Best Deskmats

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Measure before you buy, because the two common deskmat sizes fail in opposite directions. A 36 by 12 inch mat is long enough for a full-size board and a mouse side by side but only 12 inches deep, which means your mouse runs off the back edge on any low-sensitivity setup, while a 31.5 by 15.7 inch mat has the depth for real mouse travel and leaves less width, which suits a 65 or 75 percent board. The 35 by 15.6 inch size is the compromise that fits a tenkeyless plus generous mousing. Work out your keyboard footprint plus the horizontal distance your hand actually sweeps, then pick the size that covers both, since a mat that is slightly too small is worse than no mat at all. Thickness changes two things people care about. A thicker mat softens the sound of a keyboard against a hard desk and takes some of the hollow resonance out of a plate-mounted case, and it also lifts the whole board a couple of millimeters, which adds to the wrist height problem if you are already borderline. Thin mats keep the typing angle honest and glide better under a mouse. Construction is where cheap mats fail: stitched edges stop fraying after a few months of forearm contact and keep the mat from curling, and a full rubber base with some mass is what stops it walking around during fast typing. Microfiber tops are consistent under optical sensors. Printed artwork has no effect on tracking.