There’s light, there’s lighter, and then there’s the Corsair Sabre V2 Pro Ultralight Wireless mouse. I’d go as far as to say that “Ultralight” is probably underselling it. It doesn’t actually feel like there is anything in this mouse, at all, and yet it does its job, very well, both as a practical mouse for work and something to game with.
To put numbers to the weight, it’s 36g. For context, typically a mouse is considered “light” if it comes in at under 70g. This is effectively half that. What that means is that it’s very easy to move the Sabre V2 Pro quickly (duh), and this means that it’s both less tiring to use over a long play session, and an ideal weight for games that require very fast, twitch-like movements and reflexes. Shooters, for example.
Further strengthening the mouse’s credentials in this area, the V2 Pro has a 33,000 DPI optical sensor and 8,000 Hz polling rate. With a black finish and classic form factor, it might not be the most interesting mouse you’ve ever seen, but when it comes to being able to zip the cursor or crosshairs across the screen with speed and precision, it’s undeniably effective.
Further supporting any claims that Corsair might make to its ergonomics, the Sabre V2’s mouse buttons click with very minimal travel (though are just resistive enough that you won’t accidentally click by resting your fingers on them. The two buttons on the side of the mouse’s body require more effort from the thumb, but are better placed than on some other mice I’ve used. The only downer was the mouse wheel was ever so slightly stiffer than I generally prefer, but perhaps that will change with some use, wearing it down a bit.
However, Corsair’s efforts to minimise the weight of the mouse do mean some compromises have been made. There aren’t any additional buttons to switch between profiles on the mouse itself – you’ll need to boot up the software to make those changes. And indeed there isn’t the bevvy of programmable buttons that come on heavier mice for people that play games with complex inputs. What’s more, the software requires that you’re online, as it’s browser-based. Not only is that spectacularly unhelpful if you happen to be out of Internet range, but it also means that should Corsair’s servers be down (or the company decide to turn them off), you’ll not be able to change your settings. I really hate the move to the cloud that everything has taken.
The battery is also lightweight. Corsair cites 70 hours on a full charge, but that’s on minimal settings, and realistically, it’ll be less for most people, meaning you’ll need to give this a charge every other day or so (or carry a battery around, which undermines the “minimal weight” feature).
However, all of that said and done, the V2 Pro is a very simple value proposition: Does a lightweight, fast mouse that is comfortable in the hand and useful for both work and play sound like something you’d use? If so, then there are worse ways you could invest your money.
