Ratpadz XT

Finally got mine out to take a look at it. Still in decent shape but very slight bend in the middle though. Still works fine fortunately.
 
Finally threw out my XT about a year ago; it was definitely worn down with use (~10 years!!). In some ways this was great since it was so slick at the start that if I butterfingered my mouse it wound up on the floor 90% of the time.

The pads didn't seem to be suitably annealed after machining, which allowed them to warp over time as the stress relieved itself in the plastic. It's technically very easy to anneal a pad at home by removing the sticky feet and throwing it on a flat cookie sheet in the kitchen oven for 30 minutes, but the time and temperature would depend on the type of plastic. On the flipside this could lead to some toxic off-gassing and/or a house fire, so do at your own risk. Some random plastic vendor's annealing specs for reference if FrgMstr feels like sharing the resin type. If the pad is made of PVC or acetal (delrin) absolutely positively do not attempt this due to chemical hazards.

That said, I switched to one of the Monoprice Dark Matter cloth pads and I'm digging it. The pad is huge and it's nice not having the pad seam between the mouse and the keyboard.
 
Throwing my hat in the ring for another ratpad. I had 2 back in the day, and bought one for a family member as well. I have to live with the Logitech G440 as the only reasonably available hard surface, which is meh.
 
I loved my XT but I must've been a caveman gamer, I wore it down hard, almost smooth where the death adder feet laid. I'll have to check the attic, probably still have it.

Edit:
I guess on further reading the OG with flames was nigh indestructible, but the later all-black model wasn't as tough, which is what I kept going through lol
 
Last edited:
rhkcommander959 said:
I loved my XT but I must've been a caveman gamer, I wore it down hard, almost smooth where the death adder feet laid. I'll have to check the attic, probably still have it.

Edit:
I guess on further reading the OG with flames was nigh was indestructible, but the later all-black model wasn't as tough, which is what I kept going through lol
Click to expand...
I have the all-black XT, the thing is a tank. I can't detect any wear on the surface at all.
 
MavericK said:
I have the all-black XT, the thing is a tank. I can't detect any wear on the surface at all.
Click to expand...
Weird! I mean I'm glad for you but I went through 2 or 3 while playing FPS a ton. I don't know if razer was using ptfe or what, but that's what I was using. I wrist pivoted then though too so I was only using maybe a third to half of the surface horizontally. I would get two wide sections that would get smoother and less slidy' where the mice feet hit...
 
rhkcommander959 said:
Weird! I mean I'm glad for you but I went through 2 or 3 while playing FPS a ton. I don't know if razer was using ptfe or what, but that's what I was using. I wrist pivoted then though too so I was only using maybe a third to half of the surface horizontally. I would get two wide sections that would get smoother and less slidy' where the mice feet hit...
Click to expand...
This sounds more like the GS rather than the XT. I have two XTs, one of which I haven't used in years and the other I've been using for years and it still works and looks like new. The only thing I've had to do it epoxy some of the feet back on the mousepad. I had some of the GSes as well and they did not last. I would get maybe 6 months of use out of them before they showed a lot of wear and had to be replaced. Luckily Kyle abandoned the GS and went with a better material for the XT.
 
SmokeRngs said:
This sounds more like the GS rather than the XT. I have two XTs, one of which I haven't used in years and the other I've been using for years and it still works and looks like new. The only thing I've had to do it epoxy some of the feet back on the mousepad. I had some of the GSes as well and they did not last. I would get maybe 6 months of use out of them before they showed a lot of wear and had to be replaced. Luckily Kyle abandoned the GS and went with a better material for the XT.
Click to expand...
Yeah, most of the feet fell off mine as well. I think Kyle even sent me a set of new feet for free a long time ago but I'm not sure what happened to them. :(

Still, I bet you can find tons of replacements that will work.

