I
t’s not often we deem a mouse mat worthy of a
full-page review, but the Corsair MM500 piqued
our interest. With a colossal area of 1220 x 610mm,
this ‘3XL’ mat is large enough to cover an entire desk with
plush, squishy loveliness. Having such an enormous mouse
mat may sound like a gimmick, but having recently been won
over by extra-wide mouse mats that run all the way under
your keyboard, we were intrigued to know if there was any
merit to stretching a mat even further.
In theory, there are several benefits to these extended
mats. The first is that you have the ability to truly go to town on
your mouse placement and movements, flinging your mouse
all over your desk without the risk of it falling off your mat.
Moreover, by having the mat fully extend under your keyboard,
you avoid the annoying situation that can occur on small desks,
where you usually don’t have room for a large mouse mat
without it encroaching on where you want your keyboard to sit.
The extra space can also be useful for multi-monitor setups.
You may have one monitor mainly for work and another
alongside it mainly for gaming, and with this mat, you slide the
keyboard and mouse over to one or the other depending on
what you’re doing. A larger mat means you don’t have to move
the mouse mat as well.
Then there’s the fact that having
one large surface on which you rest
both your keyboard and mouse
ensures that both the keyboard and
mouse mat are more stable. The
keyboard helps to hold down the mat,while the latter provides a non-slip surface for your keyboard.
You also get a soft, warm-to-the-touch surface for your arms
and hands wherever they rest on your desk. It’s like having a
built-in, squishy wrist rest for your whole desk.
But is it worth moving from just an extra-wide mat, such
as the Corsair MM300, to a 3XL mouse mat? We found that
the back 20-30cm of the MM500 added very little in terms
of practical benefits. Very occasionally, we would push
the mouse beyond the depth limits of a mat such as the
MM300, but otherwise, the MM500 just looked good and
gave a pleasant soft landing for our speakers and monitor.
However, the extra length did come in handy for our multi-
monitor setup. With the likes of the MM300, we still had to
shift along the mat a little to get right in front of the gaming
display. However, with the MM500, we didn’t have to move it
at all. As such, we were largely won over. Aside from the hassle
of completely clearing your desk to lay down the mat for the
first time, it’s a surprisingly worthwhile upgrade, even if it does
make coffee spills considerably more of a pain to clean up.
The MM500 is just as well made as any other decent soft
mouse mat. You get a braided edge, which can be a pain on
smaller mouse mats, but the braiding is well out of the way
of your mouse here. In terms of value, the sheer amount of
material you get for the price also means it’s considerably
cheaper per unit area than smaller mats. You can get slightly
cheaper 3XL mats, but there’s not much in it.Conclusion
Believe the hype, it’s worth getting an extra-large mouse mat.
If you haven’t tried one before, we recommend giving one a
try. Whether you really need to go all the way to 3XL is another
matter though. There’s little practical benefit for most users
over regular extended versions, but it’s great if you have a multi-
monitor setup. This Corsair mat is good quality and affordable too.
EDWARD CHESTERVERDICT
How big is too big for mouse mats?
Apparently we haven’t reached the
limits yet.OVERALL SCORE
7766 %%
SPEC
Construction Foam rubber with
cloth top and stitched edges
Dimensions (mm) 1220 x 610 x 3 (W x D x H)MOUSE MAT
+^ Transforms
entire desk into
a mouse mat
+^ Well made
+^ Good value
compared with
smaller mats
+^ Ideal for multi-
monitor setupsMOUSE TRAP-^ Extra depth of
limited benefit
-^ Not the cheapest
3XL mouse mat
-^ Too large for
most people
SUPPLIER corsair.comCORSAIR MM500
EXTENDED 3XL/£40inc VAT
MOUSE MAT
I
t’snotoften we deem a mouse mat worthy of a
full-pagereview, but the Corsair MM500 piqued
ourinterest. With a colossal area of 1220 x 610mm,
this‘3XL’matis largeenough to cover an entire desk with
plush,squishyloveliness. Having such an enormous mouse
matmaysoundlikea gimmick, but having recently been won
overbyextra-widemouse mats that run all the way under
yourkeyboard,wewere intrigued to know if there was any
merittostretchinga mat even further.
Intheory,thereareseveral benefits to these extended
mats.Thefirstis thatyou have the ability to truly go to town on
yourmouseplacement and movements, flinging your mouse
alloveryourdeskwithout the risk of it falling off your mat.
Moreover,byhavingthe mat fully extend under your keyboard,
youavoidtheannoying situation that can occur on small desks,
whereyouusuallydon’t have room for a large mouse mat
withoutit encroachingon where you want your keyboard to sit.
Theextraspacecanalso be useful for multi-monitor setups.
Youmayhaveonemonitor mainly for work and another
alongsideit mainlyforgaming, and with this mat, you slide the
keyboardandmouseover to one or the other depending on
whatyou’redoing.A larger mat means you don’t have to move
the mouse mat as well.
Then there’s the fact that having
one large surface on which you rest
both your keyboard and mouse
ensures that both the keyboard and
mouse mat are more stable. The
keyboard helps to hold down the mat,while the latter provides a non-slip surface for your keyboard.
You also get a soft, warm-to-the-touch surface for your arms
and hands wherever they rest on your desk. It’s like having a
built-in, squishy wrist rest for your whole desk.
But is it worth moving from just an extra-wide mat, such
as the Corsair MM300, to a 3XL mouse mat? We found that
the back 20-30cm of the MM500 added very little in terms
of practical benefits. Very occasionally, we would push
the mouse beyond the depth limits of a mat such as the
MM300, but otherwise, the MM500 just looked good and
gave a pleasant soft landing for our speakers and monitor.
However, the extra length did come in handy for our multi-
monitor setup. With the likes of the MM300, we still had to
shift along the mat a little to get right in front of the gaming
display. However, with the MM500, we didn’t have to move it
at all. As such, we were largely won over. Aside from the hassle
of completely clearing your desk to lay down the mat for the
first time, it’s a surprisingly worthwhile upgrade, even if it does
make coffee spills considerably more of a pain to clean up.
The MM500 is just as well made as any other decent soft
mouse mat. You get a braided edge, which can be a pain on
smaller mouse mats, but the braiding is well out of the way
of your mouse here. In terms of value, the sheer amount of
material you get for the price also means it’s considerably
cheaper per unit area than smaller mats. You can get slightly
cheaper 3XL mats, but there’s not much in it.Conclusion
Believe the hype, it’s worth getting an extra-large mouse mat.
If you haven’t tried one before, we recommend giving one a
try. Whether you really need to go all the way to 3XL is another
matter though. There’s little practical benefit for most users
over regular extended versions, but it’s great if you have a multi-
monitor setup. This Corsair mat is good quality and affordable too.
EDWARD CHESTERVERDICT
How big is too big for mouse mats?
Apparently we haven’t reached the
limits yet.OVERALLSCORE
7766 %%
SPEC
Construction Foam rubber with
cloth top and stitched edges
Dimensions (mm) 1220 x 610 x 3 (W x D x H)MOUSEMAT
+Transforms
entire desk into
a mousemat
+Wellmade
+Good value
compared with
smallermats
+Ideal for multi-
monitor setups
MOUSETRAP
- Extra depth of
limitedbenefit - Not the cheapest
3XLmousemat - Too large for
most people
SUPPLIER corsair.com
CORSAIR MM500
EXTENDED 3XL/£40inc VAT
MOUSE MAT