I'm a self-professed mouse pad junkie. About the only mouse pad I haven't used is a Ratpadz. Just haven't gotten around to it. At home I currently use a mouse pad that I got for free years ago. It was for the game Get Medieval and was free in the box (plus I got a $20 rebate for a $10 game!!!). It is really thin and is lycra on rubber. I find these soft pads comfortable to use because sometimes the hard pads become uncomfortable under the heel of my hand after hours of use. However, when I'm gaming at LAN parties I use hard pads because they feel better when I move the mouse fast.
The Everglide pads do wear out (as do every other pad). I've heard their new ones wear out faster. Back around 4 years ago I used to play Quake3test for many hours a day. I would see wear in an Everglide pad after a few weeks. What I would do to make it last longer was rotate the pad around and also use the backside (they used to be textured on both sids). I recently bought a bunch of Everglide pads and have started using them again at LAN parties. Everglide had a sale of them - grab bag since you don't get to choose the design - for $1 or $2 each. I think I bought 10 of them and shipping came out to be less than $1 each.
I've used the Everglide Mouse Mats (Mat, not Pad, really thin and flexible) and I didn't like it. It has just too much friction and makes the feet underneath the mouse wear out faster, plus because they have designs on top optical mice sometimes track funny.
I've also used a cheap mouse pad that had a rubber base but had a flexible textured plastic top. It actually worked really well with a ball mouse (haven't tried it with optical, has picture on top so it may not) but the one I had tended to curl up on the edges. I got mine from
Pi Manufacturing, item PAD-98-02 for $2.28. Besides the tendency to curl, it really is a nice pad for the money. It is also HUGE! It's a rectangle 11"x17".
I have a Func1030 pad and like it, but I made my own which I like better. The Func1030 has a thin flexible plastic surface that has a fine texture on one side and a coarse texture on the other. The surface sits in a molded rubber base. The combination is really thin - which I like. I made my own similar pad which I used exclusively for a year's worth of LAN parties and it still isn't worn out (about 40+ hours use per month). My pad was made from a desk pad that I got on clearance at Staples for a buck or two. It was black vinyl and had a fine texture on one side and rough on the other. For a backing I use those (don't know exactly what they're called) rolls of foam rubber mesh. This homebrew pad is probably one of the best ones I've used.
One thing I do no matter what mouse or pad I use is to lubricate the feet on the mouse. I use, ahem, silicone based massage gel by the name of "Wet Platinum." It is available in finer (and not so fine) adult novelty stores everywhere. Probably any silicone based lube will work. I apply a drop to a folded up tissue and then wipe the mouse feet with it. No matter what mouse and no matter what mouse pad, I've noticed that the mouse moves much smoother.