Artisan Zero Review

Introduction

The Artisan Zero is a legendary pad. Despite being from a brand that just a few years ago was practically unknown with the general audience, it has now managed to become the #1 mousepad on our website at the time of writing. You can’t get to that point without being an extremely impressive product, so we sent a pad over to our reviewer. In our full Artisan Zero review, you’ll find out everything you need to know.

At A Glance

Artisan Ninja FX Zero

Used by 185 players (Apr, 2025)

• Zekken
  
• f0rsakeN
  
• johnqt
  
• Alfajer
  

Staff’s Choice

Pro’s Choice

The Artisan Zero has earned its reputation for a reason. It’s a premium, high-quality pad that delivers a balanced glide suitable for a wide range of playstyles.

4.5 of 5

More Artisan Check price

Pros

• Great finishing
• Premium stitching
• Available with different foam firmnesses
• Very safe, ‘logical’ glide that works for a ton of aiming styles

Cons

• Rough surface can get annoying
• Traps hairs and skin cells rather easily

Specs

Height	42cm
Length	49cm
Thickness	3.5mm
Stitched edges	Yes
Material	Cloth
Glide	Control-Oriented
Static Friction	41.3
Static Friction Angle	8.05
Glide Difference X/Y	11.2
Dynamic Friction	2.51

First Impressions

Like all Artisan pads, the Zero is available in different hardness configurations. There’s MID, SOFT, and XSOFT. MID versions are closest to most ‘mainstream pads’ in terms of hardness, though I’ll talk more about the foam further down in the review.

In addition to the different foams, the Artisan Zero also comes in different sizes and two different colors. You can choose between black and Daidai (orange). You can learn more about this on Artisan’s website.

Since there are no designs or drawings on the surface, the Artisan Zero doesn’t draw a ton of attention if you go for the regular black one. In the lower right corner, there’s an Artisan logo and some other small text, but this is limited in size. Additionally, it doesn’t interfere with the glide should you happen to go over it with your mouse.

What’s notable is that Artisan pads come flat-packed. This means that they lay flat on your desk instantly. However, should the need to roll them arise, you can rest assured. For testing purposes, I rolled the Zero up inside a cardboard tube for a couple of hours and it came out unscathed. When I placed it back on the desk, it laid flat again. As such, the crease resistance of the Artisan Zero is definitely high enough to allow you to take it to LAN tournaments and the likes.

Finish and Overall Quality

The Artisan Zero definitely plays in the top leagues when it comes to the finish and quality. The stitching is tight and extremely consistent, and the surface and foam show no inconsistencies at any point. I also didn’t notice any strong smells when unboxing the pad.

It’s clear why Artisan has the reputation it does. The pad costs a lot, but it does deliver on the quality front. That said, the Zero doesn’t feel like it’s in a league of its own when it comes to overall quality. It’s absolutely up there with the best, but I can think of a couple of similarly priced pads that deliver a comparable level of refinement.

That’s not a knock on Artisan, it’s just a reminder that if you’ve already used other high-end pads, you shouldn’t expect some radically different experience here. At the end of the day, it’s still a mousepad, and there’s only so much room to reinvent the wheel.

Performance

Glide

Things seem to be changing somewhat, but the Artisan Zero used to be recommended as a control pad. To me, it’s not that. It’s a control-oriented pad, but it’s pretty far removed from true control pads such as the ZOWIE G-SR or Artisan’s own Type-99. So if you’re looking for a ton of restraint from your pad, you should look elsewhere.

What type of glide does the Artisan Zero offer, then? To me, a pretty balanced one.

The Zero has a rough surface, which makes coming to a precise stop after a flick pretty easy. In our testing, the dynamic friction is also on the high side, which explains why it’s rather easy to stop a glide. However, the Zero also feels rather slick when you’re actually moving. So what you’re getting are flicks that are quite smooth and fast, with a good amount of stopping power. This smooth flicking motion also helps with tracking. All tracking movements felt natural and comfortable to me during my time with the pad.

Something that I noticed is that the stopping power is quite ‘precise’, possibly due to the coarse texture. I don’t really know how else to describe it, but I found that I rarely had to compensate much after landing a big flick on this pad. This obviously depends on your playing style, preferred mouse skates, and other factors, but I really enjoyed flicking on the pad.

The static friction is, for a control pad, on the low side. Compared to other pads I’ve tested, it’s middle of the road. Micro aiming movements are thus easy to do, and are far removed from the grittiness that you’d expect out of a traditional control pad.

All in all, I’d describe the glide of the Artisan Zero as a perfect ‘allrounder’ that trends towards control. It’s not super speedy, but not overly restraining or ‘muddy’ either. Due to this, I think this glide would work well for a large variety of gamers.

