Tracking
Resolution: 250 – 2,500 dpi
Max. acceleration: >20G*
Max. speed: up to  2 meters/second (80ips)*

Responsiveness
USB data format: 16 bits/axis
USB report rate: Up to 500 reports/second

There’s a deep suspicion of wireless mice, especially amongst the more competitive gamers out there as the reliance on signal strength can leave you vulnerable at the most important moments. In shooters where even a split-second can mean victory or defeat being reliant on a wireless mouse can be anxiety inducing, which is exactly why you’ll rarely see the most hardcore of the gaming community with one.

I have to confess that this sometimes almost irrational fear affects me to. While I love a wireless mouse for everyday general use, playing a fast-paced shooter with one is something I rarely do. However, Logitech’s latest offering in the G602 has gone a long way toward persuading me that wireless mouse are not always spawns of evil when it comes to gaming.

From an aesthetic standpoint I’d be lying if I said I found the G602 pleasing to the eye. To me it comes across as a mish-mash of styling ideas and lacks any particular grace. However, while it’s not the most visually pleasing beast on the market it sure as hell is comfortable, managing to usurp the Drakonia Black as the most ergonomic mouse I’ve had the pleasure of testing thus far, claiming the crown as its own. It begins with the curved back which sits relatively high, pushing slightly into the palm. Meanwhile on the left hand side is a perfectly carved indent that smoothly transitions into a curved wing for the thumb to reside in. The mixture of non-slip anti-sweat materials are pretty nice on the fingertips too, rounding off the package. The only caveat is there’s no support for the pinky finger, a gripe I’ve had with a lot of mice over the years. The right hand side of the mouse has a comparatively high wall which does help to a degree as my finger naturally rested against it, aided by a slight curve, but I still found my pinky would end up sliding across the mat like a petulant child being dragged through the shopping centre. It’s my only gripe when it comes to comfort, though: this is a truly comfy mouse.

 
It’s not lacking in build quality, either, the usual high standards of Logitech once again shining through. Everything about it simply feels solid, like you could bounce it off a wall a few times with no effect. Not that I’d recommend trying that. You might leave dents in the wall, and that would suck. In terms of weight it’s not the lightest mouse around, coming in at around 153g with batteries. For many it may be too heavy, but I must confess that I tend to prefer a weightier mouse as it creates a reassuring sensation in the hand. However, for long sessions of The weight can be lessened a touch, though, by removing one of the batteries.

Yes, here we come to one of the more interesting features of the G602: battery life. In standard Performance mode Logitech claim that the G602 can get 250 hours of usage from its two double A batteries. That in itself is quite impressive, but  by switching it to Endurance mode you can extend the battery life to 1440 hours, though this comes at the cost of halving your report rate to just 250Mhz. One of the two batteries can also be removed entirely, switching the mouse over to Endurance mode automatically and thereby lessening the weight of the entire unit. It’s a useful idea, though one I must confess to never really using. Since I’m a gamer losing that extra weight at the cost of response time just isn’t an option, although on days when I was mostly just working I did try to swap over to endurance mode. As for the impressive batter life claim, I cannot verify if this is true. For the purposes of this review I was given just two weeks with the mouse, and thus to try to put Logitech’s bold assertion to the test I would have had to use the mouse for 24-hours every day for the full two weeks, by which point I would presumably have become some sort of raving lunatic speaking in gibberish. Although to be fair that’s probably how I look to the outside world anyway. All that I can say is that during the two weeks I did have the mouse it never once ran out of juice.

On a slightly disappointing note there’s no way of plugging the mouse in to recharge the batteries whilst playing, so when you do finally run out of juice you’ll need to either toss in some new batteries or charge the existing ones. However, given the absurd battery life that the G602 apparently boasts it’s completely understandable why Logitech would choose not to invest resources into adding a feature that would rarely get used. I’m pretty sure that after 250-hours of use we’ll have remembered to charge up some batteries at some point.

A 2.4Ghz USB dongle sends the magical wireless from computer to mouse, and Logitech have smartly provided an extension cable so that you can position the dongle for optimum signal strength. Generally speaking the strength of the G602’s signal was just fine, with the only noticeable exceptions being the occasional stutter where the on-screen cursor would momentarily jerk across the screen before regaining its usual smoothness. Whether this was due to interference from other devices, my own computer or the product itself I cannot say. In a moment of thoughtfulness Logitech have also included a slot for the USB dongle inside the mouse’s battery compartment, a handy little idea for those that like to take their rodents with them.

