Mouse Feet Replacement Guide – Are Hyperglides worth it?

Hyperglides are the leading company in aftermarket mouse feet
Table of Contents
    Add a header to begin generating the table of contents

    What are mouse feet?

    Mouse feet or mouse skates are responsible for keeping your mouse gliding smoothly on a mouse pad. They’re found on the bottom of the mouse and keep the mouse bottom elevated off of the pad to minimize friction while still keeping it close enough for the sensor to track properly.

    What are mouse feet made of?

    Most mouse feet are made of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) also known as Teflon, it’s a synthetic polymer known for having a very low coefficient of friction. The PTFE is usually adhered to a piece of double sided tape to stick to the bottom of the mouse.  There are some mice that don’t use PTFE for mouse feet, you want to avoid the mouse feet, the more consistent and smooth a glide, the better it’ll be for your gameplay.

    Things to look out for in mouse feet

    Material

    PTFE purity, this can be hard to find out about in stock mouse feet, some PTFE mouse feet have a blend of other plastic along with PTFE to get a black colour for example. The purest PTFE is going to be completely white and those feet will have the smoothest glide.

    Thickness

    All stock mice won’t have any issues since the included mouse feet tuned for the sensor, but mice feet that are too thick can cause tracking issues. On the flip side, thicker mouse feet will last a bit longer as the mouse feet wear down over time.

    Edges

    It’s better to have mouse feet with soft edges to avoid any scratchiness during gameplay.

    Break-in period

    All mouse feet need some time to polish up a little and get the right surface for your mousepad, don’t get feet right out of the box.

    Are aftermarket mouse feet worth it?

    Aftermarket compared with stock

    They’re not expensive, but if your mouse feet are generally new and you don’t feel a ton of friction using your mouse I’d say that your stock mouse feet will do the job fine. This was the case on my G305, which is still relatively new, the glide on the aftermarket was just slightly faster than stock. If you find your mouse has too much friction, then yes they’re worth it. If your mouse feet are getting worn down and you feel a difference in your mouse, new mouse feet are totally worth it.

    How to replace mouse feet

    If you do decide to replace your mouse feet, rest assured that the process is super easy.

    Blow dry mouse feet to loosen the glue

    The best way to avoid any sticky situations is to take a hair dryer and heat up the glue underneath the mouse feet, then use something thin to lift an edge and peel off the old mouse feet.

    Sharp knife to remove stock feet.

    Once all feet are off, make sure to clean the surface with rubbing alcohol to remove any adhesive and let dry.

    mouse feet naked

    Aftermarket feet will be cut to the same shape for the mouse, it’s just a simple peel and stick. Remove any protective plastic on the PTFE surface as necessary.

    Aftermarket feet installed
    Looks like I got the wrong hyperglides for the G305, luckily it still tracks and glides without issue.

    Aftermarket mouse feet brands

    There are a couple of brands that have made a name for themselves, they all differ slightly, they all generally work well.

    Hyperglides are the leading company in aftermarket mouse feet

    Hyperglides

    The OG and most popular brand. Hyperglides use full virgin-grade PTFE, the feet are rounded and the glide is likely the fastest you’ll get on the market. The Hyperglides are also some of the thicker aftermarket pads out there, it might cause some issues with low LOD settings.

    Corepad Skatez

    Corepads also use pure PTFE, one major difference is that their feet don’t have curved edges, making them scratchier at certain angles. Corepad does seem to have much better mouse coverage than Hyperglide.

    Hotline Games

    An up and comer for sure. None of their feet are pure PTFE, instead, they offer 3 different lines that cater to different tastes:

    • Performance line is very similar to stock pads, in case
    • Competition is their speed offering, mixing PTFE with lubricant to get maximum glide
    • Master is their control offering, offering a consistent glide while maintaining a control speed

    Where to buy mouse feet

    Mouse feet can be tricky to find, here are the places that I found luck:

     

    This article may contain affiliate links. When you buy through links, we may earn an affiliate commission

    Raymond Sam

    Raymond Sam

    Raymond is the founder and chief editor of TheGamingSetup.com. He's been reviewing gaming peripherals since 2017 and has reviewed over 200 mice, keyboards, controllers and other peripherals. He combines the hardware experience with a few thousand hours of DOTA 2, Starcraft , Street Fighter, Overwatch, Apex Legends and Call of Duty under his belt with the intention of adding several more thousand going forward.

    More from The Gaming Setup

    Comments

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *