Mouse Review: Endgame Gear - OP1w 4k v2

Overall Score: 7/10

Specification:

Size: 118(L) x 61(W) x 37(H) mm
Weight: 59g±2g
Material: Plastic
Sensor: PixArt PAW3950
MCU: Nordic nRF52840
Polling Rate: up to 4K
Main Buttons: Kailh GX Mechanical
Side Buttons: Kailh GM 2.0
Encoder: Kailh Dustproof
Battery: 335 mAh

Price: $949 HKD; 119.99 USD

Preface

When I first started getting into aim training a few months ago, I saw this mouse being talked about a lot within the mouse and aim community. They just kept praising this mouse to a point where I seriously doubt the authenticity of these reviews and comments. At the time, I was still using the Mchose A7 (check review here), and I wanted to try a new shape and maybe a new grip style, as all I ever used was palm grip, so I thought might as well give it a go.

Packaging

The package comes with the mouse, a set of replacement skates, a set of grip tapes, a charging cable, a screwdriver for opening the bottom and a user manual. The charging cable is braided, which adds durability. In terms of flexibility, it is actually pretty easy to move it around. So, I assume if you want to use the mouse wired, it wouldn't add too much difficulty. There are only 2 grip tapes included, which are for the sides. I personally like having 2 on the buttons as well, so this is a minus point. Although, the side grip tapes are cut to fit the mouse perfectly, so it feels pretty well.

Shape - 7/10

The OP1w is... small. It is quite short in terms of height and has very narrow sides. One prominent aspect of this mouse is the hump at the back. The apex of the hump is positioned near the end of the body, and slopes down rapidly. This also creates a very low-sitting front with the hump slowly declines toward the front of the body.

Personally, I like the shape, but I hate the size. The overall dimension is simply too small for my hand to grip it comfortably. Since this kind of shape encourages claw grip, I naturally had to adjust the way I hold this mouse. However, I cannot hold this mouse in a relaxed claw grip. There is not enough space on the right side of the mouse for me to position my ring and pinky finger comfortably. My pinky would constantly drag over the mousepad in that way. If I were to lift my pinky a little higher, there wouldn't be enough space for my ring finger to rest on the side, and would force it to rest slightly on the right mouse button along with my middle finger. To tackle this problem, I also tried to use a 1-3-1 grip (thumb on left, index+middle+ring on top, pinky on right). This grip feels better, but it greatly reduces stability since I'm essentially holding the mouse with only my thumb, pinky finger and a part of my palm. It also tired me out very quickly, as I feel fatigue on my pinky after only a few minutes of aim training. Though, I really like the back hump, which provides great support to my palm. This proves to be a great feature when I tried to use aggressive claw grip. Still, my hand would get tired very quickly due to the mouse being so small, and with an aggressive claw grip, I naturally had to use more fingertip strength, which produces more straining on the fingers.

I think the main problem is how easy it is to feel fatigue from using this mouse. When using a 1-2-2 relaxed claw grip, I would feel straining on the roots of my index and ring finger after a short while. When using a 1-3-1 relaxed claw, I would feel slight pain on my pinky finger pretty quickly. When using an aggressive claw grip, my finger gets tired in only a few minutes, and I would unconsciously slide my fingers forward, which adds straining on my finger joints. But overall, I enjoyed the shape. I only wished that it would be a bit bigger.

Weight & Balance - 7/10

For the OP1w, I would actually expect the mouse to be a little lighter. Weighing at 59g, I don't find it heavy or anything, matter of fact, I don't care much about the weight as long as I enjoy the shape. However, for a small mouse like this, having a lighter weight is necessary. Since small mice, especially with a back hump shape, encourages claw grip, you need to use your fingertips to control the mouse a lot more. Having a lighter weight can reduce straining on the fingers.

The weight balancing is done really well, however. I didn't find any extra weight towards either end of the mouse.

Build Quality & Coating - 10/10

Absolutely flawless on the quality control. The mouse feels extremely solid. It gives you the feeling that this mouse will last you a long time. There are no creaking or flexing on the shell when applying pressure on the sides. No rattling when shaken.
The mouse uses a matte coating that feels premium. It grips well with or without sweat, and it doesn't attract fingerprints or dirt easily. Probably the best coating I've come across out of all the mice I've used.

