At first we would like to thank Corsair for offering us the Harpoon RGB Gaming Mouse for testing and reviewing.

 

About Corsair:

"Founded in 1994, Corsair has grown from pioneering the high-performance DRAM market to one of the world’s leading providers of enthusiast-grade PC components and peripherals. Our groundbreaking technology and innovation can be found in our high-performance memory, ultra-efficient power supplies, PC cases, PC and CPU cooling solutions, and solid-state storage devices. Under the Corsair Gaming brand, launched in 2014, we provide gaming keyboards, mice, headsets and mouse mats to eSports professionals and anybody who is passionate about competitive PC gaming.

 

Corsair hardware is regularly featured in showcase “dream systems,” and we have earned the adulation and respect of the press, professional gamers and overclockers, high-end system integrators, and PC enthusiasts worldwide by delivering leading-edge technology backed by renowned service and support.

 

Corsair has developed a global operations infrastructure with extensive marketing and distribution channel relationships, and our products are available through leading distributors and retailers in over sixty countries worldwide."

Product Features:

 

High-accuracy 6000 DPI optical gaming sensor: Advanced tracking and high-speed motion detection ideal for FPS gaming.

Lightweight, and contoured design: Designed to fit naturally in your hand and support multiple grip styles.

The upper surface features a fine coarse finish to provide a slip-free experience for ultimate control. The compact and lightweight body to help you with quick reactions and reduce fatigue over time.

Textured molded rubber side grips: Molded rubber side grips enable you to hold the mouse with a confident, firm grip. Don’t slip when lifting the mouse or making long or quick swipes.

Six fully-programmable buttons: Take control with extensive customization, anything from simple remaps to complex macros.

Onboard memory: Preconfigured for the best performance. No drivers, software or additional setup

required. Customize your DPI stages and take them with you, knowing they are stored safely on your mouse.

On-the-fly DPI switching: Adapt your mouse sensitivity to the situation for total command in every environment.

High-performance Omron switches rated for 20 million clicks: Custom tuned for gaming, providing an ultrafast response and reliability over time.

Dynamic multicolor backlighting: Smart lighting gives you that touch of personalization that makes it your own. Enjoy virtually infinite color and lighting effect customization.

High speed USB interface: Superior responsiveness for fast play. 1000Hz polling rate pushes the limits of the USB protocol for a lag-free experience

 

Product Specifications:

 

 

 

With the release of the Harpoon RGB mouse, Corsair is introducing another member to the affordable mice segment, at a MSRP of only $29.99. The product is aimed mostly at casual gamers which do enjoy a light mouse with a comfortable grip thanks to the rubberized finish on the lateral panels and is also open to customization thanks to the CUE unified software. The product is powered by a Pixart PMW3320 gaming optical sensor, which can deliver up to 6000 DPI, with a minimal value of 250, in increments of 250 DPI.

 

The product is shipped inside a small cardboard enclosure, featuring the Corsair Gaming styling, while on the frontal area we can see a list of the main product features:

 

 

 

On the side of the box we will get to see the package contents along with the system requirements listing:

 

 

 

Moving on to the right side, we will get to see more details regarding the product main features:

 

 

 

If this info is not enough for the buyer, Corsair has also included a more detailed look on the back side:

 

 

 

After opening up the box, we will get to see that the manufacturer has included the same documentation style as on higher-priced models; we will find a multi-language leaflet regarding product recycling, a Quick Start Guide, but also a Warranty Guide:

 

 

 

The manual will give us the basics on how to get everything running in a snap:

 

 

 

The mouse is held inside a custom plastic mold, so it would stay secured during transit:

 

 

 

The Harpoon RGB mouse comes with 111.5 (L) x 68.3 (W) x 40.4 (H) mm dimensions, while the shape should accommodate various hand grips and play styles. At just 85 grams, we could say that it is one of the lightest mice on the market:

 

 

 

The top area of the mouse does not sport a rubber finish, but a slightly textured plastic which is not slippery. In the back of the rubberized scroll wheel we have got another programmable button, which is initially set for on-the-fly DPI switching:

 

 

 

On its back, we will spot a RGB LED-lighted Corsair logo, which is fully configurable via CUE:

 

 

 

Since this is a light product, Corsair wanted to prevent gamers from slipping or dropping the mouse, so they did use rubber grips on the sides, with a custom texture; on the left side we do have two extra programmable buttons:

 

 

 

Here is also a look on the right side, which features a similar finishing, minus the programmable buttons:

 

 

 

