Fnatic FLICK G1 Mouse Review

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Fnatic FLICK G1 Optical Gaming Mouse Review
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By David Ramsey

Manufacturer: Fnatic PTY Ltd
Product Name: FLICK G1 Optical Mouse
Part Number: 1001001-1001 (really!)
UPC: 817301018586 EAN: 7350041088585
Price As Tested: $49.99 (Amazon)

Full Disclosure: Fnatic has provided the product sample used in this article.

London-based Fnatic PTY Ltd is primarily an eSports team company, with sponsored players and their own YouTube channel. But they also offer a few hardware items under the Fnatic Gear imprint. Even casual gamers need a good gaming-oriented mouse, but these can be very expensive. The Fnatic Gear FLICK G1 Optical Mouse offers Omron switches, a Pixart sensor, and a maximum resolution of 5,000dpi. Fnatic says that their mouse is “eSports inspired”, but the proof is in the pudding…or in this case, the proof is in the testing. Benchmark Reviews takes this mouse on a gaming journey to see how well it fares.

Gaming Mouse Specifications

Sensor DPI	50 – 5000 dpi (switchable)
Sensor	Pixart ADNS 3310
Switch type	Omron
Memory	256KB
Tracking Speed	130 inches/second
Cable	2 meters, braided cable with gold-plated USB connector
Weight	90g
Profiles	3 onboard

Let’s unbox the FLICK G1 mouse in the next section…

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Fnatic Gear FLICK G1 Overview
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The FLICK G1 is currently sold online for $49.99 (Amazon), and comes with only a fold-out quick start guide. As with most modern peripherals, you’ll need to head to the vendor’s web site to download the driver.

The G1 has six buttons: left and right click, scroll wheel click, a button behind the scroll wheel, and two thumb buttons. The scroll wheel contains an RGB LED that offers some lighting effects. Hidden in the seam between the top and bottom of the mouse are three very subtle resolution indicator lights.

The right side of the mouse is contoured but has no buttons. The mouse shape is perfectly symmetrical, but the location of the thumb buttons means it’s really for righties only.

The bottom of the mouse shows standard Teflon glide pads and the Pixart sensor.

As expected, the mouse cable is both sleeved in black mesh and equipped with a gold-plated USB connector.

Let’s take a look at the Fnatic FLICK G1 utility software in the next section.

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Fnatic Gear FLICK Utility Software
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Fnatic’s utility software for the FLICK G1 mouse is simple and straightforward. At the top of the main window you have buttons for the three separate profiles the mouse can store, and Backup and Restore buttons to save all three profiles. The second row of buttons controls the basic settings, button assignments, lighting, and macros for each of the three profiles.

Each profile can have three different DPI settings, independently adjustable for the X and Y axes if desired, plus settings for pointer sensitivity, scroll speed, double click speed, and polling rate.

The FLICK G1 mouse has 8 programmable buttons, counting scroll wheel up and down scrolls as buttons. Buttons action options include everything you’d expect: mouse options, click presses, macros, multimedia functions, Windows desktop functions, and so forth.

Macros can record key strokes and mouse clicks. However, as with the macro facility of the Fnatic RUSH keyboard I recently reviewed, it’s a very basic and limited facility: you can’t edit macros, adjust the timing, et cetera.

Lighting effects on the Fnatic CLICK G1 mouse are limited to a single RGB LED in the scroll wheel, and three subtle LEDs peeking out from the left seam of the mouse to indicate which profile is active (these LEDs are a single color and cannot be changed). The scroll wheel LED can be set to a single static color, or to a variety of effects such as color cycling, pulsate, heartbeat, or blink.

Since these effects are stored on the mouse and executed on the mouse’s CPU, you must remember to click the Apply button to send the new configuration to the mouse– the utility will not warn you if you try to quit it before saving any changes. The mouse will retain the settings, macros, and lighting effects even if removed and plugged into another computer.

Let’s see how this mouse is to use in the next section.

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Gaming Mouse Testing & Results
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Unlike the last mouse I tested with a Pixart 3310 IR sensor, the Tesoro Sagitta Spectrum, the Fnatic CLICK G1 mouse had no problem at all with the stippled pattern on my computer desk, tracking fast and smoothly. A firmware difference perhaps?

The FLICK G1 has a rather generic gaming mouse shape and feel: a smooth, rather high hump with a soft rubberized coating. But this is a common shape because it works well for this application. While the mouse is perfectly symmetrical, its placement of the thumb buttons and profile indicator lights strongly bias it for right-handers.

I set the Flick G! to poll at 1kHz and waved the pointer over Mouse Rate Checker…and yes, it can hit 1kHz.

I used the Flick G1 for over a week of intense FPS gaming. It’s much lighter than the mouse I normally use, a R.A.T. 9 wireless mouse, but I didn’t find that to be a problem. Actually, I found it more comfortable for extended use than the R.A.T. 9’s angular “cyborg” aesthetic.

Fnatic claims their braided mouse cord is “unique” and “reduces drag”. I compared it to some of my other mice and it’s actually different: other mice tend to have the cord exiting with a downward slope, as in the rear mouse here, so that the cord touches down on the desk surface fairly soon. However, Fnatic’s cord exits at a straight, 90 degree angle, and as you can see remains raised above the desk surface for some distance from the mouse. That said, I haven’t noticed cord drag being a problem on other mice.

All in all, using the CLICK G1 mouse was a pleasant experience any gamer would appreciate. In the next section I’ll present my final thoughts and conclusion.

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Gaming Mouse Final Thoughts
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The Fnatic FLICK G1 is a solid, functional gaming mouse at a good price. However, it suffers from the same issues as Fnatic’s RUSH keyboard: poor macro software and intense price competition.

Fnatic’s mouse, like their keyboard, seems designed to a minimalist aesthetic: everything the serious gamer needs, like quality, high performance sensors, switches, and other hardware, and nothing that they don’t. Elaborate lighting systems, selectable weight systems and adjustable mouse size might look great on the specifications chart, but at the end of the day it’s the way the mouse feels and performs that really counts.

The best thing I can say about this mouse is that it never got in the way, and always performed as I expected it to.

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Fnatic FLICK G1 Conclusion
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The FLICK G1 is a new entrant in the crowded field of budget gaming mice. It’s a quality mouse with solid performance; the problem is that competitive mice perform as well, sometimes have more bells and whistles, have better software, and cost the same or less.

Ultra-high resolution sensors, switches good for millions of clicks, ergonomic shapes, and lighting effects are no longer enough to make a gaming mouse stand out, since they’ve become the least of what consumers expect. The Fnatic FLICK G1 mouse is a solid, quality gaming mouse that will never let you down, but at its street price of $49.99 (Amazon), it doesn’t stand out from the field.

Pros:

+ Fast, consistent tracking on any surface
+ Comfortable design
+ Quality sensor and hardware
+ Unique “no drag” cable design

Cons:

– Macro definition features are very limited
– Doesn’t offer advantages over competitive mice

Ratings:

• Performance: 9.50
• Appearance: 8.50
• Construction: 8.75
• Functionality: 8.00
• Value: 8.50

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Final Score: 8.65 out of 10.
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Recommended: Benchmark Reviews Seal of Approval.

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