A single mouse to rule them all. The ROCCAT Kone XP Air is that mouse that rules all mice. It has a light design that is sleek as it is comfortable, a customization software that allows you to add some personal panache to the mousing experience, and a dock that is fast charging as it is passthrough useful. There’s a lot to love about ROCCAT’s latest addition to its mouse family.
Let’s get into it.
Design is key
While the general shape of the ROCCAT Kone XP Air is gamer-friendly and familiar to most PC elitists out there, the weight of this mouse will be the first thing you notice when you’re pulling it out of the box. It is light as a feather in comparison to its BURST brethren, but a little heavy on the bottom to keep it grounded. It’s a great balance between easy-going and gamer-ready. I absolutely love that about the mouse because most mice in the past always had a certain uncomfortable weight about them, though mostly tolerable. The reason why getting this right is important is so you can avoid wrist or hand fatigue. Any good weightlifting instructor will tell you that micro-lifting and working tiny tendons and muscle groups is a great thing but working them too much can create issues. The ROCCAT Kone XP Air lies somewhere perfect where using it will feel solid but lifting/pushing weight on your table isn’t going to happen. I used this mouse many times since receiving it two weeks ago, and it hasn’t fatigued my wrist once. I used it for graphical work, video editing, playing games on my MSI, and general website work. It’s breathtaking how inconspicuous it is when it comes to how it feels using it.
The second part of the design that is impressive is its charging station. It’s a quick charging station that will keep your mouse more than alive every time you use it. The docking part is intuitive in some nice HCI-backed design (lay it right down in an angle to dock it) and it features a large USB-C charging cable that is fabric-protected and long (thank you for this, ROCCAT). The dock also acts as a passthrough which is incredibly useful. As any USB-C expert (no such thing) will attest, the cable not only acts as a charger but also provides enough power to the dock to act as a passthrough for nearly any USB device. For example, I hooked up a gaming controller through it and it worked. I hooked up my AVerMedia game capture device through it and it captured. Hell, I hooked up the ROCCAT Kone XP Air’s dongle through it and it worked just fine. There are a lot of uses for this passthrough and I’m impressed someone did this, as we laptop users sometimes run out of USB ports quickly, especially when we don’t have a Bluetooth mouse available to use. The only device that didn’t pass through it perfectly was an external hard drive that required power. It did make some awful noises, though, which was more than entertaining.
Staying with Bluetooth, the ROCCAT Kone XP Air features a Bluetooth and dongle option, something I was first introduced to with the ROCCAT BURST. I like that there is a choice between the two and enjoy the fact that if I run out of USB ports, I can always switch the mouse over to BT. Having that option at my disposal and being able to switch between them at will is something that can’t be understated. It’s an option that should have been a thing way back in the day when gaming mice were becoming a thing. While I still don’t support a dongle-driven world, which should have died in the 90s, being able to choose is proper for this type of mouse. I do understand that this mouse is probably compatible with some consoles because of that dongle, but I still don’t love it. Anyway, my dongle-hating rant is wrapped. Let’s move along.
SWARM compatible
One of the cooler and brighter points of the ROCCAT mice family is that they have software for adjusting the mice’s style and capabilities. The ROCCAT Swarm software allows you to customize your colorful mouse and adjust how it moves and reacts. There is an extensive amount of customization for the Kone XP Air for those pro-gamers out there. The DPI Switcher alone will have you happy as can be. For me, I enjoy button customization, as it allows me to assign to execute buttons at will. The last time I reviewed the BURST, I was introduced to SWARM, and it absolutely blew my mind. The smaller details of the mousing experience are something to behold and the software works well for the Kone XP Air. The software is just pick/choose, click apply, and done. It’s so incredibly easy that you can micro-adjust the mouse to find that perfect sweet spot for your gaming and everyday work needs without it feeling like a chore.
How dedicated are you?
I know over the last few decades, people who play PC games are pretty darn dedicated to their mouse. I remember going to E3s and talking with the likes of Logitech and having their main product line-up be mice. When a device is important enough to create an entire E3 presentation around it, you know it’s big time in the industry. It’s safe to assume that having a good balanced, customizable, and comfortable mouse is important for PC elitists out there. I mean, they’re not bragging about how comfortable their Xbox controller is, right? Anyway, this rambling is leading to one question, would you pay $169.99 for a mouse? It’s pricey, but considering the potential longevity, the customization that comes with it, and the comfortable experience on top of all that, it might be worth the squeeze a bit. Of course, a PC noob like myself doesn’t fully grasp that this is chump change when you consider cameras for streamers, $499+ headphones for gamers, and giant driving rigs that reach up to the thousands for those dedicated to iRacing or F1. While it’s a sticker shock to me, it’s more than common and what the ROCCAT Kone XP Air brings to the table is everything you would want with a gaming mouse. It’s impressive in almost every way.
On that note, let’s wrap this sucker up.
Conclusion
The ROCCAT Kone XP Air mouse is what you want for a perfect gaming experience. It’s crazy adjustable, customizable, comfortable, and sets a new bar for what gaming mouse manufacturers should be considering with their next design. I cannot recommend this mouse enough.
