Finalmouse Ultralight 2 vs. Glorious Model O-: Small, fast, and lightweight

How small is too small?

2019 has been the year of holey, ultralight mice. There have been some notable exceptions, such as the Razer Viper and Endgame Gear XM1, but those are relatively heavier at 69g and 70g respectively. So far, it seems like if you want to make a mouse really, really light – say, under 60g – you'll have to poke some holes in it. 

That said, while there's been a slew of esports-oriented mice in recent months, few have been more hotly anticipated than the Finalmouse Ultralight 2 and Glorious Model O-. Both of these are some of the smallest and lightest mice to be released, and they join the Cooler Master MM710 in offering compact shapes that are better suited to claw and fingertrip grippers.

But is one better than the other? Here's a closer look at the both of them. 

Design and shape

Let me just start off by saying that the Ultralight 2 is really tiny. It's smaller even than the Model O-, which is itself a smaller version of the original Model O. Here's a look at how their dimensions stack up:

The roughly half-centimetre difference in length may seem minuscule, but it actually feels really obvious after switching back and forth between the two. 

When it comes to grip style, it feels like the Model O- might be better suited to the fingertip grip, while the Ultralight 2 works better with claw and to a certain extent palm grip, although the latter only really works if you have smaller hands. 

The Ultralight 2 supports your palm better because of its slightly more prominent hump, while the Model O- has a more low-profile shape. That said, I'm able to palm the Model O- as well, but I also have rather small hands at just 16.5cm long, so you can use that as a rough guide as to whether or not it'll be suitable for you.

The longer length of the Model O- also means that you don't have as much room to manoeuvre the mouse, such as when you want to pull it down using just your fingers. That's because the longer body reduces the amount of space there is between the back of the mouse and your palm. Once again, I only noticed this because I have smaller hands. The Model O- is already significantly smaller than its bigger brother, and it'll probably be fine for most people. 

That aside, both are very slim mice in the middle, and the main differences are in the length and height. Unlike with the Cooler Master MM710 or Zowie S2, I didn't feel like they need to shave off any more millimeters down the middle. 

In terms of size and shape, there's no doubt that the Ultralight 2 fits me better, but that's really a matter of personal preference. However, the Ultralight 2 also has one more trick, or should I say gimmick, up its sleeve to appeal to those of you with larger hands. It ships with three packs of Infinity Skins of varying thickness, and you can pick from 1.2mm, 2mm, or 2.5mm skins. 

The skins are made of a "foamposite" material that is kind of squishy to touch. They have 3M backing tape on them and are supposedly made to be reusable. I have my doubts about that, but at the very least, the adhesive still seemed quite strong even after reapplying it a few times. 

That said, I'm really not a fan of the Infinity Skins. Aside from the fact that they're basically expensive grip tape, the idea that they're made to be stacked one on top of another to suit larger hands sounds ridiculous to me. I'll just let the picture below do the talking. 

The mouse is certainly big now, but it looks and feels awkward. When holding the mouse in this state, I can clearly feel where the skins start and end. It's distracting, to say the least, but the biggest problem is that the side buttons are now recessed, which makes them really hard to press. This is a problem even with the thinnest 1.2mm skin – the buttons are flush with the surface, which still makes them more difficult to access. If you use the side buttons for building in Fortnite, forget about using the skins. 

If you look closely, you can also see the top piece starting to lift shortly after application. Overall, the Infinity Skins feel like an inelegant solution to a problem that doesn't really exist. If you want a bigger mouse, you should just go get a large mouse that fits you. Don't buy a small mouse and then stick skins on it to make it bigger.

The most feasible application of the skins is probably to just stick to the thinnest 1.2mm set. You can leave out the left side grip, since that causes problems with the side buttons, but you can still apply the skins to the top and right side. The mouse is still quite comfortable this way, and it covers up the holes if you don't like them. 

A final thing to note – the skins do leave some sticky residue behind, so be prepared to wipe that away with some alcohol swabs. 

Build quality

Both mice are quite well-built, although I'd have to give a slight edge to the Ultralight 2. While there are no major issues like rattling or flexing, the Model O- does have noticeably more button wobble than the Ultralight 2. It's easy to move the left- and right-click buttons from side to side, whereas the buttons on the Ultralight 2 are more firmly anchored in place.

That said, this isn't something that bothered me when I was using the Model O-, and you'll have to actively be looking for it to notice it.

