Ratpadz XT $25 w/Free Shipping

I ordered a Ratpadz XT today and paid with paypal. I did not receive an order acknowledgement email. I just want to check to see if this is normal and while I'm at it will I receive an email once shipped?

thanks
 
If you got a confirmation that you paid through PP, you are all good.
 
Say what you want about ratpadz being too thick, but I am ordering again.

Here is my story:
Late one night I was playing some aram in LoL and I thought I heard someone at my front door, but it was late and I knew I had locked it so I ignored the noise and continued to rock Alistar. Seconds later I hear footsteps in my hallway and when I turn around I see a psycho exgf (should have changed my locks ugh) showed up and attacked me with a knife. Luckily instinct kicked in and I grabbed my ratpadz and held it up like captain america's shield. It ended up looking like the bedroom door in the scene in The Shining "HERE'S JOHNNY!!!!"

TLDR: ratpadz saved my life; I am ordering 2 more!
 
I use mine as a chest plate to deflect bullets when walking through the gang-infested ghettos of L.A., Detroit, Chicago, Philly, etc. Heck of a lot cheaper than a bulletproof vest. Lighter, too. I wonder if the military has approached Kyle about incorporating these on their armored transports and tanks?

As a side note, a [H] tank would be badass. :cool:
 
Say what you want about ratpadz being too thick, but I am ordering again.

Here is my story:
Late one night I was playing some aram in LoL and I thought I heard someone at my front door, but it was late and I knew I had locked it so I ignored the noise and continued to rock Alistar. Seconds later I hear footsteps in my hallway and when I turn around I see a psycho exgf (should have changed my locks ugh) showed up and attacked me with a knife. Luckily instinct kicked in and I grabbed my ratpadz and held it up like captain america's shield. It ended up looking like the bedroom door in the scene in The Shining "HERE'S JOHNNY!!!!"

TLDR: ratpadz saved my life; I am ordering 2 more!
Holy crap! :eek: Good thing she didn't show up w/ a gun.
 
Say what you want about ratpadz being too thick, but I am ordering again.

Here is my story:
Late one night I was playing some aram in LoL and I thought I heard someone at my front door, but it was late and I knew I had locked it so I ignored the noise and continued to rock Alistar. Seconds later I hear footsteps in my hallway and when I turn around I see a psycho exgf (should have changed my locks ugh) showed up and attacked me with a knife. Luckily instinct kicked in and I grabbed my ratpadz and held it up like captain america's shield. It ended up looking like the bedroom door in the scene in The Shining "HERE'S JOHNNY!!!!"

TLDR: ratpadz saved my life; I am ordering 2 more!

I think you have fully trumped the "I scraped ice off my windshield with it" story.
 
Kyle what's the practicality of getting a larger Ratzpad made? Like not for me specifically just in general. I love my XTs but these days I like to have a bit more space to move my mouse around on.
 
Well, we are not selling those as of right now. Still kicking around the idea.
 
Just ordered a replacement for my Original ratzpad. It's still in pretty good shape but after well over a decade of use I figure it's probably time to swap it out.
 
Just ordered a replacement for my Original ratzpad. It's still in pretty good shape but after well over a decade of use I figure it's probably time to swap it out.

Hehe, after 10 years, it is probably not as slick as you think. Like to hear your thoughts on the new one compared to the old.
 
How about a group buy for a sample run of "larger" ratpadz "pre-alpha run"? Pre-orders are all the rage! But yeah, I'd be in for a larger ratpad.

If I do this, I am going to buy all the CNC equipment to do it myself. Figure if we are going to do it, might as well set up to all sorts of custom sized surfaces. Still no equipment purchased at this point.
 
How about a group buy for a sample run of "larger" ratpadz "pre-alpha run"? Pre-orders are all the rage! But yeah, I'd be in for a larger ratpad.

I think you greatly underestimate the costs to have a larger mold machined.

It usually costs a surprising amount of money, especially if you need any coatings on the mold.
 
Zarathustra[H];1041386775 said:
I think you greatly underestimate the costs to have a larger mold machined.

It usually costs a surprising amount of money, especially if you need any coatings on the mold.

We do not produce any of these with a mold any more. I will happily sell you the old mold for the $23,000 it cost me though. :)
 
Does that include the legal fees you ended up paying when you were sued way back when you first started making the pads? :D

(yeah I still remember that, and I still think it's b.s. that they did that to you).

