BlueSmoke - Review : Mouse Skatez

		Date	: Mar 4th, 2001
		Category	: Input Devices
		Manufacturer	: Mouse Skatez
		Author	: Jin-Wei Tioh

As you all probably know by now, I am a mouse sympathizer. No, not the little critters caged up in laboratories waiting to be messed with. Mouse as in the input device (which Apple claims that Microsoft copied, but we'll not get into that). One of the issues is surface friction on the mousing surface, which impedes movement tracking and wears out the teflon feet on mice. Happy rodents are easier to work with, which translates into a more pleasant mousing experience or that all important frag.

Realizing this, many companies such as Icemat, 3M, Ratpadz, and Everglide have released products to address the issue. Their mousing surfaces have a lower friction surface compared to the usual nasty squares of wetsuit fabric. However, notice that I said lower friction, not frictionless. This means that while significantly improving the mousing experience, these mousing surfaces will still wear out the teflon feet on mice over time.

In steps a new product, the Mouse Skatez, to kill two birds with one stone...

"What are the Mouse Skatez?", you are wondering. They are a smooth, slippery tape which you stick on or use to replace the teflon feet on your mouse. According to the scientific and highly technical explanation on their site, the Mouse Skatez are made of "super slippery stuff". Plain vanilla teflon is already slick, and the Mouse Skatez one ups it.

At US$6.95 + shipping, the Mouse Skatez package consists of two 4.5" long strips, an alcohol pad (to clean the feet of your mouse) and an instruction sheet. There is enough material to outfit two, or even three regular-sized mice. The two strips were nearly enough to outfit three basic Logitech Wheelmice (M-S48). All this fits neatly into a standard envelope, which renders postage cost negligeable.

Installation

To help you better understand how exactly the Mouse Skatez work, here are the installation instructions from the provided instruction sheet :

1. Clean the mouse feet on your mouse with the alcohol pad provided with the Mouse Skatez.
2. Measure the Mouse Skatez before trimming them to size - be sure that they cover the entire area of the old feet.
3. Trim the Mouse Skatez to fit the mouse feet on your mouse.
4. Peel the Mouse Skatez from their backing and finally;
5. Paste the Skatez over the mouse feet on your mouse, rubbing gently to secure them in place.

However, there are a few things to take special note of. Make sure that the Mouse Skatez covers the entire mouse foot (I made a minor mistake with mine, but it still works swell).

If your mouse has a "C" shaped or "smily face" foot, you would probably not be able to cover it completely. It can't be helped in this case, and the Skatez will still work fine. Some suggestions :

So, should you buy a set of Mouse Skatez? It is completely up to you. Personally, I rather like them. They work as advertised, are durable, cheap and good. Both premium and normal mousing surface users will see an improvement. Combining the Mouse Skatez with a premium mousing surface of choice, such as the Icemat, Ratpadz or sUrface1030 would be the ultimate combo that any serious user or hotshot gamer should definitely consider. Highly recommended.