Buttons on both mice still feel really good, with no discernible pre-travel. I particularly like the side buttons on the Model O-, which are crisp and pleasantly springy. 

In addition, the Ultralight 2's cable just feels and looks better. While the Model O- has a slightly more supple cable, the Ultralight 2 uses a narrower cord that looks much neater. It is free from kinks throughout and has a uniform appearance. On the other hand, the Ascended Cord on the Model O- is thicker and looser, with small kinks in the cable as well. 

Having said that, I want to stress that the cables on both mice are excellent. There's nearly zero drag and the fabric weave is really flexible. And all that won't even matter if you want to replace it with an actual paracord cable, which is even more fluid.

The Model O- is available in both glossy and matte finishes. I have the matte finish, which is better for humid climates or sweaty palms. On the other hand, you might prefer the glossy if you have dry hands. The Ultralight 2 uses a matte-textured plastic too, which Finalmouse refers to as a "raw composite" base. What this means is that the plastic hasn't been treated or coated with anything, a necessary step to prevent the application and removal of the Infinity Skins from degrading the coating.

However, I prefer the scroll wheel on the Model O-. It has more clearly defined notches and grooves cut out into it, which feels more precise to me. Conversely, the scroll wheel on the Ultralight 2 is a lot lighter and it'll have you breezing through the individual steps like they're nothing. That aside, both scroll wheels are smooth and relatively quiet, which is arguably the most important part of the design for me.

Performance

As with most modern gaming mice today, the Model O- and Ultralight 2 are both equipped with flawless optical sensors. You'll find the same PMW 3360 sensor on the both of them, but Glorious lets you go up to 12,000DPI on the Model O- and offers six configurable DPI stages through their own software. On the other hand, the Ultralight 2 is limited to just 400, 800, 1,600, and 3,200DPI in typical Finalmouse fashion, with no driver available whatsoever. The Ultralight 2 is also still limited to a 500Hz polling rate, an odd decision in 2019 to be sure, but fortunately not one that actually affects gaming performance in any tangible way. 

You can cycle through the various DPI stages using a dedicated button located below the scroll wheel on both mice, but the Model O- also has a helpful colour-coded DPI indicator at the bottom.

As expected, tracking is flawless across the board, and you really don't have to worry about the sensor here. Glorious does let you customise the lift-off distance (LOD) and debounce time in its software, and I just went with the lowest setting for both options.

Glorious' driver also offers controls for the onboard RGB lighting, which play along the side rails and the interior of the mouse quite nicely. 

Furthermore, at 47g for the Ultralight 2 and 58g for the Model O-, they're both amazingly light and nimble. It's a joy to play with both – a light mouse is truly easier to control and make micro-adjustments with your wrist.

I have no complaints about the stock mouse feet either. There's none of the scratchiness that I noticed on the Razer Viper and the Cooler Master MM710, and they both glide smoothly right out of the box. That may partly be due to the feet having rounded edges by default, which means they don't dig into your mouse mat.

Conclusion: Well, it depends...

For most intents and purposes, I see the Glorious Model O- being the more popular choice for the vast majority of folks. It's small enough to make those who thought the Model O was too big happy, but it's not so small as to end up excluding even more people (which might actually be the case with the Ultralight 2). 

At S$99, the Model O- offers pretty good bang for your buck. It's tough to find serious fault with it, seeing as it offers a flawless optical sensor, light weight, and even RGB lighting. It's readily available to buy too, the same of which can't be said of the Ultralight 2. 

Having said that, if you're interested in a tiny mouse, X-treme Solution has just said that they will be bringing in the Ultralight 2 in October for S$189. It probably won't be restocked once it sells out though, so short of going on Carousell, this is your one chance to buy the mouse locally.

I don't need to point out the vast difference in price. The disparity is stark, especially given how similar the two are in terms of features, with the Model O- even offering more with its RGB lighting, choice of colours and finishes, and driver customisation options. The Ultralight 2 does have its Infinity Skins, but that feels like an almost useless feature that Finalmouse should have just taken out in order to lower the price. 

At the end of the day, it depends on how much you're willing to pay for a mouse that suits you. I'd argue that the Ultralight 2's stiff price tag is almost worth it if you've constantly struggled to find a small-enough mouse like me. If not, you should almost certainly go with the Model O-. 

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