Reddit reviews Turtle Beach Medium Drift Fast Premium Gaming Mouse Pad for PC and Mac (TBS-4850-01)

As a gamer who has gone through a lot of noise pads, I can say the best all-around pad is a high-quality cloth pad with stitched edging.

Hard pads (aluminum, plastic) track fantastically well but over time will get worn down, losing their unique surface texture and instead getting smoothed out and reflective. This causes the laser/optical sensor to "miss" over time, and as it gets worse you get more and more jittery movement, jumps, and stutters.

Glass is very sensor-dependent. Logitech advertised their Darkfield laser as being usable on glass, but as I didn't have that tech in my mouse I couldn't get a reading at all. I imagine this would hold up better than other hard surfaces but the only glass pad I used was $30-50 and its just not worth spending that much on a pad with such low mouse compatability.

Cloth pads typically come in either cheap Walmart varieties or as a more premium gamer-focused pad. The former can be had for $5 in just about any general office supply store, and while they do the job they are usually small and don't have stitched edges. Over time this means you run off the edge of the pad and wear it out, eventually leading to the cloth surface detaching from the rubber base. That section of the pad is then unusable, as every time you mouse over it you just drag the cloth with you instead of holding over it. Premium pads are not that much more money but often come much larger (an absolute must if you have a low in-game sensitivity) and will last longer due to the reinforced stitching.

Here's the mouse pad I use now: https://www.amazon.com/Turtle-Beach-Medium-Premium-TBS-4850-01/dp/B0009VRB66

I've had it for several years and it works as well today as it did on day one. It does require cleaning once or twice a year (soap and water with gentle sponging) but there's no noticeable wear or stains on it. Other options do exist- I believe the SteelSeries QCK remains a popular option- but this is the only cloth-based pad I've used and would recommend.

Here's an article with more in-depth information on how mouse sensors actually work. It's a bit overkill, but might help you make a decision given your particular needs: http://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-mouse-myths-busted/

I haven't cleaned my mouse pad for a while and was wondering what the best way to clean it was, any suggestions?
This is my mouse pad: https://www.amazon.com/Turtle-Beach-Medium-Premium-TBS-4850-01/dp/B0009VRB66

Probably cause it's old, maybe try borrowing someone else mousepad and compare?
If it turns out to be better with the borrowed one, I'd suggest buying a new pad. I can recommend the Turtle Beach mousepads. They're kinda similar to the Steelseries ones in terms of feel, but have a "braided" edge so they don't tear off as easily. Using this one myself right now and have been for a few months, no complaints :)