ZOWIE G-SR III Review

Introduction

If you’re into gaming mousepads, you’ll probably know the ZOWIE G-SR. This control pad has a legendary status in the scene and has been used by countless professional gamers on the biggest stages in the world. As such, any updated versions will have to make sure that the essence of the pad remains. And that essence is simple: provide a very controlling experience with a lot of friction. In our full ZOWIE G-SR III review, we’ll see if the newest version of the SR line gets it right.

At A Glance

ZOWIE G-SR III

Used by 12 players (Mar, 2025)

• hallzerk
  
• JamYoung
  
• nqz
  
• nitr0
  

Staff’s Choice

The ZOWIE G-SR III is an improved G-SR II. It’s a fantastic control pad for people who want to feel resistance with every move they make. Furthermore, the fact that there’s quite a big difference between the X and Y axis means that it’s (theoretically) a great choice for tactical FPS players.

Lars

4.5 of 5

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Pros

• New base is an improvement over previous versions
• Foam is very consistent and uniform
• Good quality stitching

Cons

• Not very crease-resistant and takes a while to lay flat
• Doesn’t come in flat packaging like the TR which has the same surface

Specs

Height	47
Length	39
Thickness	3.5mm
Stitched edges	Yes
Material	Cloth
Glide	Control
Static Friction	45.5
Static Friction Angle	7.46
Glide Difference X/Y	15.4
Dynamic Friction	2.05

First Impressions

With the release of the ZOWIE G-SR III, the brand has also debuted a new mousepad size. From this point on, ZOWIE’s cloth pads are also available in a 50×50 cm size. This has been a commonly requested size for a while now, so it’s good to see that ZOWIE has delivered on this front.

These 50×50 mousepads are denoted by the ‘H’ in front of the name. The trusty 47×39 cm pads have a ‘G’ in front of the name. Thus, the G-SR III and H-SR III are the same pad at different sizes. Still confused? That’s understandable, so we wrote an article explaining the differences between ZOWIE mousepads that you can check out.

Moving on to the mousepad itself, the first thing that caught my eye was the packaging method. More precisely the fact that it’s shipped rolled up in the box. That’s completely normal for a lot of pads and not something that I usually complain about, but the TR does come flat-packed. Given the fact that the TR is basically the same as the SR but with a softer foam, I find that a bit strange. Especially since the SR is more prone to creasing than the TR, but I’ll talk more about that later.

Aside from this, there’s not a lot to note about the G-SR III. It’s your standard black ZOWIE pad with a tag in the top left corner. Clean and simple. I like it that way.

Differences between the G-SR III and the G-SR II

There are a number of (small) changes between the G-SR II and the G-SR III. These are:

• Increased durability due to changes in the cloth surface
• New, stickier base
• Better humidity resistance due to changes in the cloth surface

Loyal ZOWIE G-SR users might worry about these small changes to the surface, but I find that the user experience is pretty much the same. The G-SR III feels a bit slower than the G-SR II to me, but I’m talking about fine margins here. The G-SR III feels much more like an improved continuation of previous versions rather than a completely new experience, and that’s a good move to me. ZOWIE’s G-SR line has many fans and is known for being a great line of control pads, so there’s no need to change a winning formula.

If you’re deciding between the two, I would recommend the G-SR III over previous versions, but if you still have a perfect older G-SR then I honestly don’t see a reason to switch, unless you find one of the aforementioned points to be of particular importance.

Finish and Overall Quality

The G-SR III looks and feels like a quality mousepad. Everything here is consistent, from the firmness of the foam to the stitching.

Speaking of the stitching: this is pretty much level with the surface of the mousepad. It’s not quite as impressive as sub-surface stitching, but I had absolutely no comfort issues with this pad.

On the top left corner of the pad there’s a small tag with the ZOWIE logo and the mousepad name. This does interfere with your mouse feet when gliding over it, but I’ve never had any issues with these tiny ZOWIE tags. As such, this is absolutely not an issue for me.

Some users might find the plain black surface to be a bit boring, but I love it. These things are subjective, but I’d much rather have a clean and sleek pad like this on my desk over 99% of the anime girl mousepads that you see coming out these days.

Summarizing: the G-SR III carries on what earlier G-SR versions have started. This is a straight-to-the-point mousepad that’s finished to a high standard.

Performance

Glide

The G-SR is perhaps one of the most famous control pads, so if you’re looking for speed you should look elsewhere. This is a mousepad that offers a lot of static and dynamic friction. You’ll always feel some sort of resistance, no matter what you’re doing on the pad.

Knowing this, it’s kind of logical that the G-SR is so popular with tactical shooter players. Those games value stability and consistency over flicking and tracking, and pads like the G-SR are (generally speaking: everyone has their own preferences) great for that.

