Sometimes you get your hands on a piece of hardware that just feels great rightFor me, that was the Logitech G502 Lightspeed Wireless – and now that mouse is nearing the end of its lifespan, and while I won’t have a full-blown Viking funeral for it, I am genuinely a little upset.
The G502 Lightspeed Wireless is a fairly advanced gaming mouse with a comfortable ergonomic design and understated RGB lighting. I’ve had it on my desk for over five years, but it’s only now starting to show signs of wear. The left mouse button, for example, is starting to give out. Most clicks still register, but clicking and dragging have become nearly impossible.
I can safely say that I’ve put this mouse through its paces over the past five years. Not only have I used it to sink literally thousands of hours into a variety of games, but it’s also been my daily commute to work since the pandemic forced me to work from home. It’s survived countless hours of frantic clicking, scrolling, and eating lunch at my desk (no, I’m not one for a “tidy desk, tidier mind”).
It is no exaggeration to say that I Love this mouse. It’s incredibly comfortable under the hand thanks to its curved shape and thumb rest, and the bottom has two magnetic panels that can be removed to add small metal weights inside – in other words, a little adjustment can create the perfect weight distribution for any user.
It’s also just a good gaming mouse: a 25,600 DPI sensor, long battery life, 1ms latency thanks to the proprietary Lightspeed USB dongle, and 11 remappable buttons make it a great choice for any genre of PC gaming.
Consistency above all
As much as I regret seeing my faithful gaming companion become less and less popular, there is certainly a silver lining.
See, Logitech is doing something I wish more PC hardware companies would take: taking a certain “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” approach to product design, which means I can still buy the exact same G502 Lightspeed Wireless mouse I originally bought five years ago. Many companies would have made the original product obsolete in that time frame, replacing it with new models two or three times over (I’m looking at you, Razer).
Hell, Logitech has been using the same design for its mainstream 1080p webcam – the Logitech C920 – for over a decade now, with only minor generational improvements over the years. There’s a reason that cam still sits at the top of our best webcams rankings , is what I’m saying.
The G502 Lightspeed has been replaced on our list of the best gaming mice by the newer, shinier Logitech G502 X Plus , but it’s still the same excellent mouse at its core. Gamers on a budget could always opt for the G502 Hero, which has many of the great designs and features of my favorite mouse in a less expensive package.
But you can’t have too much of a good thing, so while I’m currently sporting a temporary replacement from NZXT, I can’t wait to take my paycheck to the Logitech G Store to pick up an identical replacement for my beloved G502 Lightspeed Wireless. There’s just one problem, and that’s the price: $99.99 / £139.99 (around AU$150, but it’s no longer available from Logitech in Australia). Why is it so expensive in the UK, Logitech?
I think I’ll wait for a Black Friday deal… unless the good folks at Logitech read this and feel sorry for a poor tech journalist. Fingers crossed, readers!
