Verdict

For the price it’s retailing for, the Corsair Harpoon offers obscene value for money when pitted against its rivals

Pros

• Small, comfortable and minimal design
• Intuitive to use and easy to customise
• Wireless mode presents impressive battery life

Cons

• Might trouble larger hands
• 10,000 DPI sensor not quite as accurate as similarly priced rivals

What is the Corsair Harpoon RGB Wireless?

The Corsair Harpoon is a gaming mouse available in both wired and wireless variants, with the latter entitled the Corsair Harpoon RGB Wireless and coming in at roughly double the price. Knowing this, its £54.99 price tag comes with heightened expectations.

Boasting a small, comfortable form factor and a satisfactory set of features for the low cost, Corsair has introduced a gaming mouse that’s easy to recommend, surprisingly lacking in the shortcomings you’d expect from a wireless peripheral. It also looks really snazzy.

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This is a tiny mouse that packs an unsuspecting punch

Corsair Harpoon RGB Wireless – Design, build and features

The second my hand gripped the Corsair Harpoon’s soft body, I knew I was in for a treat. Corsair’s matte black colour scheme contrasts greatly with the logo on the lower bottom, enhanced with a flurry of RGB lighting options. The scroll wheel feels like a miniature tyre, softly textured in a way that’s smooth and intuitive to operate.

Below that is a small button used to cycle through five DPI presets which control the cursor sensitivity. Each one is indicated by a distinctive colour, so you’re seldom lost when it come to finding one you’re comfortable with. The plastic edges above the left and right mouse buttons are almost sharp, offering a distinctly rugged aesthetic.

Moving onto the sides, you’ll discover a duo of textures that feel great on your fingers and ideal for long sessions. The mouse itself could be a little small for users with larger hands, and I found a claw grip of sorts worked for me. This isn’t the most comfortable method of mouse control in the world, but I never felt myself cramping up.

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The scroll wheel and accompanying buttons feel cleverly placed amidst the minimal design

If wireless mice aren’t your cup of tea, you can wire up instead with the packaged cable. It plugs straight into the back of your mouse via micro-USB in a way that’s completely seamless. Having both wired and wireless avenues offers the Harpoon RGB Gaming Mouse a flexibility that’s really appreciated, although if you do prefer a wired setup you might as well buy the cheaper wired Corsair Harpoon variant. 

Corsair Harpoon RGB Wireless – Performance

The Corsair Harpoon RGB Wireless gives you the option of a USB dongle or Bluetooth for wireless connectivity. They both work flawlessly with no noticeable issues even after several hours of use, aside from a few Bluetooth hiccups when turning my computer on from scratch.

The 10,000 DPI sensor beats out rivals such as the Razer Abyssus in the same price bracket, and having the ability to easily customise it puts the Corsair Harpoon comfortably ahead. It can’t quite beat the likes of the Logitech G Pro Wireless  and Corsair Dark Core RGB SE though, which both offer a 16,000 DPI. 

Still, the Corsair Harpoon RGB Wireless offers a supremely accurate performance, controlling with a convenient level of ease. You’ll need to figure out your personal sweet spot, but after that, it’s smooth sailing.

Thanks to the low-latency connection, issues you’d expect from a wireless mouse aren’t prevalent and ensure movement is fast and without delay. Even in titles like Apex Legends where razor-sharp responses are paramount, I rarely felt like I was being left behind because of my hardware choice. The wired option will likely present more benefits overall, but you’re losing very little here.

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Your thumbs will be resting comfortably thanks to the textured grips on each side.

In terms of battery life, the Corsair Harpoon is a formidable beast, with the 840 mAh battery boasting a maximum life of 60 hours or so from my testing. It’s worth noting this figure applies to using it without RGB lighting and in power saving mode. However, it still managed a healthy 30 hours in 2.4GHz  mode until we even thought about pulling the charging cable out. The fact it’s still usable in wired mode while charging made is incredibly useful too. 

Corsair Harpoon RGB Wireless – Software and lighting

When it comes to gaming peripherals, you can’t hang out with the cool kids unless you’ve got a bespoke piece of software for customising every little thing. Corsair joins the party with CUE, an interface which provides an impressive array of options for getting the most out of mice, keyboards and whatever else you plug into your gaming machine.

It became clear after installing the client that it doesn’t just encompass peripherals, but those with Corsair hardware inside their gaming rig. This means you can enable the lighting profile to span across absolutely everything. While I only saw it implemented on the Corsair Harpoon, I imagine the full monty is a sight to behold.

You could argue it’s more difficult to wrap your head around than Razer Synapse and similar offerings, but I didn’t have much trouble getting to grips with customising the Harpoon. Speaking of, you can adjust the commands of all buttons with the exception of left-click, making it perfect for competitive players who relish in unique shortcuts across their arsenal.

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The RGB lighting on offer here is subtle yet striking, and ripe for your own customisation

Should you buy the Corsair Harpoon RGB Wireless?

For the price it’s retailing for, the Corsair Harpoon offers obscene value for money when pitted against its rivals.

If it was wired, this would still be a juicy proposition, but the fact it’s a wireless model with excellent performance and customisation features elevates it to another echelon entirely.

Verdict

If you’re after a fantastic value gaming mouse then the Harpoon RGB Wireless is a solid choice.

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