Looking for a lightweight and affordable mouse for your MOBA or FPS games that won’t cause your neighbors to think you’re hosting an RGB rave in your room? Look no further than Corsair’s Katar Pro XT Gaming Mouse. With a promise to be ultra-light and catered to FPS and MOBA gameplay, we couldn’t help but try it out for ourselves.
Specifications
- MSRP: $29.99
- Weight: 73g
- Software: Corsair iCUE
- Body Type: False Ambidextrous
- Grip Styles: Claw and Fingertip
- DPI: 18K DPI Optical Sensor
- Cable: Drag-reducing Paracord Cable
- Switches: Omron (50 million clicks)
- Programmable Buttons: 6
- Lighting: Scroll Wheel RGB Backlighting
- System Requirements: PC w/ USB port, Windows 10, macOS 10.13 High Sierra or newer
Déjà vu, right? If you feel like you’ve seen this model of mouse before-you have! Corsair already has a Katar Pro XT wireless mouse available for $39.99. So, what’s different about this mouse? Well, for starters, the Katar Pro XT Wireless comes in at 96g, and while it has received fairly positive reception, there has been some pushback about its battery life and signal disconnect. However, this new Katar Pro XT Wired gaming mouse only weighs a whopping 73g, and has a drag-reducing paracord USB cable for a direct-wired connection to compensate for those previous issues. It may not seem like much, but the trim from 96g to 73g is a huge improvement for users that were a fan of its wireless iteration.
The Katar Pro XT wired gaming mouse comes with 6 programmable buttons that you can customize and configure through Corsair’s downloadable iCUE software: two buttons on the right, left/right-click, scroll wheel, and the hexagonal dpi switch. Each of the buttons are placed exactly where I need them to be, with the two on the side benefitting from a smooth, glossy coating. The scroll wheel also has a satisfying rubber grip with a fairly precise, resistant, and clicky scroll for those that are into that kind of thing.
The hexagonal DPI switch is definitely one of my favorite features of this mouse because it is linked to the scroll wheel’s RGB cycle. Every time you press the DPI switch, the color of the scroll wheel will change, alerting you to which DPI set you’ve swapped to before resuming your previous RGB color choice. The addition of being able to add a “Sniper” button with an RGB indicator on the scroll wheel as well is just- *Chef’s kiss.*
Let me just say, Corsair’s iCUE software is grossly underrated. The Katar Pro XT wired mouse can be just as customizable and in-depth as you want to make it. You can remap any of the buttons, create macros, adjust the DPI up to 18K (who the heck can even see that fast?), calibrate the mouse for a textured/weird surface, and customize an easily viewable dashboard for on-the-fly adjustments and spec monitoring.
While the body of the Katar Pro XT gaming mouse is indeed symmetrical, it is still false ambidextrous. Two of the buttons are on the left side of the mouse which make it skewed more towards righties. The symmetry makes it perfect for claw and tip grip users, but that’s about its only benefit other than aesthetic reasons. I’m also a palm grip user, so the symmetry doesn’t really add anything for me as a user of the mouse. Another interesting feature of the body of the mouse is its coating. The Katar Pro XT uses a nice, matte shell that protects against any residual oils or fingerprints that could easily dirty up its sleek appearance. The overall feel of the body is nice as well, with it somehow managing to stray away from that “cheap” feeling that some more budget-friendly alternatives have perfected, while also remaining light and accurate.
There really wasn't much of anything that I didn’t like about this mouse. The Katar Pro XT works just as it should, and honestly even better than I expected for the price. The lightweight mouse category is extremely competitive, especially with brands like Razer releasing new, lighter versions of their most popular lineup. While I prefer a whole keyboard at the touch of my thumb, I found myself actually swapping out my core mouse in favor of this one when playing Overwatch and League of Legends. If you typically use a heavy MMORPG mouse, you can definitely feel the difference. It took a little getting used to since my mouse is heavier, but once I started using it, it made it hard to swap back to anything else in my arsenal.
Those that are fans of the claw and tip grip will absolutely love this mouse. For palm users, it might feel a little too small in your hand, but if you can make the adjustment to one of the other grips, I think you’d find the Katar Pro XT has a lot of great features and benefits to offer. Overall, it’s extremely light, matte, professional-looking, and reliable. Everything about the mouse just felt comfortable and right. It really feels like Corsair took some of the best features of its previous wireless mouse and sought to perfect a great budget option in this new wired model. Even the packaging for this mouse took me by surprise. With the sleek Corsair branding and a combination of matte and glossy sides, I felt like I was opening a mouse that was worth much more than just $29.99.
If you’d like to grab this mouse for yourself, you can find the new Katar Pro XT Wired Gaming Mouse over at the Corsair website.
A product was provided to the reviewer for the purpose of this review.
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