Buttons & Scroll Wheel - 10/10

The main buttons feels excellent. The pre and post travel is really low, making the click extremely snappy. It doesn't require a lot of force to actuate as well, making the overall clicking action really responsive.

The side buttons are positioned at an easily reachable spot, but it isn't easy to actuate accidentally. The click itself felt really nice. Pre and post travel is low, similar to the main buttons.

The scroll wheel is definitely a new experience for me. The steps between each scroll is so very clearly separated, which allows for more controlled scrolling, but it also takes a little more force to scroll. The middle click requires medium force to actuate, but it's still pretty spammable.

Sensor & Performance - 10/10

The OP1w uses the PixArt PAW3950 sensor, and the implementation is flawless. The mouse also supports up to 4k polling rate out of the box. I tried using 4k polling rate with 1600dpi, and just like I thought, I didn't feel any major difference, so I went back to 1k. So far, I haven't noticed and major issues with it, and I don't expect any soon.

Grip Tapes - 7/10

The included grip tapes feel nice enough. They somehow also made the mouse look even better as it pairs very well with the overall aesthetic of the mouse. However, I wished they would include grip tapes for the main buttons as well, since only 2 were included for the sides.

Skates - 8/10

The factory skates that comes with the OP1w feels decent. It glides smoothly at high speed situations and feels controlled at tracking scenarios. The original skates that are on the mouse already don't cover the entirety of the skate area, which gives the mouse less points of contact with the mousepad, making it a little faster. The included replacement skates is a different version of the original skates, which covers the entirety of the bottom part of the skate area. I didn't try to continue using the original skates or the replacement skates since I like my mouse as fast as possible, so I replaced them with a few dot skates. But overall, the factory skates are very much usable.

Software - 10/10

The Endgame Gear software is very different from what you might find in the majority of other peripheral software. It has, what you might call, an "old" aesthetic to it. The interface is very straight forward with no flashy animation or a big colour palette. This simplistic design actually scratches an itch in my brain, and I wish all mouse software would look like this. The software has pretty much every setting you would want on a mouse, so I didn't find anything lacking. It also has an option for sensor angle tunning, which I love using.

Battery - 8/10

The OP1w has a 335 mAh battery. Now, I haven't tried using the mouse until it completely runs out of juice, but I assume at 1k polling rate, this can last me around a little more than a week. I personally don't like charging much, so having a moderate sized battery is always a plus. The battery will definitely last a lot shorter if you were to use it on 4k polling rate. Though, I never use anything above 1k, so I wouldn't know.

Price - 7/10

I bought this mouse for $949 HKD, which translate to roughly $121 USD. Now, if you ask me if this mouse is worth the price, I would say probably not. There are simply too many other cheaper options that deliver a similar experience. But I can't be mad about it because the build quality very much exceeded my expectation.

Conclusion

Pros:

• Excellent button quality

• Flawless sensor performance

• Light weight

• Very good coating

• Tactile scroll wheel

• Flexible cable

• Good glide on mouse skates

• Set of replacement skates

• Set of grip tapes

• Simplistic software

Cons:

• Expensive

• Size can be hit-or-miss

I'm pretty disappointed in this purchase, to be honest. I so want to love this mouse, but the small size just makes me not want to use it over an extended period of time. Everything about this is very good, but I just can't help but switch to another mouse after some time. Since it has extremely narrow sides and a short height, I don't have enough space to rest my fingers on. I believe this is truly a hit-or-miss for anyone who wants to look for a claw grip mouse. If you have small hands, go for it. If you have medium to large sized hand, think twice before buying it. Now, looking back at all the comments online about this mouse, I can say that it has its reasons to be praised as much as it does, but they often leave out the most important factor, which is its small size. This can honestly become an immediate 10 for me if it were just a little bit bigger. Maybe I should've gone with the XM2 instead of the OP1, now that I think about it. Just goes to show how important shape is for a mouse. Either way, I will give this experience a 7/10.