FLUXAIM has always been built with the people who actually use the gear. The pads exist because players told us what was wrong with the ones they had. The next set of PTFE mouse skates is going the same way: we are opening the shape decision to the community instead of picking it internally and hoping.
Why the shape matters more than people think
Skate shape is not cosmetic. It changes three things you feel immediately:
- Contact area. More PTFE touching the surface means a heavier, more damped glide and slower wear. Less means a lighter, faster feel and more frequent replacement.
- Edge behaviour. Rounded and chamfered edges stop the skate from catching on the transition between surface and edge, which matters far more on a hard surface like glass than on cloth.
- Balance under the hand. Where the material sits relative to your grip determines whether the mouse pivots cleanly on a micro-adjustment or feels like it is fighting you.
On an uncoated glasspad all three are amplified, because glass gives back exactly what the skate does. That is the environment we are designing for.
What we are weighing up
Broadly, the trade-off runs between three families:
- Full curved edges that follow the outline of the mouse shell. Maximum contact, heaviest and most stable glide, longest life.
- Split or segmented layouts that cut the contact area down. Lighter, faster, more responsive to small inputs, wears faster.
- Dots. Minimum contact, maximum speed, most sensitive to a dirty or uneven surface, shortest life.
There is no correct answer here. There is only the answer that fits how most of you actually play, and we would rather ask than guess.
Where to vote
The polls are running on our social channels. Vote wherever you already are:
If you have a strong opinion and a reason behind it, the Discord is the place to say it properly. Poll numbers tell us what people want; a paragraph explaining why tells us what to build.
What happens after
Once the vote closes we will share the results, the shape we are going with, and the reasoning if the winner is not what we would have picked ourselves. Prototypes go out to a small group of players before anything ships.
Thanks for building this with us.