HyperX made waves in the competitive scene with the release of its original Pulsefire Haste ultralight mouse. Its combination of excellent performance, light weight, FPS friendly shape, and affordable price. It’s back again with its successor, and there’s more to this upgrade than a simple new sensor. At $79.99 for the wireless version and $59.99 for wired, it’s a good value, offering dual mode wireless, an improved solid body design, better specs, better switches, and more.
Specifications
- Current Price:
- Shape: Symmetrical
- Sensor: HyperX 26K Sensor
- Resolution: Up to 26000 DPI
- DPI Presets: 400 / 800 / 1600 / 3200 DPI
- Speed: 650 IPS
- Acceleration: 50G
- Buttons: 6
- Left / Right Button Switches: HyperX Switch
- Left / Right Button Durability: 100 million clicks
- Light Effects: Per-LED RGB lighting
- Onboard Memory: 1 profile
- Connection: Type 2.4GHz Wireless / Bluetooth® 5.0 / Wired
- Charging: Type USB-C 2.0
- Polling Rate: Up to 1000Hz
- Skate Material: Virgin-grade PTFE
- OS Compatibility: Windows® 11, 10
- Console Compatibility: PS4™, PS5™, Xbox One™, Xbox Series X|S™
- Battery Type: 370mAh Li-ion polymer battery
- Battery Life: Up to 100 hours
- Weight:
- Without cable: 60 g / 61 g (Black/White)
- With cable: 83 g / 84 g (Black/White)
- Cable Length (imperial): 5.9 ft
- Cable Type: Detachable, HyperFlex 2 USB-C to USB-A Cable
HyperX Pulsefire Haste 2 - What Is It?
The Pulsefire Haste 2 is the latest ultralight FPS mouse from HyperX. It’s a successor to the original Pulsefire Haste, a honeycomb mouse that we liked quite a bit. In our original review, our writer, Mitch Gassner, remarked that its light weight made it “precise and effortless,” and that, in addition, its excellent tracking allowed him to reduce his DPI and improve his aim. “Less fatigue, more precision… it’s a win-win.” Indeed, his comments seemed to be echoed by most critics and gamers that tried it. HyperX nailed its design.
It might seem concerning, then, that the Pulsefire Haste 2 has made some relatively drastic changes to its design. The honeycomb palm rest is gone, replaced with a solid-body design. The switches have been swapped out for HyperX’s own. Despite being solid body, and one would think heavier, it now offers dual-mode connectivity with options for Bluetooth and 2.4GHz wireless.
Yet, for all of those changes, HyperX has thread the needle. This is an excellent gaming mouse that lacks almost nothing compared to the original.
The new solid body shape is an improvement. The honeycomb design was in vogue when the original Pulsefire Haste released, but the industry seems to be swinging back the other way now, away from the trypophobia-inducing holes that were endemic to ultralight gaming mice. The shell here doesn’t seem to add much in weight at all and feels much more durable and resilient (plus, will keep any spills away from the internals of your mouse!).
Bluetooth functionality is also rare at this price, and I’m pleased to report it works very well. I was able to connect to my phone and swap between it and the 2.4GHz dongle on my computer without major hiccups and quite quickly. There was usually only a few seconds delay after hitting the switch: enough for my smartphone to recognize it and make the connection. This also makes it a good fit for travel, though I still think the Corsair Katar Elite Wireless has the edge there with its slightly smaller body.
Despite the solid body and new Bluetooth transmitter, the Haste 2 manages to be only 1 to 2 grams heavier than the original. That difference is made up for in the color. The Black version weights 60 grams while white mysteriously adds one gram more. Either way, that’s impressive — adding components and material without adding nearly as much weight as you would expect.
The switches are now HyperX branded and are rated for 100 million clicks each. That lifespan is at the top of the pack among even much more expensive gaming mice today. They’re mechanical and have a satisfying click that is vying to be my favorite between Logitech, Razer, ASUS, and now HyperX. They’re crisp and have a nice tactility to ward off misclicks. Very well done overall here.