EDIT: They are basically these: https://www.amazon.com/Cabinet-Bumpers-Adhesive-Cupboard-Cabinets/dp/B0B9395W4R/ref=sr_1_8?crid=3D71P3QK3F6XT&keywords=round+bumper+pads&qid=1667079766&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIzLjk5IiwicXNhIjoiMy45MSIsInFzcCI6IjMuNjAifQ==&sprefix=round+bumper+pad,aps,121&sr=8-8&th=1

Except, I think those are thicker than the originals. Originals are around 1-1.5mm tall, these are more like 3mm I think.
 
Last edited:
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
rhkcommander959 said:
Oh yeah it probably was the GS then, darn

Edit: yep, GS. No wonder I went through them. I recognized the print on the top right from pics.
Click to expand...
I had both and the GS wore out for me as well. The XT is still my daily driver! The GS lives on the workbench with the top deck for troubleshooting, doesn't seem to bother the ancient Logitech optical mouse.
 
Ratpadz were cooler than razer. Let's make a new one!
Screenshot_20230301_153838_Instagram.jpg
 
neyon3D said:
Anybody got an XT in decent condition for $100?
Click to expand...
You might try a WTB thread and see, but I plan on being buried with mine...... Just had a LAN party with the kids and my oldest hates it! Little bit of furniture polish and it is slick as all get out! He's so used to draggy cloth.....
 
My old account is dead and gone, but I had to re-register to plug my 2 Ratpadz XT's, LOL. I looked back and had ordered them on 1/7/2008 and they've been in use pretty much non-stop since. I don't think I've lost any noticeable surface area on mine after 15 years of pretty heavy use. It's nuts. Like others have said, mine slightly "cupped" up over time, but even at that... I can't imagine saying yes to an offer of $100 for mine. Where else can you find something like this that's taken tens of thousands of hours of abuse and shows no signs of stopping?

Crazy.
 
innerenacht said:
My old account is dead and gone, but I had to re-register to plug my 2 Ratpadz XT's, LOL. I looked back and had ordered them on 1/7/2008 and they've been in use pretty much non-stop since. I don't think I've lost any noticeable surface area on mine after 15 years of pretty heavy use. It's nuts. Like others have said, mine slightly "cupped" up over time, but even at that... I can't imagine saying yes to an offer of $100 for mine. Where else can you find something like this that's taken tens of thousands of hours of abuse and shows no signs of stopping?

Crazy.
Click to expand...

I imagine centuries after Earth has faced nuclear annihilation, there will still be some Ratpadz out in the wild.
 
SeymourGore said:
I imagine centuries after Earth has faced nuclear annihilation, there will still be some Ratpadz out in the wild.
Click to expand...
Be like the end scene in AI, all that is left of the humans are these seemingly indestructible mouse pads. And then that species takes the ratpadz to augment their ship armor.
 
DrezKill said:
Ugh, what the fuck?! Maaaaan I said goodbye to cloth mousepads in the 2000s, and never looked back.
Click to expand...
I've still got my Ratpad XT and haven't looked back since I got it when the XT first came out.
Would love to see the Ratpadz make a comeback at some point. FrgMstr *hint, hint, wink, wink* I know you've been looking into it, hopefully it's still in the realm of possibility.

DrezKill said:
It's so weird that the young'uns are into them now. What was old is new again... unfortunately.
Click to expand...
So long as the old track-ball style mouse doesn't make a comeback. If it does.... *shudder*
 
innerenacht said:
View attachment 590597

Forgive the sticky goo from the feet that don't stay put. These are mouse pads for puttin' in work, not showcase pieces!

Edit: Ok, maybe they can be both.

Edit Edit: SeymoreGore with a KMFDM reference in the wild, wow.
Click to expand...
If you ever start running into the issue where you can't re-adhesive the original feet back into place, you can do what I did. I just put some Gorilla Glue hot glue gun glue dots on the four corners and then one more halfway between those. Works like a charm!
 
DrelnorGaming said:
So long as the old track-ball style mouse doesn't make a comeback. If it does.... *shudder*
Click to expand...
Hey now, before I had a single machine, I was rocking an optical trackball on the main rig, really helped my wrists!

So my son has decided I might not be so wrong, he went out and bought a new hard pad from Logitech!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top