The foam that the pad is made out of is pressed together very tightly, so there’s almost no bubbling.This doesn’t mean much if you’re playing on a perfectly smooth surface, but once you get to a slightly rougher surface you’ll find that the G-SR-SE handles that a lot better than pads of a similar size. It won’t cover up any major imperfections but it’s definitely good enough to use on most desks that you’d see at LAN parties and the likes, doubly so because the pad lays flat almost straight out of the box. When it comes to humidity, the G-SR II has definitely improved upon its predecessor, but it’s still not perfect. On sweaty days, you are going to feel your sweat and skin oils impacting the overall feeling of the pad somewhat, but the days where a couple drops of liquid made the mouse come to a full stop are well and truly behind us. On the G-SR II, the humidity issues have been dropped down to just a mild annoyance rather than a full-blown performance limiter, so that’s definitely nice to see. ZOWIE G-SR II Alternatives The regular Zowie G-SR is, as you might know, a very controlling pad. The SE definitely feels a lot different in my opinion. It sort of holds a middle ground between the regular G-SR and the faster glide that you get out of most ‘standard’ cloth pads.This makes it quite unique in the sense that a lot of cloth pads have a very similar glide when it comes to friction and speed, and this one comes in right below that usual sensation. The materials used here are quality, the stitched edging is very well done, the performance is consistent and well-balanced, and the price is good value for money. This list is, as we mentioned before, based on what the professionals are using. What you’ll see here is that most pros are using fairly large mouse pads, at least when compared to regular office mats. That’s because the overall sensitivity/ eDPIof pro (shooter) players is way lower than that of most casual gamers. This gives them way more control over their aim and overall just makes for a more consistent and reliable aiming experience when compared to extremely high sensitivities where it’s nearly impossible to make any micro adjustments to the aiming reticle. Even if you feel like you don’t need a large mousepad we would recommend getting one if you have the space for it; it’s always better to have some spare space for your mouse movements than to have to run into the edge of your playing surface in the heat of battle.

What’s noticeable to me is the consistency of this mousepad. The foam feels the same all throughout the pad, and even though this new material is a little bit softer (which is something that I like) I never got the idea that some parts had more give to them than others. This, in combination with the top texture feeling very consistent as well, makes for a mouse surface that feels extremely well-designed and crafted.I play on a rather low sensitivity, so I’m often doing big and fast sweeps and what I found was that the G-SRfelt rather controlling . That is not an issue at all, since the speed of a mousepad is mostly personal preference, but it’s something to note regardless. The G-SRhas a remarkable amount of stopping power, so if you tend to overshoot your targets or want to get a bit more control you should definitely take a look at the G-SR.If you want a very fast and speedy glide this one should probably be a hard pass though. You might think that you can just use any ol’ mousepad (or even just play on your desk) but that’s not true, at least not for shooter games. In MOBAs (where mouse precision is of less importance) we do see some pros who don’t use a mousepad, but over 99% of professional shooter players are using a gaming mousepad over a regular office pad. The stitching on my unit shows no errors and isn’t raised above the playing surface in a noticeable way, so there were no comfort issues during my testing period. The surface is on the rougher side (as you’d expect from a control pad) but it feels very consistent, and the same can be said for the foam underneath the playing surface, though more on that later.

