Holds up great! have been using the mousepad since august 23 (so about 8 months). had some troubles with my mouse before buying it, as it wouldn't always move with me. Haven't had issues with that since. also feels nicer to my wrists.
look wise: It really looks like as much as an old used map as it could have been. so making a stain ore 2 wouldn't matter as it would only make the map cooler.