ROCCAT Kone Air Review

One of the things that we will probably never get tired of is evaluating and testing the new examples of gaming mice that are coming onto the market and pushing the threshold in terms of power and performance.

As such, one of the brands that always keeps the oven hot and pushes the competition hard, are our partners at ROCCAT.

What we have in hand today falls somewhere between the typical office mouse and a high caliber gaming mouse with a high level of flexibility.

Moving away from the competitive gaming mouse paradigm

The Kone Air is another sub-model in ROCCAT’s heavier and more robust line of gaming mice.

Offering features that for the most part seek versatility, as opposed to offering what shooting game enthusiasts tend to prefer.

With a weight that goes from 96 to 136 grams depending on the number of batteries that we want to use in it. The Kone Air seeks to offer control and versatility, both in the work environment and in the casual gaming environment.

The presence of 1 or 2 AA batteries, in contrast to the fancy rechargeable lithium batteries used by wireless peripherals, enable another layer of added mobility, in which the mouse does not require a cable or recharging time.

Although this may distance the preference of a majority within the clientele of similar devices, the Kone Air has been a proposal for nomadic users of computers or other portable devices (phones, tablets, or smart televisions) that identify inputs from a mouse .

A state-of-the-art manufacturing as only a few offer…

The Kone Air comes with an extremely robust construction that screams “quality” from the 4 winds.

Unlike other Kone submodels, what we have in hand comes with corrugated side surfaces for extra grip; in addition to 9 buttons with 17 programmable functions, cabin that receives up to 2 AA batteries, the much-loved Titan switches with 100 million clicks, ROCCAT Owl-Eye sensor of 19,000 DPI with a 1,000 Hz reporting rate, and two 2.4 wireless sensors. GHz and Bluetooth 5.1.

The fact of having a large number of buttons and programmable functions, as well as being ideal for tactical and tool-centric video games; it also offers flexibility and optimization of processes for the work and miscellaneous environment.

Don’t be scared off by using AA batteries instead of lithium batteries. The only disadvantage being the fact that they make the mouse heavier; each battery promises a usage time of 400 hours.

Coupled with this, Titan switches only see one improvement after another in every ROCCAT mouse we tested. In this case, the switches of our Kone Air have a point consistency and a highly satisfying and controllable tactile sensation, with a low and extremely acceptable click latency.

Nevertheless…

We continue to find room for improvement that ROCCAT has always had in terms of its wireless response latency. Since even in 2.4 GHz wireless mode, we find relatively long response times within what peripherals in this price range can offer.

The same is accentuated by the fact that the USB receiver does not have extensions that can bring it to a place close to our mouse in 100% of the circumstances. However, given the versatile nature of a mouse like this, and the potential clientele it can capture, over peers like the Burst Pro Air or the Kone XP Air; the issue of wireless response latency, in this particular case, does not present such a big drawback.

However, there is a detail in which we find room for improvements…

Things like this can be a simple bad day in the QA department. However, they are worth mentioning.

One of the things we constantly praise brands like ROCCAT for their line of mouses optimized for professional and casual gaming is the level of quality of their PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) sliders, better known as “virgin Teflon.”

Which, so far, and in 100% of the cases, offer an extremely smooth glide, free of interruptions or scrapes, and easy to control.

However, in the case of the Kone Air; perhaps due to the weight of the device, or perhaps due to printing errors on the sliders… The PTFE skaters presented sharp edges and scratches on the mousepad on which they were tested (ROCCAT Sense Pro).

This phenomenon, in addition to causing certain sonic and tactile discomfort for the user, presents limitations and a lack of consistency in movements when a higher level of precision is required.

Finishing…

What we have in hand, as expected, is a super high-quality device, despite its unconventional features.

A robust artifact, with state-of-the-art build quality and high-end parts that have been revered countless times over the past couple of years.

With some room for improvements, or perhaps some tuning by the quality control department; the Kone Air promises to be an extremely durable and reliable device in any circumstance.

This review comes to you thanks to ROCCAT.