Upon unboxing this mouse and noting down my first impressions I also noticed that Xtrfy has significantly improved their cable. Compared to the cables on their earlier mice, this one is noticeably thinner and more flexible. If I recall correctly this was something that initially wasn’t planned so props to Xtrfy and Zy for pushing this through after all. Cables have really been evolving across the board to the point where the standards for what can be called ‘good’ are a lot higher today than what they were just a couple of months ago, and the M4does reach those standards, so no worries here. Sensor and Everyday Performance Furthermore, there aren't really any components under the holes that would be affected by dirt - just a PCB and potentially RGB lighting, with moving elements like button switches generally covered up. I wouldn't advise eating messy foods or spilling drinks onto an ultra-light mouse, but I wouldn't recommend that with any other kind of computer peripheral either. If you're concerned about this, consider traditional full-body mice like the Roccat Kone Pure Ultra, Endgame Gear XM1 or Logitech G Pro Wireless. Aside from the odd charging port placement, there’s nothing that eye catching about the M8, and I mean that in a good way. Xtrfy has finally gone ‘full performance’ with their mice and ditched the RGB elements as well as the holes, and that’s a design choice that I can only applaud. I am pretty neutral about holes in a mouse myself (I’m not bothered by them unless the finishing is absolutely horrible) but I do know that a lot of people don’t like the feeling of a mouse with holes, so it’s good to see that Xtrfy are now showing that they can also produce lightweight mice without having to go for the cheese grater method. Xtrfy has never been a brand that plays it safe when it comes to their mice. Rather than just copying whatever is the most popular shape on the market at any given time, the Swedish brand opts to go for original designs and follows its own path.

This is Xtrfy’s first completely solid mouse, and with it coming in at a very light weight of 55 grams it’s built really well. The bottom plate flexes a bit when applying a lot of pressure to it (this part of the mouse never experiences that kind of pressure when using it normally though, so that’s of absolutely no concern) but other than that the M8 is completely solid. It’s also completely quiet when tapping or shaking the mouse. The MZ1 is definitely a small mouse, that’s something that you immediately notice. I will talk more about the shape and elaborate a bit on RJN’s ideas about aiming (and mice) further on in the review, but it’s quite clear that ‘comfort’ wasn’t one of the main concerns when designing this mouse. That’s not to say that it makes your hands cramp instantly or anything like that (again: more on that further down in the review) but as RJN himself says: ‘ we need to sacrifice comfort so we can get the mice that help us aim best, because smaller mice are easier to aim.‘ Whether you agree with that last part or not is a different story, but to me it’s exciting to see a kind of different approach to mouse design with the MZ1. What you get with the MZ1 is an extremely small and light mouse. The fact that it’s so lightweight (58 grams on my scales) combined with its small frame makes for a very nimble pointing device.

Best ultra-light mouse 2023

I don't think it matters. I've been testing ultra-light mice since May 2019 and I can't see any visible dust or dirt in even my oldest mice. I also haven't noticed any change in performance over time. If I do, I will update this article accordingly. The Xtrfy M4is a really nice product. There are a few tiny little flaws here and there (such as the pre travel on the side buttons and the side travel on the left mouse button) and the cable isn’t the best in the world but aside from that it’s absolutely great. Making something lighter usually means that you have to make some compromises to reach a certain weight. Some companies sacrifice a bit of structural integrity to achieve the lowest weight possible, but Xtrfy clearly claim that this wasn’t the case here. Indeed I must say that the M4feels really solid. The shape isn’t exactly what makes this mouse so good though. There are plenty of fantastic shapes out there. What makes this mouse good is the fact that the buttons are pretty much perfect, the scroll wheel feels great, the feet are very decent, and the whole thing is built like an absolute tank with no creaking or flexing, all while coming in at a mere 55 grams. Top that off with the inclusion of a 3395 sensor, flawless wireless performance, and that aforementioned safe shape and you’ve got a mouse that’s extremely respectable. Having had some issues with creaking and shell flexing in the past with Xtrfy mice (most notably on the MZ1) I paid close attention to how the mouse felt when using it, but I have to give credit where credit is due: my copy is completely flawless when it comes to the build quality. Sensor and Everyday Performance

Your hand size will determine how comfortable a given mouse is to use. Most ultra-light mice will be perfectly usable for the vast majority of hand sizes, but if you have particularly large or small hands then opting for a matching mouse may offer the best results. To find your hand size, keep your fingers together and measure from the tip of your longest finger to your wrist. I love that the all of the areas that you grip don't have any holes in them, and that Xtrfy has also coated the internals to provide water and dust protection. The mouse creaks a little when held tightly, and the cable has frayed slightly where it rubbed on the sharp edge of a crummy mouse pad, but neither are genuine issues - I have zero qualms about the build quality here. The mouse can be configured entirely using on-board controls too, no software required. By default, you can adjust the lift-off distance, debounce delay and DPI setting, as well as customise everything about the lighting, from effect and colour to brightness and speed. This works nicely, and the key used for making most changes can be set as the F11 key afterwards so that it can be rebound to be used in games - handy! The first thing I thought when I unboxed the M8 was ‘where does the cable go’? The mouse is wireless, but even wireless mice need to be charged at times, and that’s usually done at the front. With a button height of just 4mm that’s obviously not an option, so the charging port has been moved to the side of the mouse. It’s a bit of a quirky thing to see, but I’ll speak more about my experiences with this new design later on in the review.

Games

Something that felt a bit less impactful to me than I perhaps first expected was the button height. I am someone who prefers to have his trigger fingers closer to the mousepad as opposed to further away from it, so I’m a big fan of the fact that this mouse allows you to basically place your fingers on the mousepad itself, but I found that my grip didn’t allow for that to happen unless I went full palm. I use a slightly tilted claw grip (and I have 18.5×10 cm hands, for reference) and for me the button height felt a little inconsequential. The buttons do make this mouse feel even safer when it comes to the shape, though. Basically the entire front portion of the mouse is made out of button, so you’re free to place your fingers anywhere you want to place them, making it so that you can use a wide variety of grip styles comfortably. Rounding all of this off we see a scroll wheel that feels pretty much perfect: there’s a medium amount of tactility between steps, and the textured and rubberized wheel is quiet when using it and easy to press.