The bottom layer of the ROG Whetstone is made of silicon instead of rubber which ASUS claims to minimize the rubber smell that is commonly found on cloth type mouse pad with rubber base while being able to provide sufficient amount of grip to the surface you game on.
User Experience
Test is conducted with FPS games such as Crysis 3, Far Cry 4, Call of Duty : Advanced Warfare with one of ROG’s latest gaming mice, the ROG Sica to see if the Mayan inspired detailing makes any difference when compared to the usual cloth mouse pads we normally use. After hours spent on the gaming test, we can conclude that the difference is barely noticeable. Though the gliding experience is pretty good in overall and no noticeable jitters nor skipping despite of its uneven surface.
Before we move to the conclusion, here’s another finding that we think is what makes the ROG Whetstone a standout among other cloth mouse pads. Most cloth gaming mouse pads has a foamy rubber sheet as the base that somehow absorbs the sweat from your palms that penetrates through the fabric and by the end of the day, will leave behind some odor no matter how hard you try to wash it. The ROG Whetstone however, will not have such issue and it’s all thanks to the silicone base. Unlike the foamy rubber sheet used on most cloth gaming mouse pad, the silicone sheet doesn’t have those tiny spaces to trap the sweat that went through the fabric. Hence, all you need to do is clean up the fabric and the odor is definitely going to be a whole lot lesser (or none). Â
Final Thoughts
Despite of its unique uneven surface, the ROG Whetstone has proven itself to be a pretty outstanding gaming mouse pad – The ROG Sica gaming mouse doesn’t have any issue to glide smoothly on its surface and tracking was excellent with no visible jitters and the best part, easily washable and leaves behind minimal to no odor compared to most cloth mouse pads in the market.
ProsÂ
- Heat treated edges that further enhance the durability against fraying edges
- Slick and seamless surface that gives a very pleasant mouse glide experience
- Excellent tracking, no skipping nor jitters noticed
- Silicone base that doesn’t absorbs sweat and leave behind almost no odor after giving it a wash
Cons
- The Mayan inspired detailing is a little irritating to the touch over time
- The silicone base is not as soft to the touch as the foamy rubber base that we all used to