Its no secret Kingston wants a piece of the eSports pie with their heavy participation in many major gaming events but as a components manufacturer, its eventual that they will release their own products to set their name in this field. We’ve first had a taste of Kingston’s gaming peripheral with the HyperX Cloud Gaming Headset which eventually got premium White edition which leaves us to guess what the company will bring next. Just a bit later in 2014, we’ve spotted a new product in the HyperX product page and that’s what we’re going to look at today: the Kingston HyperX Skyn mouse pad.
Unlike most mouse pads though, Kingston is offering the Skyn as a surface attachment for your existing desk. So technically its neither a mat or a pad but rather a stick-on surface similar to keyboard decorations (yes, those Hello! Kitty stick on keyboard decals.) The HyperX Skyn is available in a speed surface and control surface both of which are sold individually but a bundle pack is available which includes both surfaces in one single package.
Feature
- Choose the Control surface for increased accuracy or the Speed surface for fast-moving action
- Paper-thin gaming-grade hard surface for a seamless transition between desktop and mouse pad
- Material designed for prolonged use with anti-microbial surface
- Compatible with optical, wireless or laser mice
- Adhesive bottom with a pull-off tab that sticks to most surfaces and is easily removable
- Two-year warranty
Closer Look
More of that HyperX grunge red on black styling adorning the packaging of the HyperX Skyn. The front of package is simple and if you’re looking at the store display, you’ll know easily that you’re getting the dual pack or individual sheets by the glamor shot on the front. You can also sample the texture of the HyperX Skyn with the cut out on the packaging.
We should warn you NOT to use blades or scissors when opening up the packaging as you may tear the sheets inside. There is a tearaway flap at the back to open the box. That aside, we now get to see the HyperX Skyn control and speed surfaces in the flesh~ errr film.
The HyperX Skyn Speed surface is a fine grit mouse surface specialized for users that need faster twitch reactions than precision aiming. The surface is very fine and don’t have much grittiness to it when rubbed. The Speed edition is denoted by the Mercury boots on the lower right corner.
The HyperX Skyn control edition, noted with the crosshair icon, is a much grittier mousing surface and provides the adequate grip for precision aiming and control.
The HyperX Skyn has peel-off adhesive bottom which has good grip on most smooth surfaces. This is where the challenge comes in for the HyperX Skyn. Unless you actually have a desk that has a surface that is smooth enough to use your mouse on then you’re probably out of luck using the Skyn.
User Experience & Conclusion
In addition to that last section, the HyperX Skyn is easily removed from the surface you’ve put it on but reapplication will suffer as dirt will dull the adhesive side and prevent any grip.
Now the first question everyone must have is why do you want something like this? The situation is actually very much clear if you’re in the predicament that the Skyn is meant for. If you own a desk that’s quite stationary and you’re the type of person that want to keep your desk as clean as possible then the HyperX Skyn with its paper-thin low profile basically just becomes a part of your desk or table altogether.
The Kingston HyperX Skyn is an unorthodox mousing surface as it offers you the flexibility of both speed and control surfaces and keeps it desk-level so you’re evenly leveled. This does require that you to have a wide desk to begin with but if you prefer no calloused wrists from hard mats rubbing against your skin then the HyperX Skyn should be a good choice.