This is the first “gaming” mouse I’ve bought in years that’s more than ₱500. The last “expensive” mouse I bought was a second Logitech G102 with yet another wonky Omron microswitch in its left button which went on a fritz after six months. After that, I bought a Rakk Alti for ₱350 and took out the lead weight inside it to make it lighter. However, that wasn’t light enough for me to keep using it, so I bought the Tecware EXO L+ upon a friend’s recommendation.
The Tecware EXO L+ is yet another honeycomb mouse that boasts lightness above all else while still being quite affordable compared to its other ultra-light counterparts like the Glorious Model O, Cooler Master MM710, and so on. Finally, after seeing and hearing about it on the internet, mostly from the esports realm, I relented and bought a cheese grater mouse.
I then noticed that it may be the same OEM model as the Ajazz AJ390. If that’s true, I don’t have any problem with that. Recently, I bought a Rakk Pluma wireless mechanical keyboard, which is the same OEM model as the Ajazz K680T. It’s pretty common for these B-tier regional tech brands to share the same OEM models. Brands like Ajazz, Rakk, and Tecware are known for having pretty good quality products for the price.
You may think that once you see a cheese grater mouse, you’ve seen them all. I can say that having used this mouse for the past three weeks, I didn’t magically gain godlike aim and slick flicks simply because my mouse now has colorful lights and weighs less than 70 grams (barely). The ultra-lightness is indeed noticeable at first after having used a brick of a mouse for years, but you mostly return to your usual kinesthetics soon enough.
NOTE: This is a full peripheral review based on the reviewer’s preferences and needs. Your needs may be different and you may find this review to not have the information you need. Reader discretion is advised.
Design
As far as cheese grater mice go, the Tecware EXO L+ is one of the less outrageous out there. Then again, it takes much of its aesthetics and physical design from the Glorious Model O. If you happen to like that design, consider this a more affordable version of that highly-touted mouse.
The matte finish makes it less icky as it doesn’t hang onto fingerprints. Any brand that sells mice with glossy finish these days should be an automatic fail. Never mind if it’s ABS plastic since that will still take time to get unpleasantly shiny. But if it’s glossy to begin with, that’s a work of Satan and should be banished to the smokey mountain of e-waste.
Perhaps what surprised me most was the paracord cable, which is soft and flexible. I was ready to wrestle with yet another stiff braided cable like with all the other mice I’ve ever had, yet this one has the nicest and most forgiving cable I’ve ever had the pleasure of managing for my setup. If there’s one reason why you should choose this, it’s the cable.
Aside from the similarities with the Glorious Model O, there’s not much else to it. The Tecware EXO L+ just took a dependable design and kept costs down. It’s the right size and shape, as well as weight to make the marketing slightly cheeky. (It’s 69 grams, which is nice.)
Functionality
In terms of functionality, the selling point of the Tecware EXO L+ is the 1000Hz polling rate, which goes well with the lightness to make for more precise control. The target market is the first-person shooter playerbase, who benefits the most from this functionality.
It’s pretty much a Glorious Model O-, but for less money. I’m sorry if I have to keep harping on about this, but that’s what it is. You also get RGB lighting, which you can modify through official software and the LED Mode button on the bottom beside the sensor. If you care about your pretty lights, it gives you what you want.
The one flaw I found from the model I bought is the middle button. It tends to double click by itself at times whenever I want to open links in a new tab on my web browser. I would notice that every so often, it would open two tabs instead of one as I’d expect.
Value
It’s a Glorious Model O for less than ₱1,000 ($20), and it still has all the bells and whistles you’d expect from an ultra-light gaming mouse. It’s not a Logitech G Pro Wireless, but what more do you need from a mouse other than reliable accuracy and comfort?
The other mouse I was eyeing was the Rakk Talan wireless mouse, as well as this mouse’s bigger brother, the Tecware EXO Elite. But I didn’t feel like I wanted to get a wireless mouse because I also bought the Keychron K2 V2 Bluetooth keyboard with hotswappable switches.
For around ₱800, this is great value. While it may have a wonky middle click, all the other buttons are good and it continues to feel good in the hand. I’ve played games like DOOM Eternal, Valorant, and Elden Ring (I played that game with keyboard and mouse like a heretic), and it’s a definite improvement over my last mouse.
Final Score
The Tecware EXO L+ is a good option for anyone looking for a genuine article in gaming mice while not paying the usual cost that most would expect to spend with a “gaming mouse.” For a fraction of the price, you can get the same quality you’d expect from a Logitech or a Glorious or a Razer (or lack thereof). Of course, you can also look up mice that pro gamers use, like the Zowie EC2 or some other cult classic, and call it a day. But the great thing with brands like Tecware is that you can get something very close to that quality and performance on a budget. Besides, it’s still good to play with a lighter mouse.
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