Introduction and Grips

It seems like this is the year of the gaming mouse, with new products from Logitech, Microsoft, Razer and SteelSeries. The first one to get us a sample to have a play with was Logitech with its new G9 mouse. Even from the word go people thought it looked odd and we can't disagree that we had our doubts about this new design, since the previous design has been around for a good few years now, even though it has received a few tweaks along the road.

The most unique aspect with the G9 is the fact that the shape of the mouse can be changed, something no other mouse has ever offered. The interchangeable grips are an excellent idea and the mouse ships with two different grips so hopefully Logitech will follow through and release more grips for it in the future.

The two different styles supplied in the box consist of a smaller grip with a similar texture to the G5, a sort of rough sandpaper style surface. Logitech calls this the Precision grip as it's also smaller than the second one which is known as the Wide Load grip. The Wide Load is as the name suggests much wider, it has a more pronounced thumb grip and it has a higher, longer and larger palm surface.

The texture of the Wide Load grip is a velvety soft rubber finish and it has an extra glide surface due to the bigger thumb rest. Both grips have two thumb buttons, but they seem to be located a little bit too high up on the mouse, more so on the Wide Load grip than the Precision grip. Removing the grip reveals a fairly small mouse and it's still fully functional and might suite someone with very small hands. The side buttons are actually located here and the buttons on the grips push onto the buttons on the mouse.

The grips are attached to the front of the mouse and locked in place by two metal bars at the rear. You release the grips simply by pressing the large button at the lower rear part of the mouse and then by simply lifting them forward. It's also here were you'll find the weight compartment and this has been completely redesigned from the G5. The cartridge is released by pushing it inwards and it now only takes four weights.