The Razer Vespula is a dual sided gaming mouse pad by Razer. It is a hard mat unlike the softer mats that can be rolled up. The mat comes packaged in a very nice and easy to open box that allows one to see the surface of the mat before buying it. With this gaming mat Razer is also adding a gel filled wrist rest to better ease the strain some might get with long gaming sessions with the mouse of their choosing. One thing that sets this mouse mat apart from others is that it has dual sides. One side is for control and the other is for speed. The control or "precision" side has a course texture that should give you more control in situations were precision is needed and the other "speed" side is very smooth and allows the mouse to glide easily across the surface.
Size and Shape
The overall size if the mat does not take that much space on your desktop if you are a person with limited desk space. The Vespula measures 300mm (length) x 220mm (width) x 4mm (height). This is pretty much the standard size for a mouse pad of this type. One will be able to find ones much larger of course but they would of course take up more desk space. The shape of the mat allows you to use it with or without the wrist rest is you choose. You simply have to put the wrist rest down on the surface and the mat securely fits in place on top of it as shown below.
If you do not wish to use the wrist rest you simply just need to pull the mat from underneath the hard mouse mat and put the mat on the surface without it. The small green rubber corners keep the opposite side of the mate from being scratched by the surface as well. When the mat is on the wrist rest these corners will not touch the surface as the gel filled wrist rest has it's on mate that it is attached to that raises it high enough off the surface.
When the mouse mat sits on the gel filled wrist rest it is very secure and I have had no problems with it slipping or sliding around on me while playing. The ability to quickly change sides is very nice as well. I notice myself using the speed side more for FPS type of games and the control side for more normal day to day tasks and RPG style games but one will figure out their own likes and dislikes in time by using the different sides.
You can tell which side the mat is on by looking down at the indicator on the mat. There is a small circle with an exclamation point either pointed up and down (control) or a speedometer type indicator in a circle on the other (speed) side. In time one will be able to tell easily which side they are using by the feel of the mouse on the mat. I used the Razer Mamba mouse from my system and I found it glided effortlessly on the speed side and had good control on the control/precision side.
Pros and Cons
Pros -
1. Small surface area for those without much desktop space
2. Nice and comfortable gel filled wrist rest to ease the strain on the wrist
3. Ability to be used with or without the wrist rest
4. Dual sided to handle different gaming types
Cons -
1. Might not be as large as some like for a gaming pad
2. Without the wrist rest in place the mat is not as secure as with it underneath it. I did notice it slip around on me but I do have it on a glass surface that might at to this happening.
Conclusion
All in all I would say most people would enjoy this mat but it might take some time to get used to especially if you are not used to using a wrist rest. I myself have never used a wrist rest for gaming but after using it for awhile I really like it and you may as well.
