3 Things to Know About Trackballs and Mousepads

You don’t need a mousepad for a trackball Trackballs don’t move across the surface, so a pad doesn’t help tracking. The sensor is inside the ball housing, making a pad pointless for traction.

If you want one, choose low-friction material Hard plastic or glass pads let the ball roll freely. Cloth pads create drag and get grimy fast.

A gel wrist rest is more useful than a cloth pad A good trackball works fine on bare wood. A gel rest provides better wrist comfort without the downsides of cloth.