A very long, detailed account over at tom's hardware lists your stereotypical, horrifying buying experience. The money is sent; the package doesn't arrive; an email is sent; a bullshit email is sent back. The email cycle repeats with choice phrases from the company contact like "Get out of my f***ing life!" and "Make this world war III or handle this in a civil manner."

Of course, it's not just this one story, but the many since that have surfaced like it (tracked down by tom's hardware and in our own comments) that force us to pull our recommendation. Needless to say, companies often treat us more sweetly than they treat you, but those instances can be tough to predict. [Tom's Hardware]

Price: $15

The Verdict: Somewhat slippery compared to cloth, your mouse movements are going to feel a little too fast until you get used to it (which is the case with all plastic pads). It's in a "widescreen" format, and a little smaller overall than most mousepads. But overall, surprisingly good, and worth $15 if you need to take a mousepad everywhere 'cause you don't want swine flu on the bottom of your mouse.

Crazy thin

Good mousepad

Wide format might take some getting used to

[Razer]

The Price: $25

The Verdict: Holy butterface, it works! We originally thought it would be little more than a gimmick; a shiny surface that looked great but tracked horribly. Untrue! As a mousing surface for laser and optical mice such as our favorite, the Logitech MX 1100, it works fine—or at least as well as normal mousepads.

It's also as weighty as you'd expect from something made out of metal, so there's the added bonus of it not flailing around as someone like Matt Buchanan vigorously plays Team Fortress 2, or like Jesus Diaz when he intensely photoshops Steve Jobs' face onto models (male and female). The undercarriage of the MacPadd is a gooey melted-marshmallow texture that holds the pad in place on your desk for added stability.

There are, as always, a few downsides. It's a few inches shorter in length than normal mousepads—only one-and-a-half mouse lengths instead of about two—so you'll run out of room quicker. It's also hard (you know, metal) so you're more likely to scrape your wrist on the side as you're using it. And because it's made of aluminum, it's COLD. Using this in Chicago or New York during the winter would be a bad idea unless you had the heat turned up, but it's not too bad that you can't deal with it.

At $25 though, it's not too expensive, and should last quite a bit longer than normal pads that wear out over time from friction. And when it boils down to it, you know you want an aluminum mousepad, and this is a good mousepad. [MacPadd]

Not only does this mousepad have a calculator, it has a thermometer, a wrist rest, it's a USB Hub, and it's even got card readers for your picture-transferring convenience. As if that weren't enough, the product page also claims that it's good for "outgoing or traveling use." Isn't that obvious? Who doesn't take their USB-connected mousepads to the outdoors? – Jason Chen

Product Page [Sunday CN via Red Ferret via Sci Fi]

Seriously, who buys this garbage? If you own this or anything like it you immediately forfeit your right to complain about not having a date tonight, or any other night, ever. –Adam Frucci

BustyMousepads.com (Seriously.) [via Coolest Gadgets]

So dust off that trackball mouse to take full harmonic advantage of your Ace of Base (sorry for the spelling, fanboys) collection. Stream music up to 50' from a base transmitter to the Comforthouse Mousepad. Other features include a solar-power 8-digit calculator, and a gel pad wrist rest. No more carpal tunnel for you, dear readers.

Finally, everything I ever wanted in one supergadget! $29.95 –Mark Wilson

Product Page [via crave]

First you need some steel mesh from a trashcan, an antec laptop cooler, some adhesive, and a mousepad surface. Then, you follow the directions on the site to put these all together without gluing your hand to your eyelid—don't ask. When you're done you'll have a sweet windy mousepad to cool off your mousing hand. Now all we need is some aerated gloves so he doesn't suck so bad playing Gears of War on Xbox 360. – Jason Chen

Project Page [Invent Geek via Uber Gizmo]

Here is the Mouse Pad Couch in my Office. We conduct meetings, work on problems, or just relax from a stressful day on it.

Another picture...

And you thought there was no news in the technology world on Christmas Eve. Ha!– Mark Wilson
Thanks Stan!

Mousepad Couch [via gearfuse]

Product Page [Via Akihabara]

This is an innovative mousing system, albeit a bit pricey at $100. But serious gamers will find it worth it, especially since the mouse has a unique adjustability, perfectly fitting the fragging hand. I think it's worth a hundred bucks just for the astonished stares you'll get from the surrounding cubicles. – Charlie White

Fanatec He d$h0t is the Most Feature Heavy Mouse and Mousepad Ever [CrunchGear]

There are a variety of girls, including Asian, Russian (Anna Kournikova), and fake (Anime girls). There's even an ass wrist rest, if you're a big butts lover. – Jason Chen

[Update: Busty Mousepads has been ordered to no longer produce or advertise mousepads using Alyssa Milano's likeness. Which is why we now have a picture of Luna the Mousepad. - Super Intern]

Busty Mousepads [Thanks Peter!]

TurboFragPad Mouse Pad [GameApex]

Now I can decide which mousepad I'd rather use, this one or the Busty Racing Girl mousepad from Korea. – Jason Chen

Breast Cancer Hong Kong: Breast Mouse Pad [Ads of the world via Slashgear]

Racing Girl Mousepad [Mygear.co.kr via Funposel via Slashgear]