Gaming mousemats are about smoothness and comfort, there is no point in being able to hit that pixel if after 5 minutes you have acute tendonitis and vice versa. In terms of smoothness the steelpad is good, very good - in fact possibly too good. Often I found myself overaiming a bit, I like there to be a little resistance in a mousemat so that you can tell what's going on, in a similar way that when driving cars you can "feel" the road through the steering wheel so that you dont want a super light steer as it prevents you from telling what's really going on.
In terms of comfort I found it to be a bit of a let down, part of the reason I like the cloth Allsop is because I find I can rest my wrist on the bottom of it; it cushions my wrist so not to cause any tension and stress. The steelpad, unless you are very disciplined in your sitting posture, doesn't provide that at all. Moreso, I found gaming uncomfortable because of this lack of support, and also because after you have left it overnight, it gets very very cold - not really something you want at the start of the day!
As you can see from the picture above, the edge is harsh. Unlike the Ratpadz which has a bezelled edge that gently introduces your wrist from the desk to the pad, the Steelpad cuts a horizontal line into your flesh which is less than ideal.