Oh, I don't remember this one...


I only remember the lawsuit over that terrible vaporware game console I can't remember the name of...
 
Zarathustra[H];1041386994 said:
That sounds about like what I would guess.

What process are you using now, if I may ask?

We CNC all the pads from sheet material.

Does that include the legal fees you ended up paying when you were sued way back when you first started making the pads? :D

(yeah I still remember that, and I still think it's b.s. that they did that to you).

Hehe, nope.
 
Zarathustra[H];1041386775 said:
I think you greatly underestimate the costs to have a larger mold machined.

It usually costs a surprising amount of money, especially if you need any coatings on the mold.

This is true, I did no cost estimate :)

But I'm still interested! Kyle, go for a kickstarter!
 
Zarathustra[H];1041387061 said:
Oh, I don't remember this one...


I only remember the lawsuit over that terrible vaporware game console I can't remember the name of...

If memory serves me right, when Kyle first started making the Ratpadz, Func sued him saying that it was a copy of their sUrface pad. Kyle (obviously) won, but it cost him at least $5000 on legal fees on something that wasn't much more than a frivolous attempt on their part to keep him out of "their" market.
 
Zarathustra[H];1041387180 said:
Oh wow. That's pretty cool. Traditional wisdom would suggest that the unit costs would be pretty high doing that, and that molding would have a lower cost per unit, but you'd need a certain minimum volume to make molding make sense, and I have no idea what your volumes are.

CNC Machining produces very tight tolerances though. That is pretty cool (and probably total overkill for a mouse pad)

Now that you mention it, I can see the tooling marks on the bevels of mine. I guess I always just assumed the tooling marks transferred from a mold.

I presume the pattern on the top comes in the sheet material already, or do you heat treat it on there using some sort of press?

The HDPE sheets can be ordered with the pattern (i.e.: King StartBoard HDPE); it's finding the material with the pattern you're looking for that's tricky. I think Kyle mentioned that a few posts back that he went through a few vendors trying to get the perfect pattern down.

I figured that Kyle switched to CNC machining for the Ratpadz (the dead giveaway was the logo engraved on the back). I wish I remember what I did with my original Ratpadz that I bought several years ago so I could do a direct comparison, but I think I figured out why the newest ones seem different (not in a bad way mind you). The bevel was different and the feet were taller. The way they're done now is light years better in my opinion though; I really like the low profile of the rubber feet and the bevel is really comfortable.

While it's entirely possible to make these out of a mold for the shape and use a hand-held router to do the cuts, it's probably less money and trouble over all to have it done with a CNC cutter. He's probably getting more pads out of a given piece of HDPE since there's less waste, but if he's farming out the manufacturing, he may have to put in a minimum order so it may end up being a wash cost wise. I don't know his manufacturing processes or costs though so I could be completely off-base on this.

For those wanting a larger Ratpadz, assuming that you have the tools and the know-how it's actually not that hard to make one yourself if you really really want it. I bought a piece of HDPE King StarBoard the other day that's a little larger than my old CM Storm Battlepad. Texture wise it's identical to my old CMStorm Battlepad but it behaves like the Ratpadz in slickness though. I can definitely say that for gaming I'm liking the larger surface over the Ratpadz, but it's very much a double-edged sword here.

For the gaming I do (I still play a lot of Team Fortress 2; primarily the sniper class), the larger pad is PERFECT! For everything else though not so much. I find myself swapping in my Ratpadz. A lot of it has to do with the area I'm using my gaming system at and that when I play I also use a Logitech G13 with the larger pad so there's room for it. If I use my Blackwidow Ultimate keyboard instead of my G13 though, it's nearly impossible to use a larger pad and it's where the dimensions of the current Ratpadz shines. What I started to realize is that I got away with the dimensions of my old Battlepad by putting it partially under my keyboard. With the thicker HDPE that's not an option really.

In short; yeah a bigger pad is better in certain situations, but I would still get a "regular" Ratpadz too.
 
