and the comfort of cloth. 

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