Overview: The Phantom, the latest addition to the Tekkusai glass family, is set to be released on June 27th, with an expected shipping date in late July. It is the fastest glass surface released by Tekkusai, with an extreme amount of stopping power when pressing into the surface. The Phantom comes in at $119 with 2500 serialized units.
Unboxing Experience: Right off the bat, you are greeted with the artwork of the Phantom on the box, with a similar design to the Beast and Guardian box, with its magnetic latch and premium box design. It stands out as the most premium box I’ve seen for a glass mousepad, only comparable to the Beast and Guardian boxes. When opening the box, you are greeted with a few accessories, including a card (which I won’t share, as I feel it’s something that the buyer should get to see on their own for the first time), a cleaning cloth with a similar design to the Beast, and also the Ghostglide Cyclone Pro skates, although they weren’t ready in time for the review units, so I will not be giving my impressions on them until a later date. You also have a 1/10 chance to receive a collector’s card, which you can see here (x.com/tekkusai/statu). Once you navigate past the accessories, you encounter a white sleeve that protects the pad from scratches.
First Impressions and Feel: Pulling it out of the box, it immediately reminded me of the beast’s surface but with a bit more bite when it came to surface feel. If I were to compare it to a cloth texture, I’d compare it to something similar to the Raiden’s texture, but slightly smoother and more comfortable on the skin. With its exceptionally smooth edges and height of 2.5mm, it outperforms most glass pads. The base, made of a special rubberized material, feels fantastic to the touch. After putting it on the desk and giving it a whirl, it gave me first the input of the entity but with more texture, but after pressing into it, it gave fantastic stopping power and control. The Phantom has little to no skin stick. In my honest opinion, you don’t need a sleeve for this pad, although it still works great with one; it feels very comfortable on my skin.
Gaming Experience and Performance: The first game I broke into immediately with this pad was CS2. The first things I noticed in the game were my flicking ability and micro adjustments. One reason I hesitated to use the beast was that I often overshot or struggled to make small micro adjustments from chest to head when flicking; however, pressing down into this pad provided me with a cloth-like feel that enhanced my stopping power on a speed pad, allowing for better micro adjustments and control during flicks. I decided to also give it a try in the finals, which is obviously more of a tracking game, and it really brought out the speed of the pad. The most similar I could compare it to is the entity, as I said before, but with more texture. For a more mainstream comparison with the beast, the Phantom has a slightly rougher texture while being noticeably faster, not to mention the extra stopping power when pressing into the pad, which is something the beast cannot provide. In the finals, it made tracking a lot of fun while also giving the ability to push in when needed for micro adjustments.
Base: The base of this pad is fantastic; as I said before, it’s a special rubberized base, and this mousepad is genuinely not going anywhere when it comes to pushing into it. It sticks to the desk like glue, and you won’t have an issue with it sliding anywhere.
Final Thoughts: This pad is the perfect all-rounder when it comes to glass, it provides a never achieved before combination of fantastic stopping power and incredible speed. While it’s incredibly fast, learning to press into it like a cloth pad brings out its best features. You can track with incredible speed and achieve precise micro-adjustments by pressing into the pad, offering the best of both worlds. The texture feels like the beast with a bit more bite, and the skin stick on the pad is not noticeable at all. It’s one of the first pads I can confidently play without a sleeve on with no issue. The base is exceptional and stays securely in place. The surface is complemented by the stunning artwork and clarity of the glass. I would 100% recommend this pad to anyone interested in a glass pad, honestly.
Note: This pad was sent out to me to review, but all thoughts are my own.
