Question Best jerry-rigged mousepad (materials)?

[Nocturnia]

I've been having some trouble with my current mouse & pad setup. I'm not sure whether it's my mouse or my mousepad (or both), but the tracking just doesn't seem consistent. It's not unplayable like if I put my mouse directly on my desk surface (which has terrible tracking), but it does seem slightly unnatural no matter how much I tweak the sensitivity settings of my mouse/PC. I've started to wonder whether it's the grainy surface of my pad.

I'm really not knowledgeable about good mousepads, so I don't have a lot of choice but to just trust whatever is being sold. Here in Japan, most gaming-quality mousepads are advertised as having a randomized and grainy surface texture. It's supposedly good for tracking, but... somehow that seems illogical to me in retrospect. My current mousepad has a grainy surface, which clearly allows airflow and minimizes drag on the mouse. If anything, it's too easy to move it. The slightest nudge can cause it to move, which can screw me up on stuff like MMO mechanics that require the player to freeze in place and take no action, in addition to just making it difficult to be precise. It could just be the minimal drag that's making it feel awkward. Or it could it the grainy surface causing problems with inconsistent laser tracking.

Regardless, in our (crappy) modern consumerist age of not even being allow to feel, let alone try a product before we buy (with no returns allowed, to boot), I'm looking for some way to make my own mousepad. I use a piece of printer paper as a mousepad at work and, honestly, it's not bad. I've used printer paper for gaming in the past, but would like something a little more slip- and wrinkle-resistant.

Has anyone else rigged up their own DIY mousepad on the cheap, with minimal handicraft skills needed? I don't care what it looks like. I only care about whether it works.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Im not that fussy about mouse pads, I had some Roccat ones which wore out after a few years. I currently have an Ikea desktop sized pad that has lasted actually longer than any of the more expensive smaller pads I had before.

The good thing about Ikea is that if theres one close to you its possible to head there and take a closer look before you buy. Its also only €20 whatever that translates to in Yen.