It doesn’t seem a huge ask to me, yet every time my mousepad begins to fall to pieces, shedding its fabric skin and spilling its gel guts, I end up buying a random one because there’s no clear good one. Lots are just… there. Can anyone recommend me a good one for games? Adding “gaming” to my “wrist rest mousepad” store searches only adds the horror of anime babes with gel breasts to nestle my hand between. “But Alice,” you say, deciding to stick your oar in, “don’t you know a rest can actually make your wrist worse if you don’t use it carefully?” Yeah, and so does a load of other crap that gaming periperhal and accessory manufacturers churn out by the tonne. From monitors to chairs, loads of gaming gear can do you harm. Wrist rest pads might not work for everyone, but they work for me. I know one answer is a better choice of mouse, one which doesn’t put pressure on the wrist. I’ve had the lopsided Microsoft Sculpt ergonomic mouse but it didn’t feel quite right for games, so I didn’t replace it when it eventually conked out (though I still use the excellent Sculpt keyboard). I’ve tried sideways mice before too, and they felt even worse for games. I also know separate wrist cushions exist, but I’d really like something tailored to fit. And if I’m going to start buying cushions for individual bodyparts like some sort of 19th century dandy, I’d insist it be made of the finest silks, not pleather. Maybe another answer is that almost everything we enjoy risks harm, and this is one I have to accept? But frankly, I feel foolish being injured more by a computer mouse than I am from swimming in freezing water, or from cycling, or from falling off things, or from any of the stupid physical feats I have performed to show off. Go on, peripheral peeps. If you can have R&D teams working day and night to find new places to put LEDs, surely you can take a crack at a mousepad. I’d beg you but pleading gestures are hell on my wrists.
