Blade Hawks Extended RGB Gaming Mouse Pad Review: Why Not?

POSITIVES

✓ Aesthetically pleasing

Trendy and adds mood to any desk setup

✓ Plenty of RGB patterns

15 light pattern variations

✓ USB hub

There's a speaker and 3x USB 2.0 ports for convenience

NEGATIVES

✘ Not for every desk

Too large for those with a compact setup

✘ Not really necessary

A solid gift option though

✘ RGB is somewhat dim

Doesn't give the most pop

Retail Price: $25.99

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One of the most pointless gaming accessories that really doesn’t add much in terms of elevating a user’s performance are these RGB gaming mouse pads. What exactly does it add in value to your desk setup that a regular mouse pad without flashy RGB’s don’t already add? There certainly is a reason why people buy these things like hot cakes and I’m going to tell you why in this full review of the Blade Hawks RGB Mouse Pad.

Holding Down The Fort

This particular mouse pad cost me about $19 which designates it clearly within the realm of a 3 AM impulse purchase. I do have to say I’ve always been a fan of these larger rubber extended pads even prior to the new trend of adding RGB strips to the edges. It just gives you a wide flexible range for your setup regardless of your mouse and keyboard combination. This Blade Hawks extended mat measures 31 x 11.8 inches. That’s a lengthy amount that provides a lot of usable mouse space. That means games that require a lot of mouse action like FPS or action RPGs would benefit from an extended pad like this. 

It might not work for some of you out there who have a compact setup with a PC tower on top of the desk. The bottom of the pad is constructed out of a rubber base to help prevent slippage during intense gaming sessions where you’re running for your life. I’ve placed it on wood surfaces as well as metal surfaces and it hasn’t budged much at all. That’s really the most important thing to note because this is a mouse pad after all and holding down the fort is its primary function.

What’s Different

So what exactly makes this mat unique? The glaring visual is of course due to the inclusion of an RGB lighting strip wrapped around the rim of the mat. There are 15 light pattern variations: 11 of them are static while 4 of them have motion cycles. The colors cover the rainbow scale rather well, but I wouldn’t say the RGB strip here is extremely vibrant as the promotional pictures would have you believe. I’m okay with what it is, but some people might be expecting more pop out of it. 

On the top left corner of the Blade Hawks gaming pad resides a protruding USB hub. There’s only one button on the top of the hub and that is the power button. Press on it once to turn on the RGB strip and hold it for a couple of seconds to turn it back off. While it’s on, you can press the button to cycle through the pattern options. On the inner side of the box is a volume scroll. You read that correctly, this hub also has an external speaker that can push audio out. As one may guess from such a small driver, the audio coming out of this thing is definitely not meant to be relied upon as your only source of audio. It can serve as a potentially surround sound-like add-on to your main speaker systems. 

The other side of the hub gives access to the 3x USB 2.0 ports and the passthrough port you need to connect this product to your computer with. Logic-wise this is probably the most beneficial piece of additional functionality to a mouse pad. Having access to USB ports right in front of you to push power to charge a phone or plug in a tablet with a game map can actually be beneficial to gamers. Keep in mind the pass through power on this USB 2.0 connection may not be enough to push power to some modern electronics.

Is it Necessary?

Do we really need a gaming pad with RGB lights? Probably not, but we’ve come so far with decking out desk setups using colors from the rainbow that we may as well add this to the collection. For $20, this is actually a really solid gift option as I assume most people would look to RGB-nize their keyboards, mice, PC case and desk first and foremost. There’s a good chance whoever you purchase this for will find it a useful addition.   

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