A new gaming pad from ROCCAT. The Sota features integrated metal foil to encourage greater traction. Will it enhance gaming abilities though?

Manufacturer: Roccat
Product reviewed: ROCCAT Sota
RRP: £19.99
Street Price: £16.99

The ROCCAT Sota is the second product to be released under ROCCAT’s notorious SDMS (Smart Desktop Management System) and combines the properties of both a hard and soft pad into an interesting new surface solution.

ROCCAT have the following to say about the SOTA:

Any mouse will glide over the ROCCAT™ Sota Granular Gaming Mousepad with apparent effortless ease and as if fitted with a tracking booster. The granular surface combined with the integrated metal film offers unparalleled gliding characteristics. At the same time, the Sota occupies a smaller footprint on the desktop compared to standard mousepads, without restricting the gliding area in the slightest.

So it seems that ROCCAT have developed something very innovative, in even the mundane of products such as a mousepad. Let’s begin our look of this new pad, and see if its able to amplify our mouse usage.

Features:

GRANULAR SURFACE
The Sota was given a granular surface inspired by the geophysical characteristics of granular matter. This gives the pad unique gliding properties which make it seem as if the mouse is almost moving by itself. Accordingly, pointer positioning is improved and aiming is optimized to such an extent that every gamer will benefit. The
wrist cut-out on the lower side of the mousepad and its compact dimensions mean
the gliding area is extremely comfortable – perfect for high-sense-gamers in particular.

HARD’N’FLEXIBLE
The Sota mousepad is one of the first mousepads to combine a hard granular plastic surface with an ultra-soft, flexible base. Despite that it achieves a thickness of just 3mm. It lies completely flat on the desktop and thanks to the non-slip base remains rooted to it – it also provides an additional layer of padding for comfort. The surface itself is extremely easy to clean so anything causing friction can be removed in a flash meaning the mouse is never slowed down.

INTEGRATED METAL FOIL
Integrated between the hard and soft layers of the mousepad is a thin metal film. On the one hand this gives the mousepad a discreet metallic shimmer which sets this pad apart from the others in terms of looks as well. On the other hand, this film
improves the tracking characteristics of the Sota – the metal film reflects the light back to optical or laser sensors without distorting it in any way thereby providing outstanding tracking and amazingly precise aiming.

SIZE
350 x 270mm in size and 3mm thick

ROCCAT Sota

The ROCCAT Sota is available in black or blue. The colour that we will be reviewing today is the blue version.

When we first see the ROCCAT Sota, it comes in a vacuum packed casing with a nicely decorated front and back cover. On the front we have some key features and because the plastic is clear we can have a sneak preview of what’s inside, seeing how big the pad actually is but the best bit is that there are two square samples of the underside and the surface on the front of the packaging. This is a great idea, as products that are sealed in such a way are physically concealed and finding out what the textures are really like is difficult. Touching these two samples, the granular surface is smooth but also slightly gritty and the underside is quite stiff and rubbery in feel. The back of the casing for the Sota has a list of features, going into a bit more detail.


The ROCCAT Sota packaging from the front


The two samples of the top and bottom side of the Sota, on the front packaging


The ROCCAT Sota packaging from the back

Taking the Sota out of the casing required a pair of scissors or a knife. Although the way that the Sota is presented is great and it gives you a good insight into the product in front of you – getting into it is tough and you basically have to destroy the packaging to get it out. Be careful not to cut yourself.


The ROCCAT Sota


A closeup shot of the logo printed on the pad

With the ROCCAT Sota out of the casing it strikes out as being a very sleek looking surface, the exuberant surface texture is really nice and both sides feel exactly as the exposed samples on the packaging earlier. In the bottom right corner there is a silvery-white ROCCAT SOTA logo printed. The top surface is quite stiff, fairly hard with a nice granular touch to it. The density could be described as being in between a hard plastic pad and a soft cloth pad.


The underside of the ROCCAT Sota, very grippy!

Flipping the Sota over, the underside has a soft rubbery base that is very stiff. Great for using on your desk. Later on we will be seeing just how well it sticks to the desk.

Lastly, the thickness of the pad is 3mm. looking at the image of the thickness you can see the combination of materials used. The granular layer on the top and the softer surface underneath perfect for fixing to what it comes into contact with.


Combining two different materials in just 3mm

Performance and Conclusion

Giving the ROCCAT Sota a good performance test will help us identify any potential problems and also determine whether or not it’s a good surface to go for. Mouse pad tests are subjective in a sense, but the opinion by myself will be projected by using the mouse pad with two different mice and in two different environments.

Testing Mice
• ROCCAT Kova
• CM Storm Sentinel Advance

Environments
• Gaming
• Graphic design

Using a laser mouse and an optical mouse should give a nice variation in tracking. The movements that are using in gaming and graphic design are worlds apart, and so, this will also present good test feedback.

Gaming
Loading up Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the initial usage was noticeably improved. Glide is exceptional, the granular surface provides good contact for both mice. Although it has to be said the ROCCAT Kova did work slightly better due to the feet (this mouse is actually designed to match up with the Sota). Tracking was also faultless. The underside of the Sota is kept firmly secure on the desk due to the rubberized material, even in the most intense of situations when the mouse is being pushing in various directions the Sota remains still.

Graphic design
Cutting out objects and the requirement for extreme care with brush strokes is important when you are wanting to create good work inside a graphics package, and even more so for myself as I am a perfectionist! The Sota can be relied upon in this department too, it yields some very accurate mouse movement. The integrated metal foil helps reflect the light on both the optical and laser sensor in both mice tested.

The ROCCAT Sota, acommpanied by ROCCAT\\\’s new gaming mouse the Kova

Conclusion
ROCCAT have brought an innovative new product to the table in the Sota. Visually it has a minimalist design, is very pleasing to the eye and will look great next to your other hardware on the desk.

The top side provides an exception surface to keep you on top of your game, whilst the base will remain firmly in place thanks to the substantial rubberized material. It’s remarkable that such a thin pad (3mm) can unite both hard and soft in such a small amount of space. It works well.

The ROCCAT Sota currently sits at £16.99 at Play.com. Even with this being lower than the RRP it could prove an issue with some compared to what you can get at a smaller cost – although, I can vouch that this pad is exceptional and you won’t be disappointed by its performance.

Pros
[+] Great looking
[+] Innovative
[+] Excellent accuracy, glide and tracking
[+] Works well with many mice

Cons
[-] A touch expensive
[-] Difficult to get into the packaging

We would like to thank ROCCAT for providing this sample. Discuss this review on our forums