The Best Lightweight Gaming Mice of 2021 | Hardware Canucks

There have been so many fantastic, lightweight, affordable mice releases in the market lately, and I want to cover some of the ones that have been flying under the radar but are actually worth considering. Basically, if you are looking for a lightweight option you have come to the right place because all of these mice range in weight quite significantly from 49 grams all the way up to 90 grams.

They all cater to a slightly different user because of the shape, so chances are you can find one that works for you. These 4 mice have been in my personal rotation so that I could experience just how good or bad these options really are. This allowed me to work with my aim trainers and actually get more confidence for online play.

The Competitors

These include the $59 Pulsar Xlite, the $29 Katar Pro XT from Corsair, the Drevo Falcon Wireless at $50, and the Ninjutso Origin ONE X at $79, which is the most expensive mouse in this roundup. What is awesome is that all these mice are actually available to purchase right now and they all have their slight different quirks that are not just copy/paste of each other. If you have already seen our previous recommendations and previous mice roundups, welcome back friend you are about to see some of the best lightweight and affordable options for 2021, guaranteed.

Pulsar Xlite

Let’s start with one most interesting mice to hit my space: The Pulsar Xlite. It’s not crazy expensive, but it is crazy light at 49 grams, which is what I’m used to with my main MM720 mouse. It has the PAW3370 sensor, which is considered to be the end game of sensors with Omron 20 million clicks switches. The mouse comes with grip tape, which is so fantastic to see because the mouse is super lightweight, so you want to have a bit more control while handling the mouse. I found that placing grip tape on the right trigger gave me fantastic control where I don’t really need it anywhere else. Just having that middle finger a bit more secured on the mouse. Wow, what a difference.

Also, an extra set of PTFE feet is included for later swapping and this little gadget, which they call a micro bungee. You attach it below your monitor and it raises the cable to avoid cable drag. The cable by the way is slightly thicker versus Razer Viper’s, which is nothing to complain about since it’s nice and light. Now the most interesting thing about the Xlite is the shell, because half of it is basically missing underneath with that visible PCB. I have never seen anything like it, and this allows Pulsar to shave off some weight but also show off that they manufacture such a fantastically built mouse. Nothing on this mouse creaks, there is no flex anywhere in the body in the usual side to side pressing and that is really impressive.

Shape wise it is ergonomic, it is a slightly higher body versus what I normally use, but still a very comfortable shape for my hand size. Flicking with this mouse is perfect, but I do need to reduce my DPI below 800 to give me extra control because of how light the mouse is. And for some reason tracking of my targets with this mouse is very poor, not because of the extremely smooth glide, but because of the weight. When you go below 50 grams it’s like a whole new thing where you have to retrain your hand. The mouse is slightly bigger than my MM720 so my wrist memory is a bit out of whack, especially when it comes to using the same weight but a different shape mouse. So tracking with this one for my play style is a bit more challenging because even with this grip tape I feel like it’s a bit too light for the size. Whereas the MM720 is slightly more low profile and it just overall a smaller mouse, but with that one I can track slightly better.

So flicking with this thing is fantastic, finding targets on-screen is fantastic, but tracking targets especially for my style is a bit difficult. You should also keep in mind there is no DPI switch on the body itself, so you have to go into the software, which is no BS, super simple, but you do have to access it if you want to switch DPI. Lastly, I love the side browser buttons, which feel awesome. The scroll wheel is great too, with a nice light middle click. The primary triggers have slightly longer travel distance versus everything else in this roundup, but it’s still nice and crispy and tactile.

Corsair Katar Pro XT

Let’s move on to something a bit more simple. This is the Corsair Katar Pro XT, and in my opinion for $29 this is the best lightweight option you can buy right now… for $29, that’s the important bit. It is like a slightly more refined and tuned Logitech G203 with a 73 gram body, a solid PWM 3391 sensor, Omron 50 million clicks switches that are my favorite in this roundup, and this is probably the only RGB peripheral on Earth that has proper white illumination. You can see that it’s white, it’s not like slightly blue or slightly green or slightly red that is properly white, which I appreciate. For this price point the cable is awesome too, almost identical to the Xlite mouse, but it’s really the shape that we will sell.

Overall, it feels fantastic, and the weight is that good middle ground between not too light and not too heavy. It’s going to offer excellent competition against the G203 and the G305 of the world. The main difference between the G203 are the deeper grooves on the main triggers on the Katar mouse that for me is a positive in terms of comfort. There is also some texture on the sides that is okay for my thumb, but on my right side where my pinky finger and my ring finger rest is a bit irritating, I wish that that side was smooth just like the rest of the body.

The whole build actually feels a little plastic and kind of cheap, as expected for $29 price point, but I do like the texture and the overall feeling of the G203 better. The glide on the Corsair mouse is so much smoother versus Logitech, and also the switches are incredibly lightweight and crispy, which is really satisfying.

