I bought one of these back around late '94 or early '95, and I'm still using it now in mid-'06 (11 to 12 years - wow!). I thought thismodel went off the market years ago, but I guess not.
After several years of use, the pad accumulated quite a bit crud. However, the pad really traps the crud, such that if you look at the bottom of my mouse, the feet have absolutely no dirt around them, whereas mice feet tend to scrape up stuff on most pads and certainly on a desk. Since my mouse stays clean and the crud doesn't affect the optical tracking, I've just not had enough incentive to clean it and so I haven't.
Aside from the dirt, the pad itself shows very little wear. This really surprises me given how heavy a user I am. Also, the gel pad shows virtually no wear. There are only two slight negatives that I can think of:
1) When I purchased the pad, it had a sort of oily film on the underside of the gel pad, like a lubricant. Not sure what it was for--perhaps a conditioning agent for the rubber--but it's still there after all these years. You can actually turn the gel pad over and draw in the oil. However, I've never tried to clean it, and in fact have always kept the pad in its place except for pulling it on rare occasion to see if the oil is still there. (Not sure where I expect it to go, but heh...) In use, you would never know it's there and you never come into contact with it, so even if you leave it, as I did, there's no danger of it getting on your cloths or anything.
2) The lycra finish on the gel pad is nice in that it doesn't make your wrist sweaty as a lot of gel pads can. And as I said above, it's very durable. However, you can very easily leave cosmetic scratches in it by, for example, fairly gently scratching a fingernail across the surface. These marks are not permanent, though. As far as I can tell, they're very similar to vacuum marks on carpet, and they can be rubbed out or they will simply disappear with a few hours' use. But if you handle the pad, you may look at it afterward to find it all "scratched" up, which is a bit disconcerting.
In one of the many (living quarters) moves I've made with it, the front part got cracked, but other than a crack being visible, it's not affected usability one iota.
I'd kinda like to replace it just for the sake of getting something new, but I'm having a hard time justifying it. I do think the pad requires a bit more effort to move the mouse compared to good modern pads, and that may become my incentive, but for the moment, at least, I'm sticking to it.
BTW, I'm a professional computer user who spends 10-20 hours per day (sometimes more) working on my computer, and with multiple big monitors, I use the mouse an awful lot. Thus, this pad has gotten *very* heavy use over the years. I've also had very few problems with my rather picky wrist, so it seems to a do a good job ergonomically, as well. (In case you're wondering, I use a Kinesis Contour ergonomic keyboard to handle the other half of general input. It's simply wonderful - I highly recommend it to any heavy computer user.)
Click Here to see more reviews about: Fellowes Gel Black Wrist Rest & Mouse Pad w/Microban (9175101)
Product Description:
Fellowes® Wrist Support lets you mouse without tension or fatigue by supporting the wrist to ensure your personal comfort. Microban® antimicrobial protection keeps product cleaner. Optical mouse-friendly for error-free tracking. Durable covering withstands daily wear and tear.
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I'm an IT professional who sits and works all day; at my desk or on the road. I've used one of these for years, got a second computer for my desk and had to get another. Simple as that.
