Does this premium dual-sided mousing surface have what it takes to stand out from the crowd, or is the gaming division saturated with such products?
Product On Review: Func Surface 1030XL
Manufacturer and Sponsor: Func
Street Price: TBA
Established 1999 in California, Func is a venerable brand in the gaming peripherals market. The company focus on mousing surfaces for gaming, with 2001 heralding the retail release of the original sUrface 1030 gaming mousemat which was later updated to the Surface 1030 Archetype. They’ve been quiet for a while as the market has caught up, augmenting their product range with cleaning fluids for the Surface 1030 range and releasing a more traditional mousemat in the form of the F-Series, until now.
About Func
We redefined the gaming experience. It’s time to make history once again.
Func will once again redefine the gaming experience with cutting edge products to make history for a second time. In 2012, Func decided it was time to revamp the look and feel of the brand and give it a fresh image. But bringing Func back to you is so much more than cosmetic changes, it’s about enhancing your gaming experience in a more meaningful way. We want to make a difference in performance, just like we did back in the day, and we want to do it in an honest and trustworthy way.
What looks simple and obvious to the untrained eye is, to us, a complex challenge. The term “ergonomics” is very commonly used today. Did you know that we spent more than 100 hours studying the human hand and how the mouse body can be improved? Not to mention the hours spent on testing the perfect placement of the buttons. Did you know that we have tested more than 200 different surface materials in search of the perfect tracking conditions?
There are no shortcuts in this business and functionality kicks in where simplicity doesn’t make any sense. We believe that your performance (besides your personal skills and training) can only be enhanced by the usability of the functions and not simply by a bunch of fancy gimmicks marketed as revolutionary product development. They make you buy it but it doesn’t give you any advantage at all.
Func will once again redefine the gaming experience with cutting edge products to make history for a second time. In 2012, Func decided it was time to revamp the look and feel of the brand and give it a fresh image. But bringing Func back to you is so much more than cosmetic changes, it’s about enhancing your gaming experience in a more meaningful way. We want to make a difference in performance, just like we did back in the day, and we want to do it in an honest and trustworthy way.
What looks simple and obvious to the untrained eye is, to us, a complex challenge. The term “ergonomics” is very commonly used today. Did you know that we spent more than 100 hours studying the human hand and how the mouse body can be improved? Not to mention the hours spent on testing the perfect placement of the buttons. Did you know that we have tested more than 200 different surface materials in search of the perfect tracking conditions?
There are no shortcuts in this business and functionality kicks in where simplicity doesn’t make any sense. We believe that your performance (besides your personal skills and training) can only be enhanced by the usability of the functions and not simply by a bunch of fancy gimmicks marketed as revolutionary product development. They make you buy it but it doesn’t give you any advantage at all.
This review is for the latest of Func’s mousing surfaces, the Surface 1030 XL. Both Surface 1030 L and XL re-purpose the core double-sided concept of the sUrface 1030, but with a significantly larger mousing area and revised textures to improve competitiveness. As with the Surface 1030 Archetype, the 1030L and XL are designed to be washable, durable, and provide two different surface types to better suit a variety of mice.
About the Surface 1030XL
Probably one of the best selling mouse surfaces ever introduced, the Surface 1030 once changed the world of gaming and now we continue to improve the standard of quality. By now, everybody knows how important your mouse surface is in order to perform precise movements at high speeds. It’s a matter of life and death to have only the best surface under your mouse; no one serious about the game can afford tracking loss or skips during intensive gameplay. The new surface 1030 takes the award-winning concept to a higher level with a more functional design and a bigger tracking area.
Specifications And Features
Specifications
Surface material:- Polycarbonate
Surface type:- F30.r / F10.s
Size:- 36×28 cm / 14×11 in
Weight:- 422 gr / 0.93 lbs
Thickness:- 4 mm / 0.16 in
Components:
Func Surface 1030 XL
Func Surface 1030 frame
Surface type:- F30.r / F10.s
Size:- 36×28 cm / 14×11 in
Weight:- 422 gr / 0.93 lbs
Thickness:- 4 mm / 0.16 in
Components:
Func Surface 1030 XL
Func Surface 1030 frame
Features
The Original Mouse Surface Concept
Giving you the choice between two sides, both offer a unique experience of traction, precision and consistency.
Large Rubber Feet
The large surface feet measure a grip on any surface no matter what the material.
Easy to keep clean
Easy to clean; housing and mouse pad are washable.
Giving you the choice between two sides, both offer a unique experience of traction, precision and consistency.
Large Rubber Feet
The large surface feet measure a grip on any surface no matter what the material.
Easy to keep clean
Easy to clean; housing and mouse pad are washable.
Packaging And First Look
If Func want to make a good first impression, they certainly went the right way about it. This is no cheap and disposable cardboard container – you’re treated to a robust presentation box more befitting a high-end peripheral than mousing surface. The manufacturers obviously want to impress the high-end nature of the Surface 1030 on us, unsurprisingly. It appears that both L and XL variants are packaged in the same box, so take care to ensure you’ve picked up the correct one.
The rear of the packaging provides both a pictorial and written overview of the Surface, including technical specifications such as dimensions. Once again it’s clear and laid out in an uncluttered fashion, rather than used as a means of selling other products in the Func stable.
How’s that for a first look? The Surface 1030 XL is placed in its own recessed foam back and secured by a foam inlay, ensuring that it won’t be damaged in transit and that it will experience a minimum of movement during shipping. The design of the pad, with popout mousing surface, makes this pretty important.
