Last week I looked at a mouse pad from a company that at the time was unknown to us. After spending time with the pad, I found that the QPad XT-R was the first mouse pad that has had the style and performance to draw me away from my tried and true Destructor mouse pad. Coming off of that high note I had to put the XT-R aside and try out another one of QPad's products, the CT. Christer Körnbäck, the CEO of QPAD sent the CT in the Grin along with the XT-R because it is one of his favorite designs. We know they can produce a great mouse pad, but can lighting strike twice?
Review Sample Provided by: QPAD
Review by: Wes
Pictures by: Wes
Specifications
| Size: | Large [40.5x28.5cm 15.95x11.23 inch] |
| Thickness: | 4 mm |
| Color: | Black |
| Surface: | HybratekTM Coated soft top |
| Other: | Including Glidz |
Packaging
It's not a tin like the XT-R but the CT was packaged in a plastic tube. The Grin design was carried onto the packaging making an otherwise simple packaging very green. The back of the tube had a long list of quotes and awards from different international review websites and magazines. They also managed to fit in all of the specifications (not that there is a whole lot too them as you can see above). In order to get into the tube I had to remove the staple that held the cap in, this proved to be a lot harder than it should have been without tearing up the whole tube. Past that there was not a whole lot to the packaging of the CT, because the CT is a soft mouse pad their isn't a big need for it to be protected like the more fragile hard mouse pads.
Performance
I put the CT through my standard mouse pad tests by testing out different mice on the surface. None of the laser, optical, and ball mice had any tracking issues during this testing. In day-to-day use, the CT felt a little ruff compared to the XT-R. I also felt the CT was a little bigger than I needed. It seemed to take up a large portion of my already crowded desk. That of course could be fixed by ordering one of the smaller sizes (although the Grin design isn't available in the smaller sizes). No matter the size you won't have to worry about the pad sliding during any hardcore gaming due to the rubber no skid surface on the back side. 
Overall
Testing the QPAD CT after the XT-R may not have been the best comparison. The XT-R was a great mouse pad, kind of like a successful older brother. The ruff-feeling surface is probably to blame of the painted Grin design on the CT. The design of course makes the mousepad for me; it is like the joker meets the hulk. The CT may have some issues when compared to its big brother the XT-R, but overall the CT "Grin" is a unique mousepad that performs well for normal or heavy use, the Grin design is sure to get attention from your friends and fellow gamers. This leads to the biggest problem with the CT right now, a lack of a US distributer. You CAN find them for sale, but it is going to cost you a little more on shipping if you are in the states. But to our readers abroad, If you come across QPAD mouse pads, I highly recommend taking a look at them!
