Durability

In order to keep the SteelSeries SteelPad 5L working and performing at its best it will need a bit of attention from time to time. I've been using this mat for about a week now and I have cleaned it only once due to a lot of dust on the surface. I just wiped it off with a damped cloth and the mat was as good as new.

How about spillage? I've tried to poor some water over a small section of the mat. At first it seemed as though the mat was water repellent, but after a couple of minutes it started to take in a small amount of the water. After cleaning up the mat was still at bit wet because the cloth had soaked up some water. Once the mat was dry it seemed to perform as good as new, the surface wasn't damaged and the sliding ability was like before. This is the case with water, but if you are so unfortunate to spill Cola or any other soft drink over it you will have to scrap it. Cola will definitely make stains and impair the sliding ability of the mat, especially with all the sugar contained in it. I don't think that the mat will ever recover from such an accident.


The SteelSeries SteelPad 5L can stand some abuse, but due to its hard bottom it will snap if you bend it a lot. It has a hard plastic bottom so if you bend it just a bit it will pop right back into shape, this is a definite plus for the mat's durability.

Value & Conclusion