To be honest, I have not used a mouse pad in years at either home or work. I walked through my floor at work and found that about one out of 20 were using a mouse pad. With the advent of the laser mouse and the roller ball a thing of the past, mouse pad use is definitely on the decline. I know a few people who still use them to express themselves, but that is about it. Saddleback Leather Company is bucking that trend and is offering up an extremely well made leather mouse pad that is equal in quality to their other high-end leather products.
Saddleback Leather’s mouse pad measures 11 ¼” x 9″ which I find nicely sized, giving you a good amount of real estate to move your mouse around on.
The top is a full grain leather, expertly stitched and riveted. Both of which add nice accenting to the color of the leather. The leather feels great as you slide the mouse on it. The interior of the mouse pad has a high density neoprene inner padding.
The bottom is suede that does not slide or slip around your desk. The rivets on the bottom are slightly recessed to not scratch your desk or whatever surface the mouse pad is on.
As you can see, the mouse pad has lots of surface area to move your mouse around on. The aluminum base of my Magic Mouse could potentially be scratched by the rivets along the edge of the mouse pad….I know, a minor issue.
The Saddleback leather mouse pad is available in Carbon Black, Dark Coffee Brown, Chestnut, and Dark Tobacco.
The chestnut colored Saddleback mouse pad looks great on my antique oak desk. It would be nice if you could choose nickel rivets to match the aluminum of my Mac-stuff, but that is really not a big deal. This mouse pad will stay on my desk and be used daily. For this incredibly well crafted, great feeling piece of leather, $32 does not seem unreasonable at all.
Note: The links to Saddleback Leather Company on this page are affiliate links. If you use one of these links to make a purchase, we will earn a small percentage of the sale, so we appreciate it if you click through.
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Nice review…..
Unfortunately it is almost as hyped up as the reviews of other products from Saddleback. What’s the use of a review if you cant be honest and critical and only gloat over the supposedly fine points? They make good robust products but albeit unrefined ones.
I have a coffee brown mouse pad from them. The surface is not shiny but dull and gets more and more discolored with use…that is Ok, it looks cool. The problem is that my mouse does not move smoothly on it….I use a shiny metal foil pad on top of the Saddleback pad to get a smooth surface! So the pad is good for one thing and that is, a certain amount of cushioning for the wrist.
I would not recommend purchasing this product. Their messenger bag is probably one item that I would recommend. BY the way, Saddleback censors its site and only allows gloatingly positive reviews….so dont believe most of it.
Carl.
If you are going to get a mouse pad, get a hard plastic one made for FPS gamers, as they are the pickiest audience you can get for that purpose.
http://www.func.net/
That’s where I got my current mouse pad, and there is no way a leather (or cloth) mouse pad can even compare.
Hi Carl,
My name is Jonathan and I work for Saddleback. Sorry to hear your mouse pad isn’t working for you. But I was wondering about your comment about censoring the Saddleback site reviews. Just curious what part of the site you were referring to. The Customer Testimonials and Reviews section or Dave’s blog?
Whichever one it is, what kind platform would you like to see on the Saddleback site to make it more open? We’d love to hear your input.
Cheers,
Jonathan
Dear Jonathan Munson:
I am talking about your website and especially the blog. You can check what you have censored and see……I wrote a fair but not so flattering comment about your light tobacco products and that they were not as good…the color was an ugly yellow and the black glue could be seen along the edges making the wallet look really ugly…your people agreed to it when they were sent a picture! This comment was not published but censored by your people.
Also, I am positive that you only publish positive evangelical testimonials….maybe you cannot accept criticism of any kind about your products or your religion that you express on your website..
I would like to see blogs and testimonials open like most decent honest websites obviously…Censoring only makes matters worse….Also when you agree that you sent out an ugly product you should pay for the shipping both ways!!! Other sites do it …eg. Zappos .com
Carl.
P.S. Someone on your blog asked about belts and I told them that this below was a good site with thick leather much thicker than what you sell. Maybe that got you upset?!
http://www.foxcreekleather.com/358.html
BELTS
Made from 4.2mm (10.5oz.) thick, 1 3/8″ wide Brown Latigo Harness Leather.
Hi Carl,
I’m very sorry you had a bad experience with the light tobacco product you purchased. Which product was it that you had a problem with and when was it?
Yes, the Customer Photos and Reviews section of the website, http://www.saddlebackleather.com/71-customer-photos-stories, is not open to the public to post on. We actually only post pics and stories we think are really cool, unique or are sent in from a exotic locations. We get hundreds of testimonials and I’ve actually been getting on Dave to post the hundreds we have just sitting in our inbox. But no, we do receive negative testimonials that we don’t post in that section of the website.
As far as being censored on the blog, I’m assuming you mean Dave’s blog, http://www.saddlebackleather.com/blog, I’m trying to check on that one. Dave’s down in Mexico working on designs and can be hard to reach. He’s the one who moderates the blog. The blog is usually on subjects that are unassociated with Saddleback, Tips for roadtrips, favorite unpleasures, airplanes and infants, etc. Stuff that Dave likes to post about which is why your comment on whichever blog entry about the problem you had with your bag might have been deleted since it was not associated with the subject of the blog.
I agree with you that there should be open dialogue about the strengths and weaknesses of a company’s products. We’re not closed to having that be on the Saddleback website, but it must be in an appropriate format. That’s why we’ve been discussing for awhile opening a Ning community on the site that would allow customers to rant and rave to their heart’s content. Hopefully we should be getting that up soon and I hope you’ll sign up.
