Aftershock Hexar Pro review: Wireless gaming on a budget

Aftershock Hexar Pro review: Wireless gaming on a budget

The best gaming mice on the market don't come cheap. So when a budget offering rolls around, we sit up and take notice. Like most other Aftershock products (such as their recent Oden V2 mechanical keyboard), the Hexar Pro wireless gaming mouse is all about providing the best bang for your buck.

At an affordable S$69, it manages to include most of the features of top wireless mice today, such as a comfortable ambidextrous shape and lightweight honeycomb shell. The question is whether or not it does its job as well as its competitors.

That answer is something of a mixed bag. Let's just say the Hexar Pro is a perfect example of the truism you get what you pay for. It's a decent pick for its price, but there are several caveats attached to it.

The most glaring one would be the subpar wireless performance. When the 2.4GHz dongle was plugged into the back of my PC, I experienced frequent lag and jitter, where the cursor would stop responding or begin to stutter. That problem was fixed once I moved the dongle to a front USB port, where there were fewer things to get in the way of the signal.

This is a mouse that could definitely use an adapter to bring the dongle closer to the mouse, but unfortunately, there isn't one provided in the box.

My other gripe is the weight. At 79g, the Hexar Pro is still heavy by today's standards. When you've been spoiled by mice like the Razer Viper V2 Pro and Logitech G Pro X Superlight, both of which weigh around the 60g range, it isn't easy to go back to anything heavier. The Hexar Pro feels ponderous in comparison, and its weight distribution seemed skewed toward its rear, which felt slightly odd.

Having said that, the Hexar Pro is also a third of the price of those mice, so it isn't a fair comparison. For its price, it's good enough for folks not looking to shell out for the top end of the market.

Its conservative, ambidextrous shape ensures that it will appeal to a wide swath of gamers. This is a medium to large mouse, measuring 125mm long. With a relatively low-profile hump, it is suited for virtually any grip style, assuming you have large hands. If your hands are on the smaller side, you'll probably be limited to the palm grip as I was.

To the Hexar's credit, build quality is also relatively robust, with no noticeable flexing or creaking when pushing on the sides and bottom. The mouse buttons are also separate from the rest of the shell, which ensures that the shell does not flex every time you click a button

I had no complaints about the primary mouse buttons. The Kailh switches felt crisp and responsive enough, but the side buttons were a different story. Both side buttons were mushy with significant post-travel, sinking far into the body of the mouse when pressed.

Elsewhere, the scroll wheel has considerable resistance and may take some getting used to. It also lacks the well-defined, tactile steps of some other wheels, and has a slightly mushy feel to it.

The DPI button sits below the scroll wheel, toggling between six DPI steps. Each DPI stage corresponds to a specific indicator colour, which illuminates the Aftershock logo through the honeycomb grille. Most folks will probably be happy with the 800 DPI step, which corresponds to white.

There is also a separate polling rate button at the bottom of the mouse. However, there doesn't seem to be any way to tell what polling rate the mouse is on. The coloured indicator will flash a different colour when the button is pressed, but it's not immediately clear which colour is pegged to what polling rate.

The PixArt 3335 optical sensor isn't the newest out there, but it works well enough once the dongle is close enough. There was no noticeable skipping or acceleration in-game — you just have to be sure that the dongle is within range so your connection remains consistent.

The mouse feet are okay, but not great. They lack the rounded edges and smoothness of the feet on some pricier competitors. Still, they're definitely serviceable, and you may not notice anything wrong if you're not looking for it.

The Hexar Pro ships with a flexible paracord cable, which plugs into the mouse via a USB-C connection. Aftershock is claiming up to 55 hours of battery life, which translates to about a week of heavy use.

If you need to travel, the dongle stows magnetically into a slot at the bottom of the mouse. It's a clever solution that ensures you won't ever lose it, and it's one of the best things about the mouse.

Conclusion

The Hexar Pro is a mouse for someone on a budget who needs a wireless gaming mouse that just works. It won't knock any of the top gaming mice off their pedestal, but it is a solid enough option for anyone who wants a decent gaming mouse without breaking the bank.

That said, more discerning customers with bigger budgets will probably want to look elsewhere – particularly if you want a wireless mouse – since its unreliable wireless performance may be a dealbreaker if your PC happens to be located a distance away from the rest of your setup.

You can find the Hexar Pro wireless mouse at Aftershock's online store at S$69.