Gaming mice aren't usually hard to come by. Companies typically produce more than enough units to satisfy pre-orders, keep their products on retail shelves and meet any demand that comes their way. Finalmouse's Ultralight series is a bit different. The mice have been perpetually sold out since their release, leaving people clamoring for the company to release more. Well, that's exactly what Finalmouse has done with last night's debut of the Ultralight Phantom model that uses the company's "Star Splatter process" to create a unique "constellation" for every unit sold.
Finalmouse's pitch for the Ultralight is simple. The company wants to offer a gaming mouse that weighs precious grams less than its competition. This reduced weight aims to make it easier to move the mouse with precise motions without suffering fatigue. Most people are unlikely to care about shaving off a few grams of weight, but for people whose livelihoods depend on their ability to accurately click on things, weight is key. As such, the Ultralight uses a honeycomb design that's supposed to offer the same durability as traditional mice but weigh a few grams less.
That reduced weight is the main draw of the earlier released Ultralight Pro, which is available in black and white, as well as the costlier Ultralight Sunset and its yellow-orange coloring. The new Ultralight Phantom offers another perk in form of the new "Phantomcord," which is "designed and tested to be the lowest resistance cord ever created." Finalmouse claims on the Ultralight Phantom's product page that testers couldn't feel the difference between this mouse and a wireless mouse. The idea is to offer a mouse with a cord that you can see but not feel--hence the Phantom branding.
We haven't tested the Ultralight Phantom ourselves, so we can't speak to the veracity of Finalmouse's claims, but we can definitely see the appeal. A good mouse should offer everything you need to succeed in a game without drawing too much attention to itself. Nobody wants their mouse to drag, or to miss a headshot because they couldn't move the mouse fast enough, and the Ultralight Phantom looks to address both of those problems. Esports pros will likely appreciate the promise of improved performance; others might just enjoy the paint splatter.
All the Ultralight models weigh 67g and have a PMW3360 optical sensor that promises 1:1 tracking. Each also seems to feature two buttons on the left side, a scroll wheel and what appears to be a DPI switch underneath that wheel. Those looking for a mouse with enough buttons to map everything in a MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) or MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) will have to look elsewhere. Those who play FPS (first-person shooter) games, however, will likely find the two side buttons adequate (some gamers claim using side buttons can compromise your grip and, therefore, interfere with your aim).
The Ultralight Phantom and its predecessors are available now from the Finalmouse website. It might take a while for your order to arrive. Finalmouse has a warning on each page saying that processing times will be long (between 10 and 25 days) and that purchases will be processed in the order in which they were received.
The new Ultralight Phantom, as well as the Ultralight Sunset, cost $90, while the Ultralight Pro is $70. Whether or not a unique design or less intrusive cord is worth the extra $20 is up to you.