HyperX has also upgraded the internals, ensuring that the Pulsefire Haste 2 can go tit-for-tat with even more expensive gaming mice. The only area it lags behind is maximum DPI, which tops out at 26,000 here, about 10K less than you’ll find on the latest, most expensive mice from ASUS or Razer. But if I can be so bold as to not join in the DPI rate race… I genuinely don’t think this matters. At least to the vast majority of gamers out there. 26,000 is more than enough for even high-level competitive play. It also features a top-speed of 650 inches per second and 50G of acceleration, which are still top-level specs.
The mouse has one RGB zone around the wheel, and it intelligently turns itself off to save on battery life. With lighting disabled, the mouse can run for up to 100 hours between recharges. That’s quite impressive as other dual-mode mice rely on Bluetooth to achieve those figures. Here, you can maintain the highest speed, lowest latency connection and enjoy an extra long time between charges.
The mouse can be reprogrammed using HyperX’s NGENUITY software, though I found myself avoiding it. NGENUITY isn’t the most polished suite, and the Haste 2 only supports a single onboard profile anyhow. It’s nice to have as an option, but as a simple, six-button mouse, you can also just remap it in-game and call it a day.
HyperX Pulsefire Haste 2 - Performance
The Pulsefire Haste is a very good mouse that offers responsive, reliable performance and a comfortable shape that’s perfect for first-person shooters. During my time with it, I used it with everything from first-person shooters (great) to MMORPGs (less great), but no matter what type of game I played it with, it was comfortable and responsive enough for anything I threw at it.
The six-button, low-contoured design is clearly targeted at shooters and it works perfectly there. The shape is reminiscent of the Razer Viper, though drops off a bit more toward the tail. It joins an expanding crop of mice with similar designs — the Razer Viper Pro, the ASUS ROG Harpe Ace, the Model O 2 Wireless — and competes very well in overall value.
For shooters, it feels particularly nimble. The four PTFE feet and the ring around the sensor do a good job of allowing the mouse an effortless glide. The low 61 gram weight of my sample reaches for that “extension of your arm” experience, and while it doesn’t quite get there, it comes close. The only thing holding it back is a bit of pinky drag. A bit more tuck to the sides, a textured finish, or grip tapes would help there, though this is a nitpick and isn’t something that actively bothered me.
For MMORPGs and other genres, you might find the button count a bit light. It’s a standard six button mouse with only one profile of onboard storage, so there isn’t much room for mapping multiple skills or macros. For action oriented games, this really isn’t an issue at all, but for games like World of Warcraft, you’ll need to move your fingers from WASD more often than you might like.
The new solid body shell is a big improvement. I don’t mind honeycomb mice, but the Pulsefire Haste 2 feels noticeably more solid in the hand. There’s no flex or creaking even when squeezed tightly, and you don’t have to worry about dust and debris making their way into the body of the mouse. The fact that HyperX was able to fill in the holes and add a Bluetooth transmitter while only weighing 1-2 grams more than the original is impressive.
The new HyperX switches are also excellent. They have a satisfying click that I would rank right alongside Logitech. With a 100M click lifespan, they should last a good long time, though I wish HyperX had made the jump to optical switches to stave off double-clicking issues entirely. Still, these are good, tactile buttons that don’t lend themselves to misfires.
The under the hood spec improvements are meaningful and help bring the Haste 2 up with the times. It doesn’t have the highest DPI available, but that doesn’t bother me if the tracking is on point. And it is. I wasn’t able to get the Haste 2 to feel less than pixel perfect even while actively trying to make it spin out or jitter. 26,000 DPI is still far more than what I would consider usable even for my 48-inch, small-TV OLED monitor. The improvements bring the Haste 2 in line with it competition where its other features, like dual mode wireless and its unique shape, help set it apart.
Final Thoughts
The HyperX Pulsefire Haste 2 is a great gaming mouse. At $89.99, it’s a particularly good value. Its nearest competitor, the Glorious Model O 2 Wireless (which I covered for USA Today’s “Reviewed”), offers similar features and performance but for $10 more. The Corsair Katar Elite Wireless is another key competitor and comes in at the same price, but the Pulsefire Haste 2 one-ups it with 40% more battery life and a more ergonomic shape.
With all of that in mind, this mouse gets a strong recommendation. If you’re looking for an ultralight gaming mouse with a solid body and ergonomic grip for claw and fingertip users, the HyperX Pulsefire Haste 2 is an excellent choice.
The product described in this article was provided by the manufacturer for evaluation purposes.
