Today, we're looking at an extremely interesting kickstarter project: the Zephyr mouse. This is an ultralight-class mouse that also has a built in fan, blowing through the honeycomb-style shell.
First Look
This mouse looks quite similar to the Glorious Model O, sporting a symmetrical shape and RGB lines across the side of the mouse. There is also a honeycomb style shell, although with organic shapes instead of hexagons, which looks worse to be honest. The fan is not that visible from the outside, and there is a second polycarbonate layer inside the mouse, which is surprising given its airy 68 gram weight. The polycarbonate also serves to diffuse the RGB light coming from somewhere within the mouse.
This mouse is $80 for the super early bird price, but will be commercially available at $100. This is definitely on the high side, considering that the Model O and D are $50. The big attraction, obviously, is the included fan.
Inside
The specs of this mouse are what you'd expect of a mid to high tier mouse. There are omron switches everywhere, so you can expect nicely weighted, crispy clicks. There is also a Pixart 3389 sensor, which has very accurate tracking. It's capable of up to 16000 DPI (not that it matters). Again, it is 68 grams, which is squarely in the ultralight range. I was quite surprised to find that it is 68 grams; I expected the fan and extra electronics to add on quite a bit of weight. Perhaps they did, and the mouse otherwise would have been in the 50 gram range.
Worth It?
At $100, this mouse can't compete with the G-Wolves Skoll, Model D, or Razer Deathadder Mini in regular terms. So it's up to the fan to really boost this mouse. We've already seen the mouse has far surpassed its kickstarter goal, so there are definitely people who believe in it. How much your hand sweats is really dependent on the user, but what I will say is that the fan sound could be annoying to other people you're playing with and will definitely be a no-no for recording or streaming, as it will cause an unprofessional buzz in the background. Overall, I think this mouse is cool, but considering the price and that there are so many similar ones, it is mostly a gimmick that will die off.