Taking the market by storm
Many different gaming mice are available nowadays, and new ones seem to be coming out every other week. Rarely are these new releases accompanied by a large media and promotion campaign. There are, however, a few exceptions to this rule – one of them is the ROCCAT Kone. This rodent from Hamburg-based upstart ROCCAT (which is affiliated with the German peripherals manufacturer Speedlink) crashed onto the gaming scene only after a veritable story had been told in preparation of the October launch date – spooky tales of a Finnish lake, vanishing people and a secret, ultra-powerful weapon are just a few of the elements used to heighten the mystique of the upcoming Kone mouse (if you want to get an idea of how in-depth the story is, try googling “Erik Johan Dale”, one of the scientists investigating the events at Lake Inari).
However, the question still stands: are these all just hollow, meaningless words, or does the Kone really embody a revolutionary power? We got our hands on the Kone, and the simultaneously released Taito mousepad, to find out more.
Specs
Before we get to the juicy stuff, let’s take a look at the ROCCAT Kone’s specs, which aren’t too shabby:
Max. DPI 3200
Max. Polling 1000Hz
Buttons 10 (8 macro programmable) + 4-way wheel
Form factor right
Size in mm (LxWxH) ca. 130 x 65 x 45 mm
Inches per second 65
Ergonomy
When first taking hold of the Kone, this rodent definitely leaves a very positive first impression. While it is designed only for right-handed users, the mouse is very comfortable to grip, regardless if you’re a claw-gripper or a palm-gripper – the Kone perfectly hits the sweet spot in between both styles. While the overall style certainly leans towards the sculpted styling made popular by the Logitech G5 (as opposed to, say, a Razer mouse), the contours are less pronounced. This makes holding the mouse feel very natural and comfortable. Both thumb and pinky finger have a small groove to rest on, while the index, middle and ring finger sit comfortably on top of the mouse.
A huge advantage of the Kone is the finish of the mouse. The entire surface of the mouse, save for two narrow plastic strips, is coated with a matte, rubbery material which makes gripping the mouse an absolute pleasure - not only is the rubbery material nicer to feel, it also dramatically increases the grippiness of the mouse, and seemingly absorbs sweat – I never, ever experienced sweaty hands with the Kone (which can’t be said about some other mice).
Another nice feature is the weight system. The user can insert any of four weights into the bottom of the Kone (5g, 10g, 15g, and 20g, if that’s the sort of thing you’re really interested in) and thus change the overall weight. While this system isn’t as exact as others (Logitech’s G5, for example, gives you a nice selection of weights in 1.7g and 4.5g increments), it’s really all you’ll ever need, and is certainly nice to have. Overall, the ROCCAT Kone is enormously comfortable to use and play with.
Buttons
The accoutrement of the Kone can hold its own against any other gaming mouse. Left and right mouse buttons are naturally included, and two thumb buttons seem to have become and industry standard by now. Furthermore, two small buttons for changing the DPI setting rest beneath the scroll wheel, and a final auxiliary button is located above the scroll wheel.
The feedback on all buttons is very nice, the thumb buttons especially feel very precise and sharp. These two are also perfectly placed for easy and fast access – which, sadly, can’t be said of the DPI buttons and the auxiliary button. However, since these buttons are rarely used, this isn’t really a major issue. Another small gripe is that the auxiliary button is very, very hard to press – you really have to want to press it. This might be a good thing, depending on how much you use it, but it somewhat annoyed me. All in all however, the Kone’s buttons are a joy to use and feel very nice.
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