I've had mine for about 6 years and tbh, I'm not a huge fan. half the feet keep falling off or are already gone, and the pad has a very noticeable curve to it (possibly from moving or possibly for storing it standing up for too long?) for such a think piece of plastic, I would think it could hold it's shape better. since the surface is pretty convex now, I don't get a solid set of contact points with my mouse and it rocks all over. I am not a fan of the thickness either, really awkward on my wrist.

the surface is awesome though, very slick even after 6 years. and the shape and size are pretty much perfect. plus, I have been using it (off and on, but mostly on) for close to 6 years with no clear loss of slickness. so it is definitely a quality product, just not for my tastes/use case I guess.
 
I had an original Ratpadz... I used it for so long the surface was literally smooth. I bought two Ratpadz GS when they went on a sale and used those for another 5 years. Someone bought me a Vespula for Christmas or I wouldve bought another Ratpadz.
 
Zarathustra[H];1041387180 said:
Oh wow. That's pretty cool. Traditional wisdom would suggest that the unit costs would be pretty high doing that, and that molding would have a lower cost per unit, but you'd need a certain minimum volume to make molding make sense, and I have no idea what your volumes are.

CNC Machining produces very tight tolerances though. That is pretty cool (and probably total overkill for a mouse pad)

Now that you mention it, I can see the tooling marks on the bevels of mine. I guess I always just assumed the tooling marks transferred from a mold.

I presume the pattern on the top comes in the sheet material already, or do you heat treat it on there using some sort of press?

Molding the HDPE that we use and getting it flat is damn near impossible. Been there, done that. It is the reason we went with ABS on the Ratpadz GS.

We have a SINGLE supplier of the sheet that runs the exact pattern we want. I have only found one in the USA that can do this exactly the way we want it.
 
If memory serves me right, when Kyle first started making the Ratpadz, Func sued him saying that it was a copy of their sUrface pad. Kyle (obviously) won, but it cost him at least $5000 on legal fees on something that wasn't much more than a frivolous attempt on their part to keep him out of "their" market.

Actually Everglide sued us. We settled out of court.

Here is the very short and dirty version of the long story.

I had $10K saved up and we wanted to do a [H] logo version of the Everglide pad for sale on HardOCP. I had gotten a bit involved in the process, and Everglide produced all of its pads in Dallas. Everglide sent me to its middle man to talk about getting this done. During those conversations, the middleman basically explained the entire process as well as its suppliers. After dealing with Everglide for a month or two, I still was just getting the runaround and he would not produce my order. Not sure why... We ended up on the phone arguing, and he said exactly this, "Well go make your own mousepads then." And in that moment I said, "I think I will," and slammed down the phone. Ratpadz was born in that moment and was officially a company fully formed out of spite.

We did make our own pads and used 100% of Everglide's supplier and production chain. he then sued. Everglide finally argreed to drop the suit as long as we did not use his product suppliers. Agreed. We sourced the plastic elsewhere, then the guy that did all of his logo work and packaging, left Everglide, and went to work for Ratpadz.

Links:

http://www.hardocp.com/news/1999/07/31/hardnews_1st_edition/

http://www.hardocp.com/news/1999/12/18/hardnews_2nd_edition/

http://www.hardocp.com/news/2000/02/26/hardnews_2nd_edition_update/
 
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I've had mine for about 6 years and tbh, I'm not a huge fan. half the feet keep falling off or are already gone, and the pad has a very noticeable curve to it (possibly from moving or possibly for storing it standing up for too long?) for such a think piece of plastic, I would think it could hold it's shape better. since the surface is pretty convex now, I don't get a solid set of contact points with my mouse and it rocks all over. I am not a fan of the thickness either, really awkward on my wrist.

the surface is awesome though, very slick even after 6 years. and the shape and size are pretty much perfect. plus, I have been using it (off and on, but mostly on) for close to 6 years with no clear loss of slickness. so it is definitely a quality product, just not for my tastes/use case I guess.

We will replace the feet if you send in a SASE.

As for the bend. This will happen to ALL Ratpadz sooner or later. As plastic ages it off-gases the platicizer compounds that give the HDPE its qualities. In laymens' terms, the pad is drying out. This cannot be stopped. Given exposure to heat, sunlight, humidity, cleaning products, etc., it can happen at a much slower or much faster rate.

Put it over your knee and bend the shit out of it to flatten it out.

If you paid US$20 for it, it has cost you 9/1000th of a cent a day over 6 years. :) I guess if that does not make you a fan, I can accept that.
 
I'm considering purchasing one.... I'm still using 1 of 3 alienware duel faced ones I was given 10 years ago. That's my metric so I'm hoping that the next one I purchase is better.
 