Two rows of three buttons apiece are presented on the left-hand side of the mouse just above where the thumb naturally rests, providing a considerable amount of room for mapping controls. Naturally I had some concerns about this arrangement, fearing that with so many buttons falling under a single digit it might be too easy to become muddled and that accidental pressing the wrong one would be a common grievance, but to my surprise it proved easy to differentiate between each. Ridges along the edge of each button and well judged gaps are the key to this, making it a breeze to locate each individual button, while comparatively high pressure requirements ensure that you don’t end up pressing the wrong one in the heat of battle. The four closest to the rear of the mouse naturally fall under the thumb, with the two middle buttons being the easiest to utilise as they sit direct under the tip of your finger. The two furthest obviously require a touch more effort to reach and use, but given that you’ve already got four buttons under the command of your thumb that’s not a problem.

All of these six buttons can of course be programmed using Logitech’s custom software, as can the wheel click, allowing them to take on the role of any given key press and thus providing plenty of room for customisation.  Surprisingly, though, more complex macro commands are one thing the G602 is lacking, their absence leaving a strange hole in the mouse’s list of features compared to other mice on the market, a potentially deal-breaking flaw for heavy MMO gamers. But in every other regard the software performs well, with an easy to navigate user interface and all the usual options. The polling rate and DPI can be set, while profiles can be created and automatically swapped to when the system detects the appropriate game or application starting up. Onboard memory also allows storage of a single profile should you want to take the mouse over to a friend’s house.

The scroll wheel presents one of the few problems to be found with the G602. Compared to other gaming mice on the market it offers a very smooth action, great for surfing the web but not so handy for fragging other players. When using the wheel to switch weapons in something like Far Cry 3 or in the Titanfall Beta I found it far to easy to accidentally spin it too much and swap guns twice in quick succession. I would have much preferred a notched design to provide more feedback to the player.

Located at the front-left edge of the mouse are another two buttons, silver in color and marked G10 and G11, both of which are used for increasing and decreasing the DPI on the fly. Like all the others these can be programmed to do whatever you want, but their positioning can make them a little tricky to use. The first button manages to just come under the reach of your finger  but still requires a slightly awkward movement to get to, whilst the second, for me at least, proved damn near useless as utilising it required stretching out both my finger and hand. The second button also has a squishy feeling that wasn’t very pleasant. Given that both of these buttons are for DPI swapping and that you likely won’t reprogram them for anything else the fact that they’re in a slightly awkward position isn’t a huge flaw, but being able to swap DPI on-the-fly in a game is handy and thus having them fall a little more naturally under the finger would have augmented their usefulness.

On paper some may see fit to sneer at the G602’s raw numbers: a 500Mhz polling rate is unusual in a world where gaming mice typically run at 1000Mhz, while the DPIclimbs to a relatively low 2500, a setting which can be adjusted in 250 increments. But while it may be easy to sneer at the stats, the reality is a far different situation. Indeed, it’s hard to find much to fault with the G602’s performance, the mouse delivering excellent tracking and precision at all times, though not quite on the same level as some of the wired mice I’ve tested, such as Steelseries’ Rival. Like so many others I was naturally a little concerned that the wireless connection might produce lag, but again I was impressed as their was nearly none to be detected, apart from the occasional brief bit as mentioned earlier.

In regards to the DPI from personal experience and from talking to others I generally believe that 2,500 will meet the requirements of the majority of gamers, the vast stats attributed to other mice being little more than numbers that companies love to spew in their marketing, however there is always the chance that you’re one of those that do prefer a very high DPI rating then either consider adjusting or simply look at other mice. As for the report rate of 500Mhz it’s important to remember that this equals a response of just 2ms in comparison to 1ms response from 1000Mhz mice, a difference that almost nobody can see or feel.

Overall I found the performance of the G602 to be admirable. Whilst the most competitive and skilled gamers will still want to stick to wired products to insure the maximum response and precision, the average player will be perfectly happy with what Logitech are offering here. I put it through its paces on the new Titanfall beta, Loadout and numerous other games, and never once felt like the mouse was compromising my own performance.

This is the second wireless product within the span of a few weeks that has deeply impressed me, both managing to largely combat and destroy the disadvantages of having no wires. The G602 boasts a battery life that makes a mockery of those Duracell adverts and rather good performance, all while being absurdly comfortable and well made.

The Good:
+ Changing batteries will almost become a myth.
+ Solid performance.
+ Comfy.
+ Sturdy.

The Bad:
– No macros.
– DPI buttons are hard to reach.
– Bit on the heavy side.

The Verdict: 4/5 – Great
A great piece of kit from Logitech.