Base and Softness

As I mentioned earlier, Artisan pads can be bought with different foams. With mousepads, the rule goes that softer pads are more controlling, and this is also true here.

With the Artisan Zero, the difference seems to be more pronounced than on some other pads. The glide difference between the SOFT and XSOFT version, for example, is quite pronounced. This is especially true when it comes to the static friction. The MID and XSOFT can, depending on your playing style and mouse, feel like almost completely different pads.

This variance between foams is not a bad thing, to be clear. More options are always better. But it is good to know in case you’re considering these pads. If you’re replacing your old XSOFT, for example, it’s best to just go with another XSOFT if you value a consistent experience.

Which foam you get depends on your personal preferences. Important to know here is that Artisan’s XSOFT foams live up to their name. Just a bit of pressure is enough to feel your table. As such, I wouldn’t really recommend the XSOFT for people who use dot skates or other small mouse feet. The SOFT is noticeably firmer, and it’s the on that I would recommend to people who aren’t familiar with these softer types of foam.

In terms of base foam, the MID is closest to what most pads from mainstream manufacturers offer. There’s a little bit of give, but not to the point where you can feel the mousepad change glide when applying pressure.

Everyday Usage

The Artisan Zero is a high quality mousepad that’s a pleasure to use for day-to-day activities and gaming. It’s fairly crease-resistant, can be rolled (within reason; always try to keep your pads flat if possible) and feels very premium.

The only thing that can get annoying is the texture. This is rather rough. Depending on your tolerances, this can cause skin irritations. Furthermore, the rough texture also traps skin cells, small hairs, and so on, which leads to a pad that needs to be wiped quite often. Again: this will depend on your tolerances, but I found myself getting annoyed and shaking it out over a trash bin fairly often.

Humidity resistance is good, especially if you consider how coarse the texture is. Sweaty hands, a humid environment, splashing water droplets on the surface, … All had a minimal impact on the overall glide.

Alternatives

The Artisan Zero is perhaps the pad that kickstarted the premium mousepad revolution, so there are definitely companies out there that have tried to mimic it. With that said: I feel like many common alternatives online are suggested with the idea that the Zero is a controlling pad, which it isn’t. I’ll compare it to the Type-99 and the very commonly suggested Saturn Pro below. If you want to know about the Artisan Zero vs other pads, feel free to reach out in the comments.

Artisan Zero vs Artisan Type-99 (and other Artisan pads)

Artisan produces a variety of mousepads, and the Type-99 is a newer pad in their lineup. Since the Type-99 is a control pad, people often wonder how the two compare. For me, the comparison isn’t really there. The Type-99 is much slower in pretty much every way. Aside from the fact that both pads can be bought with different foam hardness levels and are made by Artisan, the two don’t have much in common, in my opinion.

See our Artisan Type-99 review

Artisan Zero vs Lethal Gaming Gear Saturn Pro

The Lethal Gaming Gear Saturn Pro is a well-known Artisan Zero alternative, and I can see why. It offers a very similar glide but it’s, in my experience, a little bit slower. The differences are quite small however. In general, I would say that the Saturn Pro and Zero can be considered as valid alternatives to each other.

In terms of overall quality, both pads are close as well. The Artisan feels slightly more premium, but both pads come flat-packed, have a PORON base, and quality stitching.

When deciding between these two pads, availability and pricing will probably be the deciding factors.

See our Lethal Gaming Gear Saturn Pro review

Conclusion

The Artisan Zero has earned its reputation for a reason. It’s a premium, high-quality pad that delivers a balanced glide suitable for a wide range of playstyles. While it’s often labeled as a control pad, I think it’s more accurate to call it a control-leaning allrounder. It gives you precision and stopping power when you need it, but it’s not sluggish or overly restrictive otherwise.

Between the excellent build quality, consistent glide, and flexible foam options, the Zero really is one of those safe picks that will work for a ton of players. It’s not revolutionary if you’ve used other high-end pads (though it has to be said that the Zero helped pave the way for most of those other high-end pads) but that doesn’t take away from how solid of a product it is.

If you’re after a pad that gives you a bit more control without completely sacrificing speed, the Artisan Zero is absolutely worth checking out. It’s a great choice for tac FPS players who don’t like ‘mud pads’, but gamers who prefer tracking-based games and are looking for some more control should also be very comfortable here.

This is a great, safe choice for people who want to get into premium pads.

4.5 of 5

More from Artisan Check price

Lars

Reviews, Community, FPS

Former semi-pro gamer turned writer, product reviewer, and community manager.