Most gamers enjoy a speedy or balanced feel to their mouse pad, but there are a few of us out there who have a penchant for stopping power. If you’re into tactical shooters that require very steady aim plus occasional flicks with a precise stop on your enemy’s head, slower control pads are for you.
I’ve been trying out some different control pads in Counter-Strike 2 for months now and I feel like I’m finally able to draw some solid conclusions over which are best. At least as far as my own fingertips are concerned. Your mileage may of course vary.
Personal favourite: Zowie H-SR IIINoteworthy: Wallhack CR-005
Key terms
Stopping power: How easy it is to stop your mouse where and when you want it to, presumably over an enemy’s head.
Static friction: How hard it is to get the mouse moving from stationary. The combination of this and dynamic friction makes for good stopping power.
Dynamic friction: How hard it is to keep the mouse moving when in motion. The combination of this and static friction makes for good stopping power.
Softer pads: Tend to be slower.
Harder pads: Tend to be faster.
Razer Gigantus V2 Pro (Control ver.)
(Image credit: Future)
Static Friction:
4.5/5
Dynamic friction:
4/5
Razer Gigantus V2 Pro specs
Size
500 x 480 mm
Design
Corner logo, coloured tag, green base
Hard/soft
Soft cloth
Texture
Similar to traditional cloth
Base
Soft foam
Price
$50 / £50
Razer’s Gigantus V2 Pro is great if you really have a thing for slow pads and don’t much care what you have to sacrifice to get it. The surface, which Razer says was made to match the pro player’s NiKo’s preference, is indeed very slow—slower than any I’ve used. This means little chance of accidentally nudging your crosshair out of line when holding an angle.
However, it’s a bit too slow for my liking, and I’m saying this as someone who massively prefers control pads to speed ones now for playing CS2. I think the slowness is in part thanks to how soft the pad is as it’s noticeably softer than any other I’ve tried.
But if something super-slow is your thing—and who can argue with one of the best Counter-Strike players of all time?—it’ll serve you well. Also note there’s even a Max Control version that is, presumably, even slower than this one.
Corsair MM Pro
(Image credit: Future)
Static Friction:
3/5
Dynamic friction:
3/5
Corsair MM Pro specs
Size
450 x 400 mm
Design
Corner logo, black tag, black base
Hard/soft
Medium cloth
Texture
Similar to traditional cloth
Base
Rubber-like PU (polyurethane)
Price
$50 / £50
Corsair’s new pad is the one I like the least out of those I’ve tried. That’s not to say it’s bad, it just doesn’t stand out in any particular way. It’s smaller than the others and is a little too quick for my liking in a control pad, feeling a bit closer to a regular cloth pad than I’d like. In particular, I notice that with this pad I have to try a little harder to keep my crosshair steady when holding a headshot angle.
Still, it does look nice and it is slower and more controlled than many other (non-control) options on the market—it’s certainly slower than speed pads. If you prefer a little more speed to your control and don’t mind your competitive pad being a bit on the smaller side, the MM Pro is a reasonable choice.
Zowie H-SR III / G-SR III
(Image credit: Future)
Static Friction:
4/5
Dynamic friction:
3/5
Zowie H-SR III / G-SR III specs
Size
500 x 500 mm
Design
Small coloured on-pad corner tag, black base
Hard/soft
Hard cloth
Texture
Hard and slightly rough cloth
Base
Foam with rubber-like dots
Price
$50 / £50
I was immediately sold on this Zowie pad when I tried it. It ticks every box for me and is what I keep returning to as my baseline for playing Counter-Strike. That’s because it manages to maintain a level of static friction that keeps my crosshair steady when holding angles, but is just on that cusp where I can also move my mouse pretty easily for flicks.
There’s also its dynamic friction, ie, how it feels when actually moving the mouse. On this front, the H-SR III doesn’t just have a decent amount of slowness/muddiness to it but also a texture that you can subtly feel as you move. It might be the placebo effect, but I feel like that’s helped my muscle memory a little when aiming in-game.
Then there’s the fact that it’s a pretty hard pad for cloth, which means you don’t get much inconsistency to how much your mouse drags depending on how hard you press. That can make all the difference in clutch moments when you tense up and push down harder. I really don’t have anything to complain about here, which is why the Zowie is my go-to. (The G-SR III is just the H-SR III but a little smaller.)
Steelseries QcK Performance Control
(Image credit: Future)
Static Friction:
3/5
Dynamic friction:
3/5
Steelseries QcK Performance Control specs
Size
490 x 420 mm
Design
Small coloured corner tag, black base
Hard/soft
Medium cloth
Texture
Rough and very textured
Base
Neoprene
Price
$40 / £40
Steelseries’ QcK Performance Control is a very divisive pad. I sent it to my colleague Andy, and he had a much worse time of it than I did. To be honest I can see why: it’s not your usual control pad.
Instead of opting for a slow cloth, SteelSeries has given this pad quite a smooth and hard-topped but very rough texture. You can really feel your mouse moving across it, which does help your muscle memory. Stopping power is pretty good, too.
On the other hand, static friction isn’t quite as good as on the Zowie pad, and dynamic friction might be a touch quicker, too, though it’s hard to tell. Most importantly, though, the rough texture can be quite unpleasant on your arm when gaming for an extended period if you’re a low-sens player as many control pad gamers are. Unless you use a gaming sleeve like me, of course, but few are willing to take the L to their public image that I am.
Wallhack CR-005
(Image credit: Future)
Static Friction:
2.5/5
Dynamic friction:
2.5/5
Wallhack CR-005 specs
Size
510 x 440 mm
Design
white corner logo, black base
Hard/soft
Hard glass
Texture
Smooth matte
Base
Concave silicone pattern
Price
$129 / £99
Yes, this is a glass pad on an article about control pads, and glass is usually as far from ‘controlled’ as you can imagine. The CR-005 that Wallhack has created, however, is a glass pad with “microscopic concave formations” that help slow things down.
However, it still doesn’t quite match a good cloth control pad for, well, control. After breaking it in a little, I found it to be more speedy than the Zowie and even the Corsair. It’s still not as fast as speed pads though, and the static friction is particularly nice for a glass pad.
The main benefit of going glass is that it should last a very long time, unlike a cloth pad which wears out pretty quickly. It will also have consistent friction and glide however hard you press into it. The downsides are not being able to roll it up, potentially having to wear a gaming sleeve to prevent your arm sticking, having to replace your mouse skates more often as they get worn down, and having to wipe it down pretty frequently to keep dust away.
If it was a little slower and more controlled I think I’d make these sacrifices for the consistency and longevity of a glass pad, but it’s just not quite there yet for control players compared to cloth. Saying that, even if it’s not quite as slow as some cloth options, it’s impressive that Wallhack has managed to make a glass pad as slow as this. It means glass pad lovers who play tac FPS need to miss out no longer.