Now, there’s enough real estate here that the flared sides do not have to get in the way while you’re using the mousepad, but if you’re someone that tends to move the mouse to the edges of the pad when you’re using it, then it will be harder to ignore. The mousepad looks like a relatively large but thin mousepad. It’s not so thin that I’m worried about the mouse digging so deep into it that it starts to scrape the desk, but it looks quite thin. To me, it feels like there’s a bit less static friction, which could make sense given the fact that the surface is now smoother. You can definitely also feel this when you’re just gliding your hand across the mousepad, but it’s still not the smoothest material out there. I know that some people had complaints about the G-SR-SE’s surface irritating their skin after some time, and while I of course can’t speak for everyone I do believe that this change is going to make the pad feel a lot more tolerable to a lot of people out there. However, it is the most consistent option for someone that plays a wide variety of games and wouldn’t want to be switching mousepads all the time. Maintenance Lastly there’s also the fact that a gaming mousepad is generally better for the long term health of your mouse. If you’ve got yourself a shiny new gaming mouseyou don’t want to be sanding down the feet of your mouse by sliding it around on a wooden desk or a plastic cutting board you’ve found in the kitchen, for example.When designing this new iteration, ZOWIE also made changes to the durability and humidity resistance. To test this, I made parts of the pad a bit moist with a cloth and found that the glide remained pretty similar. I also did this test with an older G-SR-SE and there I felt like the difference between the moist spots and the dry spots was a lot more pronounced. It’s perhaps not the most scientific of tests, but it should give you an idea. It’s still not perfect at handling humidity, but it does perform better than its predecessors. As mentioned, there have been a few changes to the surface of this new G-SR-SE. If you’re wondering how this feels in comparison to earlier versions, I can be short: it’s a touch faster. Not by a lot, but you do notice it. Pretty much the main reasons for making a new G-SR version were the durability and humidity resistance concerns that plagued the original. Sadly I can’t really say a lot of useful things about the durability in this G-SR II review due to the simple fact that I don’t spend months or even years with the products that I review. I did spend a number of weeks with the G-SR II during a particularly warm and humid summer though, and aside from the aforementioned slowdown that occurred after a couple of days, I didn’t notice any big changes to the overall glide and characteristics. ZOWIE made a number of promises when they first unveiled the G-SR-SE Rouge, and from what I can tell they’ve delivered on all of them. The surface is smoother, the humidity resistance is better, and the foam is a little bit softer. The pad still feels every bit as consistent as it should be, though, and with its controlling medium glide (by this I mean that it’s pretty much a ‘medium’ pad, but it’s on the slower end of that spectrum) this Rouge offers an interesting glide experience for people who play tactical shooters or who just want a touch more control without losing out on gliding speed. With great balance comes great, consistent in-game performance, and that’s the case here with the Zowie G-SR.

The build quality of the Zowie G-SR is pretty solid, so maintenance is something that the manufacturer certainly considered. At first glance, the G-SR-SE Rouge looks just like any other recent G-SR-SE release, but once you place it down on your pad you almost immediately feel the first difference: the foam feels softer. It’s still very uniform across the surface, but it’s quite a lot easier to sink your fingers into the Rouge than into an earlier version. Aside from that, this feels just like your regular ZOWIE G-SR-SE at first glance: same size, same box design, no stitched edges. I should mention that there are games that actually need you to use faster mousepads for best results, so there are situations where balance is not the absolute best option. Plenty of professionals use a special customized version of a certain pad with a team logo or gamer tag on the surface, but those pads are essentially all the same when it comes to the overall specifications and performance, so we added those to the count of their unbranded/non-customized versions. These special colorways and personal editions usually have the logos and names added to the pad by sublimation, so the glide isn’t affected at all. Logitech G640It’s definitely faster than some of the mousepads that I’ve tried, but the glide is not overdone and it handles fast-paced FPS games pretty well. The Endgame Gear EM-C is a little bit thinner than the G-SR II, but other than that it’s a very similar mousepad. The EM-C has a bit more static friction than the G-SR II, but less dynamic friction. The differences between the two are extremely small, however, so I see the Endgame Gear EM-C as the most obvious alternative to the ZOWIE G-SR II.

If you have a monitor that takes up a lot of room, then you’ll prefer a pad that takes up less vertical room too. Design As a little side note: the glide of cloth pads can be affected by a number of factors, including how clean the surface is, the humidity in the air, the age of the pad, and your playing style. As such, your experience with a certain mousepad can be drastically different from what someone else is experiencing. This makes the search for a perfect pad a little bit more difficult, but it’s not as if a control pad is suddenly going to turn into a speed pad or anything like that, so hopefully this guide aids you in your choice. People often think that all cloth mousepads have the exact same glide, but that’s a common misconception. The Zowie G-SR is living proof of that. When compared to (most) other cloth gaming mousepads this one offers a very controlling glide with a pretty large amount of surface friction. This won’t please everyone (then again, no product does) but it is a great option for people who have a tendency to use large, aggressive swipes or for gamers who often find themselves overshooting their target. However, unlike that pad, the Zowie G-SR was not as easy to smoothen. I found that there was still some flaring on the sides (see sample image) even after a week of use which included piling up other pads on it to keep it down. The mousepad’s stopping power is still remarkable despite its speed, so it’s still a solid option if you tend to overshoot your targets while gaming and need more control. In-gameA gaming mousepad can be compared to the tires of a race car if you’re asking us. You can have the fastest car on the circuit with the best driver behind the wheel, but if you slap a pair of old and worn out tires underneath the car you won’t be seeing a lot of wins. The mousepad is a piece of kit that’s often ignored by the more casual gaming audience, but that really shouldn’t be the case. There are many different pads out there, all with different specifications and characteristics, so it’s definitely a good idea to find one that matches your preferences and playing style. You’ll not only increase your personal playing comfort but you’ll also increase your performance.