SteelSeries Kinzu V2 Pro Edition Review

SteelSeries Kinzu V2 Pro Edition

Manufacturer: SteelSeries
UK price (as reviewed): £27.99 (inc VAT)
US price (as reviewed): Unknown

It’s pretty clear that top end gaming mice are little more than exercises in willy waving and self indulgence. We’d argue that you’d have to be some kind of seven finger uber ninja to take advantage of even half of the features on offer on some of the more extreme mice out there.

With this in mind the Steelseries Kinzu V2 Pro Edition (or Kinzu V2PE as we’ll refer to it) seems refreshing as it’s a mouse for - as Steelseries puts it - ‘players that don’t want more than minimal buttons and functionality, but that recognize minimal still means quality and precision’. As a result the Kinzu V2PE lacks the programmable LEDs, laser lift settings and fine grain sensitivity adjustment that it’s bigger brother, the Sensei, boasts. Unfortunately Steelseries seems to have felt the need to make up for this lack of features with an abundance of names - the model that Steelseries sent us was a glossy black special edition version of the mouse, making it the Kinzu V2 Pro Edition Special Edition. Do we need to have a talk about the benefits of brevity Steelseries?


The Kinzu V2PE isn’t totally lacking in features however as it does wield posh Omron button switches under its two main buttons. In fact it’s this feature that earns the Kinzu V2PE its Pro Edition moniker - the plain old Kinzu V2 sports not quite so posh switches under its main two buttons. As a result the Kinzu V2PE’s buttons have a pleasantly crunchy feel to them, giving a nice bit of tactile feedback when actuated.

It’s a good job the main buttons feel nice to use too as they are the only ones on the Kinzu (save of course the scroll wheel button), so you’ll be using them alot. This is, in our eyes, is an oversight as it means the Kinzu V2PE is missing a thumb button - something which we think has long moved from the box marked ‘features’ to the box marked ‘ things which you expect every mouse to have’. We’ll agree it’s not a view shared by all, but you’re on our website so, um, naaaaaaa.

The shape of the Kinzu V2PE is also a cause for concern; it’s ambidextrous - which is to be commended - but it’s also very low slung, meaning it’ll be dwarfed by anyone with larger than average hands. This styling means the Kinzu V2PE is more suited to those who grip their mouse with their finger tips rather than their palm, as there simply isn’t enough of a hump to use the latter grip comfortably.


A further annoyance for those using a palm grip is the shiny plastic surface of the Kinzu V2PE, which gets sweaty quickly. This obviously isn’t such a problem when using a finger tip grip as this arrangement generally allows air to circulate between the mouse and the hand.

As with most gaming mice the Kinzu V2PE features a braided cable and a button to flick between DPI settings. You’re limited to two DPI settings, but these can be tweaked using the freely downloadable Steelseries Engine software.

Conclusion

The Steelseries Kinzu V2 Pro Edition aims to cut straight to the heart of what gamers want - build quality and accuracy. To its credit, it achieves these goals, as it’s a sturdy little mouse that feels accurate and sharp to use. These aren’t the only criteria to asses a mouse by however, and for us its small size and lack of back button are drawbacks which mean that, despite its low price, we can’t recommend you invest in one.