Some pro gamers change mouse pads every few months, and that makes me wonder how often I should change mine
Mouse pads are admittedly something I don't tend to think about too much. If it feels good under the palm and doesn't become a hindrance to my movement, I'll continue using it. But, alas, I'm not a pro, and it turns out they get through some of the best gaming mouse pads like an actual mouse gets through cheese. That's to say a lot.
Shared to TikTok by ESL Counter-Strike, one of the world's biggest leagues, it interviewed professional gamers and asked how often they swapped mouse pads. The most common interval was every one or two months. There were a few outliers at around a year, and one person who changed it six or seven years ago. Though I'm not entirely convinced that the last one wasn't just saying that for the meme.
Unfortunately, ESL Counter-Strike's video description is AI-generated, so we aren't getting much insight into why pros change so much. It's fair to assume, though, that it's related to the belief that fresh gear will help them play. You need to be able to glide your mouse consistently on your mouse pad, so frayed edges or grime will naturally get in the way somewhat.
For the average person, this issue would be near impossible to spot, but pros will be at the top of their game in this regard. Still, one has to wonder how much damage you can really do to a mouse pad in just a single month.
Mouse types, weight, and grip will likely impact the condition of the gaming mouse pad long term, but it's also partly related to just how much time professionals play games.
If one were to assume a top esports competitor plays games for equivalent hours to a standard job, that works out to around 40 hours a week. If the average casual player gets an hour or two every weekday, then professional gamers are using their mouse pads four to eight times more than a casual gamer.
Jacob Fox, PC Gamer's resident mouse pad guy/philosopher, says that mouse pads wear down after a few months, and wear in after a few days, and that's reportedly a good reason for a glass mouse pad.
So that might make you wonder, "If you're not a pro, how long should you wait to replace your mouse pad?" That's naturally down to personal preference, and how gross your mouse pad makes you feel, but for me, I'd say the answer is "when cleaning it doesn't make it feel very clean anymore."
So, every couple of hours then?