The main benefit with this mouse for me is switching between moving targets, and this is the mouse that gives me consistently the best tracking, which is my least improved skill. Strangely this mouse feels the best at 650 DPI versus my usual 800 DPI, and one thing you should also not forget is to disable that precision tracking in iCUE, which is for some reason enabled by default.

Drevo Falcon Wireless

Now let’s move into something wireless with the Drevo Falcon Wireless, and the only reason it’s here is because it is basically a budget version of the G Pro Wireless from Logitech. The shape is 99% identical, it is the heaviest mouse in this roundup at 90 grams, but also super affordable at under $50. The 2.4GHz dongle can be stashed inside the shell and the USB-C cable can be used for charging with up to 56 hours of battery life with RGB on or up to 96 hours with it off. It is a pretty cool uniform illumination coming through the honeycomb shell. The sensor is the power efficient PAW 3335, switches are Omron 20 million clicks, and we have 100% PTFE feet that are black.

Despite these good qualities you can immediately tell this is a cheap budget variation of what Logitech. Okay. There is a lot of creaking on the body, regardless of where you press. There is something creaking on the inside, even when they hold all the mouse buttons, including the scroll wheel. There is something rattling inside. Also the scroll wheel is a bit disappointing, the scroll steps are not defined, and it’s not easy to control. Plus the DPI switch – which is fantastic to have – is so hard to press. You would require full on hand adjustment to reach because it’s not in the best spot. So overall build quality is a little bit subpar, but it does give you really good performance.

It is the good points that matter the most. The primary triggers are almost as light to the G Pro Wireless. It has a much smoother glide versus the Logitech offerings, and like I said earlier the shape is basically a clone of the G Pro Wireless so it’s extremely comfortable for hybrid and grips. The weight balance is actually okay, and this is the mouse that required the most time for my own hand readjustment because of the weight. At 90 grams it’s almost twice the weight of what I’m normally playing with, and so this is something to keep in mind.

For example, flicking between each target felt kind of janky and even tow a heavier mouse might give you more control. It is all about that risk memory. Still tell a sensor performance is totally satisfactory for this price range, although I will say the lift of distance is the highest in this mouse versus everything else in this roundup. Something to keep in mind. And even though it was lowered in the lowest position in the driver software is still a little bit too high. It does track and catch mouse movement when I’m like hovering around the mouse mat and when it’s not exactly placed down.

Ninjutso Origin ONE X

And so let’s finish off on another really impressive surprise with Ninjutso Origin ONE X, which claims to be the world’s lightest wireless ergonomic mouse. And to be honest, they are doing so many things right here for the $79 price point with a 66 gram non-honeycomb all-solid shell design, following the footsteps of Razer and Logitech, which is amazing.

Build quality is totally fine too, nothing creeks, nothing rattles, but like with many mice with similar button design there is a bit of play on the primary triggers that you can feel with normal use when you go side to side.

The sensor here is the same power efficient PAW3335 with battery life up to 48 hours. The USB dongle is not labeled, nor can it be stored in the mouse, which is a bummer. That USB-C port for charging is awesome, but it’s kind of deep in the body so none of my cables actually fit in there. It’s a good thing that a cable is included. It is a plug-and-play mouse, which is a positive because you don’t have to install any drivers. There are four DPI settings that you switch with a button underneath. Unfortunately because there are no drivers you don’t have precise DPI control, so if any of those don’t really work for you you’re out of luck.

The main selling points are the Kaihl GM 8.0 80 million click switches, which are super crispy and tactile. This also has one of the best scroll wheels I have ever felt on the mouse with super precise scroll steps that give you a lot of control. It also has massive PTFE feet at the bottom for really smooth glide.

Finally that Intellimouse Explorer shape, I love the low profile, the ergo curvature, the slight flaring in the front, it’s all making me want to switch to the ONE X as my main from now on. This mouse gives me the best movement on screen for finding targets in all directions, meaning it’s almost effortless to aim in all four quadrants on screen. This is something that I realize is a huge advantage for games with a lot of verticality like Quake Champions or Escape From Tarkov. I feel like with all other mice in this roundup I have some inconsistencies between top bottom, left, and right aim, whereas with the Pulsar Xlite I’m fantastic of finding targets at the upper portion of the screen, but any time a target shows up at the bottom I have some difficulty finding it and following it up. Whereas with the ONE X it is perfect throughout the whole screen.

Conclusion

So just like with my main MM720 I feel like the ONE X is almost effortless, plug-and-play,I put my hand on it, set the DPI to 800 and I’m golden and flying around. I feel like I know exactly what the cursor will land through my physical motion, so yeah I highly recommend that you check this out. You should also check out all the other mice in this roundup as well, because I feel like they kind of cater to a different user scenario. You have wireless, you have really lightweight options, you have that middle ground super affordable ones as well.