On the edge of the left click button, we will be able to spot a Corsair logo; for this mouse, the manufacturer is using Omron switches rated for 20 million clicks. The buttons can be clearly heard when pressed and are a bit louder than the ones found on the Rival 700 high-end mouse:

 

 

 

The left and right button sides are well separated; with this design, if Corsair would have chosen to also include a LED-lighted scroll wheel, it would have created a nice effect on the surface, as we have seen with the M65 Pro RGB mouse:

 

 

 

The USB cable is not centered, but on the left side as with other Corsair mice:

 

 

 

The Harpoon RGB mouse is equipped with high-quality PTFE glide pads which are meant to reduce the friction and let the mouse move smoothly on the surface. One good feature is that Corsair has used an adhesive which allows the pads to be removed quickly, without leaving messy residues so can be replaced when worn during intensive use. The bottom area of the mouse also shows the product power rating, its serial number and also the Pixart 3320 sensor lens. We could also mention that the Harpoon comes with 128kB of onboard flash memory for storing settings from CUE. If we move to another computer which does not have CUE installed, we can use the previous settings straight up, since they will be accessed from the mouse hardware:

 

 

 

Since we are dealing with a mouse from the “affordable” segment, Corsair decided to cut some of the costs and included a regular USB cable, with no braiding:

 

 

 

The cable ends up with a custom-made USB connector:

 

 

 

Right after connecting the mouse to a spare USB port, the back LED light will turn on:

 

 

 

Even if we are dealing with a low-cost product, Corsair are giving the Harpoon RGB full support inside their unified software interface. After we have connected the mouse to our gaming machine, it was recognized right away and we were able to fully customize it. The Actions bar does allow us to remap the button functions as desired:

 

 

 

Here are the functions which we can alter/define:

 

 

 

First, we have Macros which can be recorded in a snap and assigned to the preferred button:

 

 

 

 

Text sequences are next:

 

 

 

We can also remap the buttons with different keyboard keys:

 

 

 

Multimedia buttons are next:

 

 

 

Timers can be also set up:

 

 

 

If a specific button or buttons are not needed, we can completely disable them:

 

 

 

A button can be also set for Profile Switching:

 

 

 

Moving on to the Lighting Effects, we can choose to work with the default modes, or create more extensive LED lighting profiles:

 

 

 

 

Here are the default LED lighting profiles we can work with:

 

Rainbow

Color Shift

 

Color Pulse

Static Color

 

By default, the mouse will not respond to our custom LED lighting modes (because it shows the LED light color representing the current profile); in order to enable this, we will have to press on the DPI Zone button, which is inactive by default. When we move from profile to profile, we need to press it again and for the mouse to remember this setting we have to press the Save button on each profile:

 

 

 

 

DPI switching can be pre-programmed on the respective tab; by default, each DPI preset is configured for both X and Y movement (they are linked); if we do press the X-Y DPI box, we will be allowed to set different values for horizontal and vertical movement. LED light colors can be assigned for each DPI step:

 

 

 

The Performance tab allows the user to enable the “Enhance Pointer Precision” feature, along with pointer acceleration:

 

 

 

The Polling Rate and LED brightness can be also adjusted by clicking on the small gear button which resides on the top area of the GUI:

 

 

 

The LED lighting of the Corsair logo can be fully customized thanks to the Corsair Utility Engine. When switching from one profile to another, we have observed that the Harpoon will default for a few seconds to the LED light color or the current profile:

 

After testing the mouse in various titles like Rise of Tomb Raider, Star Wars: The Old Republic, DOOM III, Mafia III and Paladins, we can conclude that the mouse tracks smooth, while the lateral buttons are easy accessible and feel responsive. The ergonomic shape which features a slightly textured top cover, along with the rubberized side panels allowed us to work with the mouse for several hours at a time while using a fingertip grip without getting sweaty or getting tired.

 

Having only a single configurable RGB LED in the back does not seem to benefit a lot from the CUE extensive light setups we can create, unless we do pair it with a Corsair RGB keyboard or the recently-reviewed MM800 RGB Polaris Mouse Pad.

 

Considering the mouse size and weight, we are inclined to recommend it more for people which are constantly on-the-go which do usually use laptops/convertibles rather than fully-fledged high-powered desktops; for the later we have better recommendations but unfortunately not in the price range of the Harpoon RGB.

 

The Harpoon RGB mouse does come with a MSRP of $29.99.

 

Corsair Harpoon RGB Gaming Mouse is Recommended for:

 

 

We would like to thank again to Corsair for making this review possible!