RESPAWN RSP-1048 Gaming Mouse Pad Desk Review – Simple, Elegant and Effective

RESPAWN RSP-1048 Gaming Mouse Pad Table Review

Believe it or not, there are still rags to riches stories in this cruel world of ours. A couple of weeks ago, I was gaming on a laptop tray on my futon, which I truly thought was an acceptable way to play multiplayer games that often required, you know…mouse movement. Fast forward to today, and I’ve had the opportunity to review the RESPAWN-1048, the next in RESPAWN’s line of desks tailored for the PC gamer.

The biggest difference between this desk and your average hunk of plastic or plank of wood is that it’s made for mouse comfort and compatibility. This isn’t just a tagline: the desk comes with a big pad you stretch out over the desk surface that’s entirely made of mousepad fabric. This enables the user to have full range of motion when they’re playing games that require a mouse. It’s really fabulous if you, like me, are accustomed to less-than-full-motion, although it does take some getting used to (my McCree play has sadly not yet recovered, although that’s my issue, not RESPAWN’s).

Easy Set-up

The desk took about three hours to construct by myself (although it would have been closer to two if I had had a screwdriver that didn’t love to strip screws), which felt like a good tradeoff for a sturdy desk. While it doesn’t have any extra shelves or features like that, the size of the desk is such that I tested it to see if my flat screen TV could nestle comfortably in the back next to my mechanical keyboard and regular setup, and it all fit comfortably, with plenty of space for Vanilla Coke or whatever victuals you’re accustomed to. I found the holes for the cable management extremely useful as well: while standard, that doesn’t make me like it any less.

My major critique of this desk is related to that awesome mousepad fabric. In the days between receiving it and writing this review, I treated it like I would any desk—I played games on it, I ate wings on it, I watched RuPaul’s Drag Race on it, and I hosted my fortnightly drunk Overwatch event on it. This means it came into contact with all sorts of substances, from Baileys Irish Cream to garlic parmesan sauce (hey, I never claimed I was a paragon of cleanliness). All in all, the mousepad fabric stains. Easily. I’m sure most of it would come off if you washed it, but how often do you want to take everything off your desk to clean the pad underneath?

Lots of Real Estate

This desk does the job, and it is definitely unique to gamers with its unique all-mousepad features and an ergonomic shape. It’s got plenty of space—and I opted for the smaller of the two sizes—for not just a regular sized setup but a spacious one, and it works with a variety of chairs. It doesn’t have many bells and whistles, but it doesn’t need them: it’s a desk, and it does what I want my desks to do, which is to hold up the things I care about.

Unfortunately, the lack of extra features highlights that the one big gimmick of the desk, the mousepad material cover, carries a major drawback: it stains. I’m definitely going to keep using this desk for a long while, with its cover intact and my hand free to swing my mouse as wildly as I wish, but I might not want company over while I do it. If cleanliness is close to Godliness for you, I might give this one a pass. If you don’t mind a little sweat and dirt and love the idea of free-roaming gaming accessories, then you’ll want to check the RESPAWN RSP-1048 out now.

**The RESPAWN RSP-1048 was provided by the RESPAWN**