If you really want to get your message out there, I’d say you’re doing a pretty good job right now. That’s one great aspect of the internet. There are a lot of great places to criticize Saddleback stuff that will garner plenty lot of attention. Our customers are smart people and they research our products online and trust me there are plenty of independent testimonials and criticisms out there. Since there is no place on our website at the moment for you to share your concerns, here are a few places where Saddleback is talked about where you can get in on the conversation:
http://community.artofmanliness.com/group/saddlebackmanbags
http://styleforum.net
http://edcforums.com
http://badgerandblade.com
http://askandyaboutclothes.com
http://bladeforums.com
http://thefedoralounge.com
http://uncrate.com
There are more, but these are a few with on-going conversations.
As for the belts or any other product, please feel free to share any other companies you think make good, quality leather goods. We don’t currently make leather belts for jeans and pants, but we are discussing making some for another company right now.
Warmest Regards,
Jonathan
Dear Jonathan:
See, if you are upfront and transparent and personal as in your comments above…there is no problem. Here are some of my last comments. thank you.
People who write reviews base it on a one-time purchase which can be misleading. They say your store is friendly and has good service. If you have bought stuff half a dozen times from your store… like me…you see the failings.
The first e-mail response from your store when you buy your first item sounds friendly and cool…..until you realize that it is a form letter after the 6th purchase….Cant your computer generated e-mail recognize that someone is a repeat customer?? Wouldnt cost you much to fix that detail! Do you want to treat you repeat customers better or not?
Next, when you have to return an item and find that it takes a hell of a lot of time e-mailing back and forth justifying why you have sent something back and waiting for the product to reach you before you take any action…then you really see how incompetent your paid relatives are. I dread having to return anything to your store based on one bad experience.
Your web pages although generally cool-looking are outdated…check your home page…some products dont exist and new ones are not listed….pay the software guys more!
Would you honestly put up a sign that says: NOT Made in America? Clearly say: Made by Mexicans…. who make/do not make the American minimum wage? (The reason you can take my money and give it to your favorite charity is often because someone is not paid well enough)
Anyways, I’m glad you have the intention of being open and transparent although I am skeptic about it. It is a business and you have to make money….and hype sells.
thanks and best,
Carl.
Hi Carl,
I really do appreciate the feedback. I’ll be the first to agree with you that our company isn’t perfect. Most of the our employees are family members, and sometimes it’s all we can do to keep up with the demand on a daily basis.
I’m very sorry you’ve had so much trouble after having purchased so many products from us. If you’d like to e-mail me, I’d like to look into the problems you’ve been having a bit more closely and see what we can do for you. My e-mail is
th**********@sa***************.com
. I look forward to hearing from you!
Warmest Regards,
Jonathan
Hey Carl, just wanted to reiterate Saddleback’s desire to help you out in this. We checked through our records and couldn’t find any orders under the name Cart T. If you purchased under another name or have the e-mail address you used in your order, we can pull up the half dozen products you ordered from us and get a better idea of how we can help you. I’m sure we can find a way to deal with some of the issues you’ve been having.
Warmest Regards,
Jonathan
Thanks for the offer to fix things Jonathan – but I”ll pass.
Yes, My e-mail is different.
I’ve already bought all I need from your store (~$2000 worth), so I’m done…and I don’t want any special treatment.
Just look up your list of customers and treat all repeat customers who spend a lot of money nicely and with extra courtesy and your business will prosper!
C.T.
@Carl T. I really hate to say this, but your credibility is wearing thin for me. You moan and complain that they didn’t treat you right, but now you won’t accept them trying to make it right by you. Me thinks I smell a rat. Please prove me wrong and give them your true email address so they can see that you’ve purchased $2000 worth of products from them. Heck, email it to me in private if you don’t want to show it here. Or email it to them.
Julie:
You can smell anything you want and hate yourself for that, its your perogative. If you want to classify negative feedback as whining…well that shows what kind of person you are and what kind of site you want to run.
I dont reveal my personal e-mail on any site…most people use an alias since there is so much spam.
Now, I can e-mail you pictures of every product that I have from Saddleback, but for what? I dont really need to prove anything to you. What will you do if I send you all the picts? I have not asked for any money back….(If you really, really want the picts, send me your e-mail and I”ll send them to you)
I have clearly stated that I had one really bad experience returning a product and that their light colored products are not good.
There is so much hype about the product that I have spoken up to keep things balanced. I cannot give feedback on their site…they censor it. If you dont like negative feedback, then so be it.
What is more important is that Saddleback has a censored website….if that was not the case, I would give feedback using the same e-mail as the one I use to purchase stuff from them! Do you have the decency and courage to ask them to open up their website to feedback? If you can do it then Im sure there are more bad smells……Whose side are you on?
Carl. T.
Did I mention how much I like this mouse pad??? Feels great, looks great, incredibly well made….just in case the rest of you have forgotten the original topic.
I have ordered 5-6 products (at least). I’ve returned one. The return was easy. An email, a return authorization. Processed in one day. The customer service was outstanding and personal. Heck I had an email conversation with the rep about the best place for burgers. Not normal with other companies but very human.
Are all the products perfect for me? No. Love the look and feel of the wallets but too thick for me. Yeah I know they’ll last forever but I’m willing to sacrifice that for thin wallets. Are the products as described? Yes.
The products definitely have a point of view (in other words the design of one person not a committee). I happen to like that
As a fellow small businessperson I learn a lot from how Saddleback responds to angry complaints including this thread.