In the spotlight today are two new gaming mouse pads from Ozone Gaming. Lepton a hardened surface and Neutron a cloth surface. Find out what we thought!

Product on review: Lepton & Neutron
Manufacturer: Ozone Gaming
Street Price: £20 GBP (Lepton) & £25 GBP (Neutron)

For the gamer, there are a set of tools which are essential to guarantee success. One of these items is the humble mouse pad. Pairing up a decent gaming surface with a reliable gaming mouse can help gamers get onto that road to success and today we are looking at two new gaming pad solutions from Ozone Gaming.

In the spotlight today is Lepton and Neutron; Lepton features a firm upper surface whilst Neutron features cloth. Both pads are designed to work well with both optical and laser gaming mice but can these new products take us to gaming stardom?

About OZONE Gaming

OZONE Gaming Gear, is an European brand of gaming peripherals that revolves around the concept “It’s all about Evolution”. OZONE is a brand created by and for gamers, the evolution is part of our gaming life, we all want to improve and evolve into a better gaming contender. OZONE is committed to the development, engineering and evolution of innovative gaming peripherals with an unique style and the best performance, to allow gamers to exceed their limits and become the best. It’s all about evolution.

In the recent years the gaming industry has developed into the ultra-competitive arena that we see today, and the gamers have also developed into a more demanding, sophisticated and exigent consumer. There is an ever increasing demand for better design, increase number of functions and higher performances. Due to the development of newer and better gaming peripherals, the market has suffered a transformation. New segments of high performance gaming accessories have grown to become more specialized and subdivided. But this change in the market has also come accompanied of an increase in the price levels of those products.

Technical Specifications

LEPTON Gaming Pad

Material + Features
Rubber base, Rigid surface for precision
Objective
Maximum stability and control
Dimensions
360 x 260 x 2.5mm

NEUTRON Gaming Pad

Material + Features
Advanced layered technology
Ergonomic shape
Hybrid micro-texture surface
Objective
Optimized tracking for laser and optical mice
Dimensions
413 x 290 x 4mm

LEPTON Gaming Pad

Measuring 360 x 260 x 2.5mm, Lepton is a medium sized mouse pad which has a monochrome theme, there are no stand-out design features except for the Ozone logo and model name which can be partially seen in each corner.

The top surface is semi-granular and features a rigid surface – an alternative to the common cloth gaming surface. Ozone claim that Lepton is designed for precision.

A neutral design which is easy on the eye

Lepton offers a thickness of just 2.5mm. Ozone have furnished the gaming pad with a middle layer which is gives a distinctive red accent to the pad. The lower layer is soft and rubberised to prevent Lepton from slipping on smooth surfaces.

A closeup of the top surface

Rubberised underside for stability

NEUTRON Gaming Pad

Neutron is larger than Lepton, measuring 413 x 290 x 4mm. The dimensions aren’t the only differing feature either; Neutron has a slight splash of colour in the upper right and lower left corners for the model name and logo. Neutron has upper cloth construction and has a degree of stiffness from the middle and underside materials, too much flexibility is often a weakness for cloth gaming pads so this particular attribute is a welcomed one.

An overview of Neutron

Upper cloth surface material

On the underside of Neutron there is a tacky rubberised material, just like the one found on Lepton. This prevents the pad from slipping on smooth surfaces.

The underside of Neutron

Performance Testing

GAMING

There are many uses for a mouse and gaming pad combo but the most obvious use is for those who are concerned about performance. Lepton and Neutron are vastly different in their surface texture but are still relatively smooth which is more suited towards low-sensitivity gaming. Pads which have a rougher surface tend to matched better with high-sensitivity use.

What is evident from using both Lepton and Neutron with either Laser or Optical gaming mice (Xenon Optical SteelSeries Xai Laser) is that both perform flawlessly. Using both types of sensor present no tracking issues at all.

Following many hours of usage, the rubberised material on both pads ensure no accidental slippage. When you are deep in a gaming sessions the last thing you want is for the pad to travel and cause unpredictable movement.

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Those investing in either Lepton or Neutron won’t always be using the pad within a gaming environment – we all browse the internet, use office applications and some of us use graphic design software suites. So how does it perform in this area of use?

It’s important for graphic designers to have a reliable set of peripherals. The mouse and pad are a key element in accuracy within graphic design. The last thing you want when you are intricately designing graphics is mouse stutter, pauses and inconsistencies and thankfully both pads successfully deliver a reliable experience in this area too.

Conclusion

Lepton

Out of the two gaming pads we have reviewed today, Lepton is the favourite due to its hardened surface texture. By offering a firm and semi-smooth surface this pad brings in a number of bonuses. First of all any accidental spillage from food or drink can be easily cleaned thanks to the material, which fails to absorb any liquid. Lepton feels more robust and durable when compared to others pads which use cloth for their surface material.

Regardless of the sensor type, Lepton reacts excellent with optical and laser mice. Some pads can have unpredictable results when you swap to a different sensor so we’re pleased this isn’t the case with Lepton.

At a cost of £20, the Lepton gaming pad is quite an expensive investment when you consider other options of the same calibre. This is the only shortfall we could find with this gaming pad, overall we’re very pleased with how effective Lepton is with different mice.

Pros
+ Optical and laser mice track perfectly
+ Easy to clean
+ Semi-smooth surface
+ Underside uses good anti-slip material

Cons
– Cost

Neutron

Again, in similar fashion to the Lepton, Neutron responds well to laser and optical gaming mice. Having a cloth surface material means that any spills from food or drink will absorb into the pad, so extra care will need to be taken.

Neutron adopts a minimalist design and features only subtle graphical work. This means the pad will pair up well with other hardware/devices on the desk.

Being priced at £25, we definitely think this is too costly for a cloth mouse pad. Size may be in Neutron’s favour but even so, we expect it to be cheaper.

Pros
+ Optical and laser mice track perfectly
+ Underside uses good anti-slip material
+ Covers a large space, plenty of travel

Cons
– Cost
– Not as easy to clean
– Edges don’t appear very durable

Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net.

Tags:

Ozone