We are today having a look at the P-RF mousepad from ZOWIE Gear, a mousepad which has gone through a special treatment to become water resistant. This goes for the whole RF series as there are three different sizes available depending on your need.

The P-RF that we have which is 340 x 290 x 4 mm ( 13.4 x 11.4 x 0.16 inch ), then we have the N-RF1 which is 250 x 215 mm and just 1 mm thick ( 9.8 x 8.5 x 0.04 inch ) and the last one is just about the same size but one millimeter thicker, N-RF2 250 x 215 x 2 mm ( 9.8 x 8.5 x 0.08 inch ).

We have the largest version on our test bench.

The P-RF comes in a stylish package showing the ZOWIE logo at the top and the product id at the bottom. Some information on the back, but not much more than that is to find on the outside.

When we open up the package we find only the product itself, ZOWIE has got rid of all the unnecessary flyer's and extra information that others provide with their products. After all it is just a mousepad, oh wait not just a mousepad, but you'll see ;)

Extracting the soft mousepad from the package is quite easy and as with everything that is rolled, it keeps its convex shape for a while. Feeling on the surface reveals nothing much, however it does feel a bit more smooth than other cloth mousepads due to it's special treatment in the manufacturing process.






If we take a look under the mousepad we see that ZOWIE has put their logo there, a lot ;) But it looks good and its a nice touch, too bad we probably wont see it again until we exchange the mousepad for another. The bottom of this mousepad has a rubber mat that will prevent the mousepad from slipping around during heavy gameplay.

Testing the mousepad with an optical mouse, our Logitech MX518, shows that it works very well. The size of the mousepad is quite good with its 340 by 290 millimeters its quite big and with a thickness of 4 millimeters its very comfortable to use.

But the most important thing about this mousepad is the waterproof cloth surface that will prevent liquids from going into the mousepad and ruining it. The following picture shows water drops that we threw at it and to let it be for 30 minutes, after this period we went to check on the mousepad and all the water drops was still there.



None of the small water bubbles had gone through the surface. Wiping the mousepad just once with a dry cloth leaves no traces of the water resulting in a totally dry surface.

So if you overturn your glass of water or in worst case scenario some soft drink such as Coca Cola, Jolt or anything similar you will have a big chance of having a dry mousepad just wiping off your mousepad with a dry cloth, resulting in continued gameplay without any long interruptions ;)

How come the surface is water resistant then? Well let's copy ZOWIE on this answer.
"The manufacturing process of the RF gaming surfaces is very exclusive. The clothing material consists of unique fibers that has been woven very tightly together, to ensure a flexible and durable surface and to eliminate the absorption of small particles such as dust. We then apply a secret treatment to the material to ensure that it is capable of resisting water and heavy pressure. This does not only reduce the everyday wear and tear of the surface, it also makes it very easy to clean and maintain.

Some gamers have a problem with sweat being absorbed by their mouse pad, making it very old to look at. After a few weeks of every day use, the pad will look grey and have white markings from the sweat it has absorbed. Our new technology ensures that the sweat is not absorbed by the cloth, but left on top in form of a small residue, which can be easily cleaned using a wet clothing. With the significant reduction of wear and tear you no longer have to change your mouse pad every few months."

What this means is that we probably will be able to keep this mousepad for a very long time thanks to its surface that is easily cleaned. As the small particles will have a hard time to get into the mousepad it will also maintain its color and don't look aged after a short period.

We do look forward to see what the P-RF looks like in three months of hardcore use. So we will definitely post updated pictures in this article and announce the update in our news section if we've managed to get it dirty ;)

So what score can we give this product? I do believe in a top score with its high quality cloth material and lovely rubber base, together with the hope that this mousepad will last for quite some time I cannot give the P-RF another score than 100%.

I would like to thank ZOWIE Gear for sending this product and e1337 Consult for their help in making this review possible.