Vanta Shift by Midori

Disclaimer: I’m incredibly grateful to Midori for sending these out for me to check out/review. While I appreciate the opportunity, rest assured that my review is entirely unbiased and based solely on my personal experience with the product.

SPECS

Diameter: 6.8mm

Depth: 1.0mm

Material: PTFE (also known as Teflon)

Glide: Control

Count per pack: 40 Dots

Price: $12 Tax Included (not shipping)

6.8mm diameter

1.0mm depth

PACKAGING

The skates arrived in minimal packaging, consisting of a simple plastic bag and an alcohol wipe for cleaning the mouse base before application. Aside from the protective film covering the skates, not much else included. Midori’s goal here is clear: reducing packaging/waste to help minimize environmental impact. It’s a thoughtful approach that I fully support. Less packaging means less waste ending up in landfills, which is a step in the right direction for our planet.

Very Minimal Packaging

Protective Films applied on the skates upon arrival (need to remove before use)

BREAK IN PERIOD

These skates felt amazing right out of the box, with no noticeable break-in period needed compared to some of the other options on the market. Unlike those that require a bit of use before performing to their fullest potential, these skates felt ultra smooth with absolutely zero break in. It should be noted that these skates come with a layer of protective film that must be removed for optimal performance, as noted on Midori’s website.

PERFORMANCE

The "Vanta Shift" skates are easily among the best I've tried this year. Having primarily used EspTiger's "Tiger Ice" and Ultraglide "Brake Skates" in the past, the Vanta Shifts have impressed me with their consistent performance across all the mousepads I tested with. Whether on glass or cloth, the glide stayed true to the pad’s intended feel, whether it was control, balance/hybrid, or speed-focused. After some solid time on glass, there’s been no visible wear, and the glide has remained smooth and quiet on every glass pad I’ve used. I’ve really enjoyed these skates and have been using them non-stop! Test setup is 6 dots on the Viper Mini Signature Edition.

In terms of stopping power, it comes down to the form factor. You can dig these skates into the pad to stop your mouse, which might be a bit tricky on softer cloth pads as they are dot skates, but it hasn't been a major issue for me.

From a gamer or regular consumer's perspective, the $12 price point is a great deal! You’re not just getting top-notch performance, but also plenty amount of skates. While I can’t speak to long-term durability just yet (I’ve logged about 60+ hours on a cloth pad), I can say they’ve held up well so far. I highly recommend these skates to any gamers looking for that perfectly balanced feel on their mousepad! Will follow up this written review with a youtube video comparing it to other skates.

Cloth Pads: Glass Pads (and similar surfaces):

Midori “The Girl” SGG beta

Neptune Pro Firm Skypad 3.0

Tenta-X The Last Stand Jeff Chen Pad

Gamesense Radar Pulsar Superglide 1

Errennir Gecko Npet Tech Resin M

Memoria Pro Proto

Infinity Mice Control V2 / Speed V2