Something else to note Kyle; they should clean the area the rubber foot is going to stick onto with some isopropyl alcohol and let the alcohol dry before sticking the new feet on. The feet will stick like a sonofagun if you clean the area with alcohol first.


Totally agreed, but I tired long ago of mentioning that a mating surface actually needs to be booger and dog shit free.
 
Ratpadz, home grown from 100% pure, natural, spite.

On topic, I've had zero issue every few months applying minimal pressure across a hard surface to re-flatten the pad. If your knee can't take it, use the edge of a bathtub.
 
Funny... isnt Everglide out of business now? A Google search turns up nothing.
 
Honestly, dunno. But if Ratpadz outlived those guys, I can die happy. ;)
 
Ratpadz > Everglide. Well done, Kyle. :cool:

How did you get the "Rat" part of its name? As opposed to calling it something like Hardpadz?
 
Ratpadz > Everglide. Well done, Kyle. :cool:

How did you get the "Rat" part of its name? As opposed to calling it something like Hardpadz?

A buddy of mine, Monte Fontenot, that then worked for the CPL, came up with the name one night while we were drinking beer and it stuck. Just one of those things. Was not a lot of brand development going on back in those days. :) Shit, we were just happy to be doing stuff on the web 15 years ago.
 
not a fan as in not my preferred style of mousepad, not as in i am in any way unhappy with my purchase.

might take you up on that for the feet. I think I did sort out the bend once before, but it came back pretty quick or maybe I couldn't quite get it all the way flat. dont get me wrong kyle, i am more than satisfied with my purchase. got a hell of a lot of use out of it over the years, and was happy to support you and [H] in the process. i just am not sure I would buy another because of it moving around my desk (even before the feet fell off it would do this) and because it is so thick that it isn't very comfortable for my wrist.

if you made a ratpadz that was 1/8" thick or less with a rubber or other sticky backing that made contact with the desk across the whole surface underneath, then I think that would be more up my alley. may i ask why it has to be so thick? would it start to bend immediately if it was thinner or something?

haha, that's the spirit!

The plastic compound we use is key to the coefficient of friction on the surface when combined with the right surface texture. It does not lend well to being thinner....we have tried. They would dry out and warp even faster. Our "target" longevity of these things was about 4 to 5 years. The fact that some folks have some that are 10+ years old blows my mind.
 
i just am not sure I would buy another because of it moving around my desk (even before the feet fell off it would do this)

I have to wonder what kind of desk you are using, or what circumstances. My Ratpadz XT and every other item I've used with rubber feet seem to "stick" in place, and almost cement themselves over time to a flat desk surface.

One trick I use is to clean/moisten the bottoms of the feet before sticking it back on the desk. Oftentimes, especially if (like you are saying) the pad slides around a lot, it is due to dust/hair/etc. on the bottom of the pads, so the rubber is not making a firm connection.

Anyway, worth a shot. I haven't had mine for 10 years but I think I am going on 4-5 or so now and other than the feet falling off I have not noticed any degradation in performance or shape from the Ratpadz XT. If I did have an issue I would buy another one to replace it, no question.
 
I guess having a glass top desk helps with it staying in place and not moving around. My GS lasted 8+ years and is still being used. My recent XT is just stuck in place. Those feet grip glass like a mofo.

Now my wife wants one. I think I may send them out at xmas presents this year.
 
The feet and the surface those are on must be clean and free of dust to keep it from sliding. And I guess I could imagine some surfaces that it would not be great on, but I use mine on a wood desk just fine.
 
I asked my GF if she wanted one and she said no (uses an old cloth pad)...no accounting for taste, I guess. :p
 
Anyone know how long it takes to "actually" ship? I ordered on the 22nd. I received an email on the 23rd stating it had shipped. Today I check the tracking and it says, "A shipping label has been prepared for your item at 1:23 pm on January 23, 2015 in LEESBURG, TX 75451." Sooo it hasn't shipped?
 
Anyone know how long it takes to "actually" ship? I ordered on the 22nd. I received an email on the 23rd stating it had shipped. Today I check the tracking and it says, "A shipping label has been prepared for your item at 1:23 pm on January 23, 2015 in LEESBURG, TX 75451." Sooo it hasn't shipped?

Mine took a little over a week (like 8 days).
 
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