zeromouse Blade Review
Specifications
Packaging
Shape & Size
The zeromouse Blade is a fingertip-sized mouse measuring 82.5 x 63.1 x 24.1 mm. Unlike most mice, it does not offer a full-sized shape like more typical products such as the Logitech G Pro X Superlight and the Razer Viper V3 Pro. Other fingertip-sized mice also have a full or complete shell, like the G-Wolves Fenrir Max 8K or the WLmouse Beast Miao. The zeromouse Blade, however, only offers specific places to put your fingertips. This forces a specific finger-placement.
Generally, I put my thumb quite far up the left side of the mouse. On this mouse, however, I need to place it further down than I usually do because it is the only contact point. While I personally would have preferred a thumb-placement further towards the front, the position used on this mouse is very good, as it allows for a more natural grip, which I got used to after just a couple of minutes of playing with it. On the right side of the mouse, there are two contact points, also placed towards the back to align with the left side. Overall, the mouse does not have a typical shape, but rather contact points to place your fingertips. Because of that, you cannot palm or claw grip this mouse. The reason behind this is to reduce weight as much as possible.
Build Quality & Coating
The mouse is 3D printed, but unlike typical 3D prints, it does not have noticeable print lines or rough edges. This is because zeromouse switched from PA12 nylon, which was used on their previous V34 and V35, to resin printing. The plastic feels and behaves much more similarly to standard injection-molded plastic in terms of quality and overall feel. While the mouse will not be able to sustain large amounts of force to the shell, as on typical gaming mice, it is a lot more sturdy and solid than you might expect from such a small and lightweight mouse. Applying moderate pressure to the sides and buttons does not break the mouse, nor does it produce a lot of flex. There is some flex when pressing the mouse hard enough, but it has never affected regular usage. The main difference in the coating of this mouse, compared to others, is a rougher texture. Generally, I prefer a smoother texture with a rubberized coating, but I found this quite comfortable and very grippy.
Weight
Apart from the unique size and shell design, the weight is the largest factor making this a unique mouse. It weighs only 22 grams. Compared to something like the Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2 at 60 grams, the zeromouse Blade is 63% lighter. Because of this, the mouse is unlike anything I've used before. I have tried very lightweight fingertip mice before, but none that come this low in weight. At this point, it does not feel like I am moving an object when aiming, but more like moving just my fingertips. The effortlessness of flicking to a target or tracking them feels very smooth and unique. The only issue that I have encountered because of this is that when I am not performing at my best, my consistency is worse. When I am focused, however, it is unlike anything I've used. I am not held back in any way by the weight of this mouse, which makes every movement I do more 1:1 with what I am doing. The low weight and small size not only highlight the good parts of my aim, but also the bad ones.
Buttons & Scroll Wheel
The switches used on this mouse are the Huano Transparent Blue Shell Pink Dot mechanical switches rated for 80 million clicks. These are the most popular switches nowadays, and for good reason. They are very tactile, yet require a light operating force, but not so light that it results in misclicks.
The zeromouse Blade uses a different type of design to attach the buttons to the switches. Instead of having the buttons be mounted in the middle of the shell, the Blade uses buttons mounted at the front, which wrap around and on top of the switches. Like the unique shell design, this was made in order to save weight, as a more typical design would require a larger overall shell. Personally, I prefer a more typical design if I look purely from the point of click-feel. I found that the pre- and post-travel on this design were noticeably larger than on most typical mice. While I did notice this when just holding the mouse and testing it on my desk, I did not notice it much when actually gaming with it. Sometimes I did at the very beginning, but I quickly got used to it. I still would have preferred the pre- and post-travel to be lower, but I did not feel as though it held me back in any way.
The mouse does not have any side buttons. Again, this is to reduce weight as the additional switches and buttons for this would not only add weight by themselves, but would also require a more full shell design to support it.
The scroll wheel on the zeromouse Blade uses the TTC Gold encoder. The scroll wheel is positioned at the very front of the mouse between the buttons. Typically, I place my fingertips more forward than the placement of a scroll wheel, and I usually pull my finger back a little bit to use the scroll wheel on other mice. In this case, however, I do not have to move my finger back or forth, only to the side. Out of habit, I would not do so, and I often missed the scroll wheel because of that for some time. I have not gotten used to the scroll wheel position, so I do not get affected by it as much, but it is still something that happens from time to time, especially after having used a normal mouse beforehand.
Sensor & Performance
The zeromouse Blade uses the Falcon Module as its internals, which is produced by Finalmouse. Because of this, it uses the same PAW3395 sensor and software as Finalmouse's products. While I would have preferred to see the PAW3950 being used, I doubt that I would notice a difference. But for the price of this product, I wish it used the latest sensor. Then again, Finalmouse has very good software and firmware for their products, making it outperform many other mice that are actually using the newer PAW3950. So while the specs might be worse on paper, it still outperforms many that, on paper, could be considered better due to its newer hardware.
Conclusion
The zeromouse Blade costs $169. This is quite a high price to pay for any mouse, but it is also reflected by its unique design and insanely low weight. While some might think that paying more for less is a bad thing, the low weight is the very reason this mouse is so interesting. It makes many compromises to achieve this weight, such as not having a full shell, only offering specific finger placements, having differently designed buttons which I found increased pre- and post-travel, and also not having any side buttons. All of this, and a high price, to achieve a low weight. While this mouse is unlikely to fit most users due to all these factors, it still appeals to a group of people that want something unique and unlike anything they've used before. The zeromouse Blade is not a common-person's mouse for many reasons, but for those who want the lowest weight and rely solely on fingertipping their mice, the zeromouse Blade is currently the most fitting and unique mouse on the market.
