Puretrak is an American based company that manufactures their mousepads in the United States. The Talent pad is one of their most popular products and it fits a good niche in offering a blend of speed and control. I was sent out this pad for review but it won’t impact my thoughts on it.
Dimensions
470mm x 380mm x 6mm
Presentation and Initial Impressions
The Talent pad in the large size comes rolled up in a rectangular box. It’s heavy and a bit thick and it takes a couple minutes for it to lay completely flat. I noticed a strong rubber smell from the pad right away which took a couple days to go away. The feet of the surface itself felt great, it was very smooth right out the bad and it was comfortable to the touch. The 6mm height of the mousepad took me a bit by surprise as it felt thicker than recent pads I’ve used. That being said it does offer a lot of cushioning and it feels good to rest your arm on it. One thing I missed on this pad was the lack of stitching along the edges. It makes it easy for you to overshoot the surface if you aren’t careful or play on a very low sens, but I see why they made this design decision considering the thickness of the pad. I also can commend the look of the pad, I liked the color palette especially the shy pink color.
Build Quality and Performance
The non-slip PureGrip soft rubber backing was very sturdy on my desk and didn’t move much except if I pushed up right against the edges of the pad. The star of the show on the talent is the cloth surface. It has a very unique feel, providing quite a fast glide for any mouse with PTFE feet. It’s great for claw, fingertip or palm users provided they user a lower to medium sensitivity. There’s not a lot of initial friction so you can quickly snap to targets in-game and there’s a ton of stopping power if you just press down on the mouse into the thick surface. In terms of comparisons with other popular pads it’s definitely a step up in speed from the Steelseries QCK or the Zowie GSR.
My favorite thing about the pad was how good it felt playing with it in tactical shooters. The pad just feels very snappy and accurate for a variety of aiming situations and I found myself very comfortable on it without much of an adjustment period. I especially liked flicking on this pad as I could stop on a dime and micro-adjust without too much strain or stress. I would recommend this pad for lower sens arm aimers in particular. I do wish there was a larger size option as it is a bit smaller than my Artisan XL pads which I’ve gotten used to but it isn’t a huge step down from that in terms of measurements. I should also comment on the pricing as the starting price of just $12.99 for the medium pad makes the Talent an extremely good value.
Pros
- Rubber base keeps the pad stable and sturdy
- Accurate tracking and good stopping power offers balanced performance
- Surface of the mousepad feels really smooth and comfortable to the touch
- Good value for the money
Cons
- Strong rubber smell takes a days to dissipate
- No stitched edges and very thick foam underneath the surface
Bottom Line
A comfortable, attractive and high performance pad for those who like a blend of speed and control.
Rating 8/10
Where to buy the Puretrak Talent