With that said: I do feel like the newer G-SRs (meaning the II and III) are a bit faster in practice than the original G-SR, particularly when it comes to starting swipes. This G-SR III is of course still very much a control pad, but the friction when beginning a big move is more or less on par with pads like the ZOWIE G-SR-SE, VAXEE PA, and Artisan Zero.

That doesn’t mean that the new G-SR is a fast pad (it absolutely isn’t) but if you’re expecting that extremely slow, muddy feeling that you got from the original G-SR, you might end up disappointed. If said muddiness is what you’re looking for, I’d steer you towards the G-TR, which feels a lot slower than the G-SR due to the soft foam.

One more thing to note is that there’s quite a big difference between the X and Y axis. Moving your mouse up and down gives you around 15% more resistance than what you get when moving it side to side. This is great for keeping your flicks at headshot level (like in tac shooters) but if you’re looking for a consistent glide in all directions then you may want to skip this.

Base and Softness

The G-SR III has a firm and consistent base. Even when applying pressure to the pad with my finger, I can’t get the foam to move a lot. If you use small skates and put a ton of pressure on your mouse, you might feel the pad become a bit slower due to the feet sinking in, but this isn’t a pad that’s designed for that kind of ‘dynamic usage’. The TR is where you should look if you want a soft foam G-SR, as the G-SR has a very consistent foam.

On to the base then, and I like that a lot. In my review of the G-SR II, I specifically noted that the pad tended to move around somewhat in use, and that’s no longer the case. The rubber base has slightly raised dots all over its surface, and it does a very good job at keeping the pad in place. This is a very obvious improvement over the previous version.

Everyday Usage

For me personally, the G-SR’s humidity concerns were already pretty much fixed with the G-SR II, but ZOWIE has made further improvements to the humidity resistance of the pad. I find that the pad handles humidity quite well, and I didn’t notice any slow spots during my testing. I applied water to random spots on the pad and I wasn’t really bothered by these spots when gaming.

Do note that it’s currently winter where I live. If you live in a hot and humid climate and you use the pad for longer periods of time, your experience may vary.

All in all, I’m very satisfied with the performance of the G-SR III but I am a bit disappointed with how easily it bends and creaks. These bends and creaks aren’t permanent as far as I can tell (though I definitely wouldn’t keep this pad crumpled up inside a box or something) but I feel like the G-SR III performs worse than its predecessors on this front. Straight out of the box, I had to place a stack of books on top of the edges overnight in order to get it to straighten out fully. You can get the biggest bulges out of the pad by counter-rolling it, but still. I feel like the G-SR III went backwards a little, as I didn’t have this problem with the G-SR II.

If you have to transport this mousepad, make sure to not roll it too tightly. I do hope that they also flat-pack this pad in the future, like they do with the TR.

Alternatives

Now that the ZOWIE TR has entered the scene, I see no point in comparing the G-SR III to soft foam mousepads. When you take those out of the equation, there aren’t very many alternatives that offer a (very) similar gliding experience.

ZOWIE G-SR III vs ZOWIE G-TR

As mentioned, both of these pads have the exact same surface. The only difference lies in the foam, which is a lot softer on the TR. This makes the TR a lot slower in practice.

See our ZOWIE G-TR review

ZOWIE G-SR III vs VAXEE PA Black

When it comes to the overall glide feeling, the ZOWIE G-SR III and VAXEE PA Black (not the printed versions) are pretty close to each other. The PA is slightly quicker when it comes to dynamic friction, and the G-SR III is slightly quicker when it comes to static friction. The differences are extremely small, however. Even the X/Y axis difference is pretty much the same. As such, the VAXEE PA Black is a valid alternative to the G-SR III.

Conclusion

The ZOWIE G-SR III is an improved G-SR II. It’s a fantastic control pad for people who want to feel resistance with every move they make. Furthermore, the fact that there’s quite a big difference between the X and Y axis means that it’s (theoretically) a great choice for tactical FPS players.

It’s not without its faults, however. I would like it a lot better if this pad came flat-packed (or at least came in a bigger box) since it’s not easy to flatten. The fact that it creases relatively easily might be a consequence of that dense and consistent foam that they used, so one might say that this is unavoidable. However, I didn’t experience this issue to this degree with the G-SR II. It’s not a game-breaking problem or anything, but it is something they might want to take a look at.

Aside from that, the ZOWIE G-SR III is a great control pad. If you’re someone who likes pads that restrain your movements, you should absolutely check this one out. It’s one of the better control pads out there, especially for tactical shooter players.

4.5 of 5

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Lars

Reviews, Community, FPS

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