Thank you Corsair for sending us this mousepad for review!

It's been quite a while since I last reviewed a mousepad. In some ways that's great, since mousepads last many years and only need refreshing on rare occasion. I had been using the old Mionix Alioth mousepad for many years; after that first review sample, I ended up buying a replacement, and used those for around eight years. Earlier this year, we were given a few Razer Gigantus V2s from a friend at church who had extras, so I switched to those and I like them a lot. Unfortunately, with our review workload, we rarely have time to review things we aren't sent to review, so I just silently upgraded my desk and moved on. Thankfully, I now have a reason to talk about mousepads again, since Corsair sent us this new MM500 v2 mousepad!

I've long liked Corsair's mousepads, and even purchased one myself for my laptop many, many years ago. It was the original MM200, and I've kept it in my laptop bag for when I travel for almost ten years. It is a small, basic mousepad, but it's served me quite well whenever I needed it. And while it's not as plush as some of the thicker mousepads I've used otherwise, it's great for taking something with you. So I was really excited to see what the start of the art is for mousepads these days, and the MM500 v2 seems to be a step up in many ways from some of the others I've used.

When it comes to a mousepad, there are a few things that separates one from another. I would probably denote general build quality, which is closely tied to endurance, first. There is also the consideration of a soft vs. hard mousepad. And finally, there is the top texture, which is closely related to whether you would consider how it balances speed vs. control it how mice feel when using it.

Most gaming mousepads I've used tend to be one of two types: stitched edges, or foam to the edge. The Corsair MM200 and the Razer Gigantus V2 are both foam to the edge, while the Mionix Alioth and this MM500 v2 feature stitched edges. This means there is a nice threaded edge all around the mousepad, and it looks and feels more premium to me. I also expect that whatever glue holds the top fabric to the rubber is less likely to come apart, since there is a form of protection for the edge or the mousepad to keep it from coming apart. Both can be nice, but I do prefer the stitched edges, as I feel it looks and feels more premium.

And really, the MM500 v2 in general feels the most premium of the mousepads that I currently have access to. It's harder to compare the Mionix vs. this MM500 since the Mionix is several years old, and wear and tear is a real thing. But at least at first glance, I'd give the nod to the MM500. The Corsair MM200 and the Razer Gigantus V2 work well enough, and looks nice, but when it comes to premium feel, the MM500 definitely takes that trophy.

All of the mousepads I am directly comparing would be considered soft mousepads, since they are flexible, rollable, and so on. A few years back hard mousepads were popular, and I still kind of miss those, as they did have some notable advantages. But certain popular sensors had a tough time with them, and crucially the harder surface would sometimes cause deeper scratches and wear and tear on the mice themselves more quickly. So I stopped using them quite some time ago.

What still matters these days is the stitch pattern of the top surface, and ultimately how much movement resistance the mousepad confers to the mice on top. Of course the tricky part here is that this can actually change over time, as use can wear down the resistance on the top of the pad, somewhat changing it from one type to another. Even still, from what I can tell, the top surface material used is still distinctly unique on the MM500 v2 compared to the others.

The Mionix and Corsair MM200 both have a mostly smooth top with subtle texture that, under bright light, looks like tiny little diamonds. Looked at over a larger surface, this looks like little diagonal stitches crossing the top of the whole thing. In contrast, the Razer Gigantus V2 has what looks like tiny vertical lines that spans the while top of the surface. You can't realistically feel the lines, since they are so small, but you can see them if you look closely. The MM500 v2 is unique, in that the top texture when looked at under a bright light appears to be much closer to a truly random texture pattern than the others.