The booklet insert repeats many of the tech specs from the outside, whilst also providing some elementary cleaning instructions.
Closer Look
Func’s Surface 1030 XL product is composed of two components: the Surface 1030 XL itself – a double-sided mousing surface with distinct textures on each side – and a recessed rigid plastic frame in which the surface sits. Rather than flexing the frame, the Surface 1030 is released by pushing through one of two holes on the underside of the pad.
As noted, the finishes of the mousing surfaces’ two sides are significantly different. One is designed to be extremely smooth, suiting the teflon skates of most gaming mice on the market right now.
The other side is a harder and much more heavily textured finish, perhaps most suited to the ceramic feet appearing on some mice recently due to its durability. Although teflon skates can be used on the slightly roughened surface, extended use will probably increase skate wear, whilst also not being as smooth an experience for general workloads. It’s also worth noting that unlike rubber-backed, single surface mousepads there’s very little spring in the Surface 1030XL.
The back side of the Surface 1030XL is relatively bare. Eight rubber pads around the edge add friction to reduce slippage, aided by a central pad which also serves to make the frame compress in a uniform manner (rather than bowing out from the centre).
Performance
As with every mouse mat where sensor response may be highly variable, we want to test with two different mouse sensor types: laser and optical. Accordingly we unpacked the NAOS 3200 by MIONIX and Tt eSports Level 10M mice used in our previous review; the former utilises a 3200DPI optical sensor, whereas the latter is based around more high-end 8200DPI laser sensor.
It’s important to get an impression of both sides of the mousing surface over extended periods, and accordingly we used the Surface 1030XL over the course of a week in a variety of tasks, from basic office tasks where it would be used relatively infrequently to extended gameplay sessions.
Games Tested:
FPS:- Borderlands 2
Real Time Strategy:- Starcraft 2
RPG:- Torchlight
Real Time Strategy:- Starcraft 2
RPG:- Torchlight
Results
We swiftly took note of the good size of the Surface XL. Its 345mm x 255mm isn’t the largest we’ve seen, but proved ample for business/word-processing tasks and most games. Gamers with a more expansive style of gameplay within FPS’s may be a little cramped compared to the largest mouse mats we’ve seen recently, but the flip-side is that the Surface 1030 XL does not pose a significant space problem on a typical computer desk. Even so, size was never an issue in our Borderlands 2 tests. For most the pad will be ample.
Tracking on both the smooth and textured sides was excellent, with no skipping for both optical and laser mice. The smooth side is genuinely smooth, allowing the mouse to skate over the surface with minimal resistance. The same cannot the said of the textured finish, which strikes us as much more suited to ceramics; movement over this surface was understandably more drag-prone too, making it a relatively unpleasant experience by comparison.
One potential flaw we did note during extended gaming sessions (90+mins) using the smooth side was a pronounced warping of the Surface 1030XL upwards and out of its frame. It typically doesn’t become a problem which impedes use, but does detract significantly from the overall look and feel of the product.
The unyielding nature of the mat won’t be for everyone: the hard surface and shallow rubber feet on the frame back side do not cushion the palm or wrist significantly. Those more accustomed to a spongy cloth mat with thick rubber backing may find it uncomfortable, though moving from an rigid-base of an aluminium or glass mat to the Surface 1030XL will be much less of an issue. Personal preference will play a pretty significant role; those who do choose the Surface 1030XL will be pleased with how grippy its feet are – at no point did the frame slip over the desk.
Finally, our Surface 1030XL sample did not fit particularly snugly in the frame. Vertical movement of the Surface within the frame was minimal, but we did experience a very noticeable amount of horizontal slipping over the course of the testing period. Hopefully this is a QA slip-up rather than design flaw, but those who use a mouse with their palm resting on the mat need to be aware, especially precision gamers who move their hand swiftly.
Conclusion
First impressions of the Func Surface 1030XL were great, from its deluxe packaging to high quality smooth mousing surface you felt that it was something special. However we can’t simply review based on first impressions, that certainly won’t be fair to other products we have coming through our labs.
By it’s own admission, the Surface 1030XL isn’t strictly innovative. The concept was previously broached in 2005 with their own Surface 1030 Archetype; at best it’s an evolution of that ‘dual-side & frame’ concept. It is however new to us, and perhaps some of you too. So how does it come off?
The additional technical complications certainly add versatility without diminishing performance. Just being able to easily clean a mouse mat is a boon in itself – they can certainly become grotty quickly, with cloth types in particular being notoriously difficult to deal with.
Where the 1030XL falls down is in little areas. The frame isn’t as rigid or flat as it could be, perhaps down to the choice of plastic as the base material. The 1030XL can slide in its frame, horizontally at least. It’s not the most comfortable of mats to use. Each of these factors detract a little from what should be a high quality, satisfying product, and perhaps the promise in the presentation highlights these failings.
As a mousemat the Func Surface 1030 XL is good, but the result didn’t live our first impressions; its innate design flexibility also leads to weaknesses which detract from the overall package. Worthy of consideration if you’re picking up a mouse with ceramic casters, or prefer a less cushioned mat, but overall it’s a niche product for a select few. The Surface 1030 XL attains a creditable Bronze and our Creative Award for the variety of rare features.
Pros
+ Size
+ Easy to clean
+ Choice of surface texture
Cons
– Build quality
+ Size
+ Easy to clean
+ Choice of surface texture
Cons
– Build quality
Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net.
