Orbitkey Desk Mat review – A vegan leather desk mat

REVIEW – I’ve wanted a desk mat for my WFH space for a while now. So much so, I made one from some old buffalo leather I had stored away in our garage. What I created was fine enough and worked but lacked many features and quality of somebody who has the tools and materials to do it right. When I started searching for the “perfect” mat, I envisioned a large, well finished piece of quality leather. So, when Julie offered up the Orbitkey’s vegan leather desk mat to tryout, while not exactly what I had in mind, I was curious if their vegan leather would live up to my hopes and dreams 😉 …let’s see if it does.

What is it?

The OrbitKey Desk Mat is just that…a nicely constructed and well designed vegan leather desk mat engineered to better organize and optimize your workspace.

What’s in the box?

• Orbitkey vegan leather desk mat
• Magnetic cable holder

Hardware specs

• Made from premium vegan leather and 100% recycled PET felt
• Medium (686 x 373 x 4.9mm) and Large (896 x 423 x 4.9mm)
• Available in Black and Stone

Design and features

The Orbitkey Desk Mat is a very high quality and environmentally conscience desk covering with a handful of features meant to help increase the tech-Zen of your workspace.

The Orbitkey vegan leather desk mat is made from premium vegan leather and 100% recycled PET felt. “Premium vegan leather” = high quality polyurethane. I typically go for real leather but the vegan leather/polyurethane is very nice with a smooth, luxurious feel to it. The material is water resistant, doesn’t stain, and is easy to clean. 

The mat’s stitching and finish are very well done. The PET felt layer is made from 100% post-consumer recycled materials. It not only protects your desk surface but dampens keyboard noise. 

There is a quick access toolbar that spans the top length of the desk mat. 

One of the organizational features Orbitkey engineered into this desk mat is the magnetic cable holder that works hand-in-hand with the quick access toolbar. The cable holder is made from a zinc alloy with a tarnish-resistant, matte finish. The magnetic grip is very solid and allows for the cable holder to be moved anywhere along the toolbar.

The quick access toolbar and magnetic cable holder do an excellent job keeping your pens, bits, and cables in place and always within reach.

The density of the polyurethane and felt makes for an excellent writing surface with no marring or indentations with use. The vegan leather and felt layers are only connected along the top edge of the mat. Orbitkey does this to create a handy document hideaway to store loose papers and notes between the two.

Setup

The Orbitkey vegan leather desk mat comes pretty tightly rolled up in the box. But the flattening process is quick and easy as seen in this tutorial video from Orbitkey.

What I like

• Well made from premium materials
• Excellent mouse & writing experience
• Integrated quick access toolbar and magnetic cable holder
• Document hideaway between layers
• Water-/stain-resistant
• Easy to clean

What needs to be improved

• None

Final thoughts

As I mentioned, I envisioned real leather when I started looking for a desk mat but the Orbitkey vegan leather and recycled PET felt has impressed me. The premium polyurethane has an excellent look and feel to it with smooth mouse movement and easy cleanup. If you have the space, the large variant gives you a ton of real estate to move your keyboard and mouse/mice around as needed. I also really like the quick access tray to hold your pens, Apple Pencil, knife, thumb drive, etc and magnetic cable holder for better clutter management. 

Price: $84.90 (medium is $64.90)
Where to buy: Available directly from Orbitkey.com.
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Orbitkey.