ROCCAT Kone Pure Optical Review: The ultimate comfort gaming mouse

Having used a Razer Naga MMO for most of my gaming needs, I've grown accustomed to the additional functionality provided by the 12 side buttons. But don't let the lack of blatantly noticeable buttons on the Kone Pure Optical mouse trick you into thinking this mouse isn't as capable of such things.

Anyone who has used a ROCCAT peripheral is likely already familiar with the Easy-Shift[+] functionality. This feature acts as a button duplicator, allowing you to assign multiple functions to a key, or in the case of the ROCCAT Kone Pure Optical mouse, one of the eight mouse buttons.

Activating the Easy-Shift[+] mouse button allows the other eight mouse buttons to perform a secondary action, increasing the number of available functions from nine to 16. The Kone Pure Optical gives the appearance of simplistic mouse, but actually offers just as much functionality. And with the design of the Easy-Shift[+], the functions are mapped to parts on the mouse that your hand is already comfortable pressing. So there are really no adjustments that need to be made to gain full functionality; it just feels natural.

Speaking of "feel," the Kone Pure Optical has one of the nicest surfaces I've held. Its "soft-touch, ultra-comfort" surface is exactly as it sounds: extremely comfortable. Admittedly, I don't know exactly what material it's made from, but it definitely feels nice and smooth. More importantly, I've noticed very little sweat and no irritation after extended use.

In terms of form factor, the Kone Pure Optical has a much sleeker, smaller design. Checking in with a slimmer profile that's actually 91% the size of the Kone[+], the change is definitely noticeable. Again, being used to the Naga at home and the Bloody Gun3 at work, the Kone Pure Optical definitely took some adjustment. My fiancée, on the other hand, enjoyed the smaller form factor.

To me, comfort and grip at the most important aspects of a mouse, but for you technical gurus out there, the Kone Pure Optical has all of the settings and specs you'd expect from a gaming mouse. The Pro-Optic R3 optical sensor with DPI adjustable up to 4000 DPI allows you to adjust the speed of mouse movements to your preference. Everyone prefers different settings, so it's best to just play around with the drivers and find what suits you best. Trust me, if there is a specific feel you're going for, ROCCAT will allow it.

Once you find those settings, the Kone Pure Optical has the power to store it. It's packed with 576KB of on-board memory which, for me at least, is plenty of room to store macros and profiles. The 32-bit Turbo Core V2 processor allowed me to pull up custom settings almost immediately.

Tech specs and form factor aside, the Kone Pure Optical does one last thing to improve your gaming experience — it adjusts to the mood. At the end of the mouse (where your palm rests), is the signature ROCCAT logo that you can set in your choice of one of 16.8 million colors. You can even program the logo for cool effects, like a color rotation of your favorite shades. The downside to this is that since the logo is located right where your palm rests it becomes hidden when you start to use the mouse. It's still a neat feature to see when first walking into the room, though.

While I'm also using the ROCCAT Isku at home, the Kone Pure Optical was my first ROCCAT gaming mouse — and color me impressed. The seven fully-programmable buttons, with the added Easy-Shift[+], gives me all of the functionality I expect, but in a clean and uncluttered mouse space. Outside of the overall size, there were really no adjustments that I had to make to get comfortable with it. It's easy to use, powerful, and, best of all, extremely comfortable.