*Disclaimer*
This mousepad was sent out to me by FreeFall.gg, but that doesn’t affect my opinions in the review.
UNBOXING & DETAILS
The SV BASE Haus Edition, as the name implies, is a collaboration between FreeFall and hausgaming, who is probably my favorite reviewer in the scene. It’s listed as their balance pad in their mousepad line-up, and features their amazing SV BASE, which uses a proprietary blend of silicone, vynex, and other materials. It’s a very unique base that makes any surface play like a hardpad, and uses static to adhere to your desk. I would advise not having it touch your monitor stand, because peeling the pad off can shock it with the amount of static it creates. It comes flat packaged in a thick box and wrapped in a plastic cover. The stitching is pretty thin and about levelled with the surface. Currently, there is the 450x450mm size available, but there are plans to release a 501x501mm version.
Info Summary
Packaging: Flat
Surface-Type: Smooth, balance
Base: SV BASE (blend of silicone, vynex, & other materials
Dimensions: 450x450x3mm (501x501mm planned)
Price: $34
SURFACE PROPERTIES
Friction & Glide
The speed of the hauspad can be deceptive. It’s labelled as a balance pad, which is what the surface is when compared directly to other surfaces in that speed category. However, because of the surface smoothness, combined with the firm and consistent base, it almost gives the impression that it’s faster – and for the most part, its very effortless glide does make it play faster than those in this speed category. Of the pads I own, I found it to be very close in speed to the la onda blitz when lightly swiping around. By putting any amount of pressure down on the mouse, you will feel a slight shift/slowdown in speed right away. This is because you’re met with immediate resistance from the hardpad-like firmness. Softer pads also have this shift in speed, which is a larger change than with firmer pads, but I find that there’s a very slight buffer before noticing, as the resistance is more gradual, and takes a little more time and force to bottom out. In short, I’m saying the slow down feels a lot more responsive and less variable because of the very firm base. Also, note that the speed shift is a lot more noticeable when using smaller skates, since it’s easier to apply direct pressure with them. With larger skates, it’s still there, but the difference is marginal on the hauspad. As for static friction, there’s a very small hint of it. It’s quite low, but because the surface smoothness makes it more apparent, you will notice a very brief jerk/tug at the start, and when changing directions. It’s very light and not really worth bringing up. With pressure on the mouse, it will be a tad more noticeable.
Speed (fastest to slowest): neptune pro > ghostglide masterpiece > aqua control pro neon > sv base haus edition >= blitz > heavy bee speed > zero mid > saturn design series >= ultra dash > memoria pro > saturn
Feel
The surface is smooth with a slight clothy feeling, which I find to be quite comfortable. I find it to be more pleasant and natural for me than smooth surfaces that use spandex or nylon, such as the ghostglide masterpiece and lamzu energon. The pad is very firm cause of the base, but I didn’t feel any discomfort while using it. Those who put a lot of pressure down may likely notice it more though. My only gripe with the surface is that any tiny bit of dust can easily be felt rubbing on the fingers when swiping around, which can be very annoying and distracting. If your fingers make contact frequently, be sure to swipe them all off before playing. It was quite easy to remove them when I first got the pad, but the surface has become smoother with break-in/continued use, and dust sticks more, so now it takes a bit more swipes.
PERFORMANCE
The hauspad has a small break-in period where it initially feels a bit faster, and the glide slows down by a large amount from pressing the mouse onto the surface. After two days of use, the surface became smoother, the speed felt slightly slower, and the slow down from pressure wasn’t as drastic. The ability to slow down is still present, but the shift in speed is now more intuitive and manageable, rather than feeling draggy like before. The resulting speed lands it on the faster end of balanced for me.
Honestly, there’s not really much I can comment on about the surface, aside from its smoothness and effortless glide. It’s great, but the aspect of the pad that grabs the most attention, and is the most interesting to me, is how it feels when integrated with FreeFall’s unique SV BASE. As already mentioned earlier, it gives the surface a hardpad-like feel cause of its firmness. It makes the glide feel incredibly consistent and linear – even moreso than mid slimflex bases (previously called poron). It feels great to track on for these reasons – though if you’re shaky when tracking like I am, the firm surface will reflect that when lightly gliding. However, with the resistance I mentioned, you can press down to stabilize. There are some trade-offs to this though, where if you don’t manage how hard you press, you can be stuck in place and look jerky trying to fight your own tension while reactively tracking — as can be seen in my highlights. This isn’t a downside of the pad, and rather just a matter of time adjusting my technique with the firm base. Because of its balanced speed, I find it quite flexible for click-timing as well. The immediate resistance you’re met with when pressing down makes the small shift in speed feel more responsive and less variable in friction than softer pads. I utilize the slow down from pressing down quite a lot as it adds control and helps prevent me from overshooting during quick microadjustments. It won’t offer as much control as slower and softer pads, so you can’t flick around as freely as you’d like, but the surface allows me to quickly pace my shots, and the precision it offers feels very rewarding. I mainly leaned towards using mice with small corner skates instead of large ones, because the slow down from pressing down felt a little more significant for me, so the sense of control I got from that made up for the lack of feedback I was accustomed to from more textured pads. If you enjoy mid base pads and haven’t tried a FreeFall pad yet, I highly recommend giving one a chance. It’s worth experiencing at least once.
PROS & CONS
+very comfortable, smooth surface
+extremely consistent feeling glide
+unique and very firm base
+sticks super well onto the desk
+stitching is thin & about levelled w/ the surface
+available in good square sizes (450x450mm, and eventually 501x501mm)
+comes flat packaged
+great price considering the quality and uniqueness ($34.99)
=requires you to swipe off dust before playing or your fingers will feel it
=creates a lot of static when peeling
LINKS/SOCIALS
