SteelSeries Gaming Kit

Steelgear Gaming Glove

An instrument more akin to Chinese torture methods than gaming, the Steelgear Gaming Glove is an absolutely awful piece of kit. The intention is for gamers to avoid getting sweaty palms and making their mouse moist, it supposedly enhances comfort and helps with the gamer from avoiding wrist and hand related injuries. As you can see in the images below, the glove has a thick band of Velcro designed to support the wrist, as well as holes to allow the hand to breathe. On top of all this the glove promises to deliver more grip for your mouse.

I have to say all that is absolute nonsense. The gaming glove is one of, if not the most, uncomfortable pieces of paraphenalia I have ever used. I have a medium sized hand and it is far too tight, making my little finger sore and feel separated from the rest of my hand. I've never heard or seen anyone with a mouse related injury (bar maybe RSI) and I can assure you this glove will do very little in helping you avoid any injuries in the future.

Furthermore, I found my ability to control the mouse was lessened whilst using the glove. I felt a little bit detached from my mouse and also, where they claim grip is enhanced, I felt it was lost. On top of all this the glove looks and feels cheap. All in all this product is uncomfortable to the point of painful, and I wouldn't imagine any professional gamers will be wearing it at the next big tournament.

Steel Cord Holder

We've all had that annoying moment (unless you have a wireless mouse) when you're just about to frag the guy in the head and suddenly you've slipped, your mouse has pulled away, you've lost control and then not only do you miss your kill but get killed yourself. SteelSeries has produced the Steel Cord Holder since 2001 and its primary task is to stop exactly that happening.

The question of whether you need one or not is probably determined by where your PC is in relation to your mouse. If it's below your mouse, situated under a desk for instance, then chances are the cord will have slipped at times. The question then becomes one of whether that annoyance is worth shelling out around 15 euros to stop. This tool will certainly stop it, clamping the mouse cord in place and stopping the wire from either being too loose or falling away completely. If you have no idea what I am talking about and are wondering why anyone would need to clamp up their mouse cord, then this product's probably not for you.

Conclusions

Pro-gaming is certainly in its infancy and so, it would seem, is the product line from SteelSeries representing it. That's not to say that the products aren't interesting, unique and (at least in some cases) very well made pieces of equipment. The headset is by far and away the most useful product and certainly one I would consider buying myself if I was still playing Counter-Strike on the competitive circuit.

The Steelkeys 6G product is quite good if price is no object. However, the professional spin on this product really is just spin; the advantages to having this keyboard just simply don't match the price (unless you really are an individual with an awful lot of pent up agression). I wouldn't say this was the same for the mouse mats though, with SteelSeries offering two new mousemats that certainly challenge for the crown of best in the world. If you're serious about your gaming then these two are certainly worth considering.

I'm doing my best to ignore the gaming glove but my hand still feels sore – there can be no excuse for owning one of these disastrous things. However, if you ignore that product then the SteelSeries line-up is altogether solid if slightly overpriced. It is certainly an interesting proposition that more and more PC peripherals are being endorsed by professional gamers – it remains to be seen whether this is a trend that will continue to grow - if it does, then great news for the market leader, SteelSeries.