Everyone compares mousepad surfaces. Almost nobody compares bases, which is strange, because the base decides whether the pad moves when you swipe, how much the surface deforms under your hand, and how the pad feels after two years of use.
What the base actually does
A mousepad base has three jobs at once, and they pull against each other:
- Anchoring. Keeping the pad still on the desk during a fast, hard flick.
- Damping. Absorbing desk vibration and irregularity so the surface stays flat and quiet.
- Support. Resisting compression under the weight of your hand, so the surface does not dish under your palm.
A base that is too soft anchors well but compresses, and a compressed surface under your palm changes the effective height of the pad where your mouse travels. A base that is too hard supports well but transmits every flaw in the desk.
Natural rubber
The default for most cloth pads. Natural rubber is cheap, grips well when new, and is easy to laminate to fabric.
Strengths: strong initial grip, good damping, low cost.
Weaknesses: it hardens with age and heat, and grip degrades as it does. Rubber also compresses inconsistently across a large pad, which is why big rubber-based pads can develop a slight dish where the hand rests. Cheap rubber outgasses and smells for weeks.
Poron
Poron is a microcellular polyurethane foam, originally an industrial material used for gaskets and impact padding. In mousepads it is used because of one specific property: it compresses under load and returns to its original thickness, over and over, without taking a set.
Strengths: consistent compression over years, excellent damping, uniform support across the whole pad, stays stable across temperature changes.
Weaknesses: significantly more expensive, and on its own it grips a desk less aggressively than fresh rubber, which is why good Poron pads pair it with a grippy bottom layer or a heavier overall build.
The practical difference shows up after a year. A Poron base that has been used daily still measures the same thickness and still returns the same feedback. That is the whole argument for it.
Silicone
Silicone is the standard base for glass and hard pads, and it solves a different problem. A glasspad is rigid and heavy, so it does not need structural support from the base. What it needs is a thin layer that grips the desk absolutely and damps the sharp, high-frequency vibration that a hard surface would otherwise transmit.
Strengths: outstanding grip on smooth desks, does not harden or yellow, very thin so it does not raise the pad much.
Weaknesses: it attracts dust, and it needs a smooth desk to work best. On a textured or fabric desk mat, silicone grips far less well.
Which one should you buy?
- Cloth pad you will keep for years: Poron. The consistency is worth the premium, and it is the reason our cloth mousepads use it.
- Cloth pad on a tight budget: rubber is fine, just expect the grip to fade and plan to replace the pad.
- Glass pad: silicone, and make sure the desk surface underneath it is smooth and clean.
A quick test for your current pad
Put the mouse at one edge, hold the pad down with nothing but the friction of the base, and do a full-arm flick at the speed you would use in a real fight. If the pad shifts even two millimetres, the base is the limiting factor in your setup, not the surface. Browse the full FLUXAIM range if that test just failed.