ZOWIE very kindly sent us a set of their peripherals for us to review. I have been picked to kick these reviews off with their mouse, the ZOWIE EC2-A.
The mouse. One part, simple as that, which combines your four-tier ensemble.
With that said, it’s a pretty daunting task finding the ‘perfect’ mouse for you, whether its size, weight or price. A huge set of variables that all determine the choice you make out of the huge arsenal out there, from Logitech through Razer right down to the focus of this article, ZOWIE (by BenQ).
The weapon of choice for me was originally a ZOWIE ZA11, a mouse that I found mimicked the shape of the mouse that came before that, the Razer Deathadder. The perks of the ZA11 were the ‘personal fit’, as it was simply what I was used too – however, it certainly didn’t come faultless including two specific problems that made longer use-cases a nightmare.
The sides were a slip ‘n’ slide, grip becomes a beast tough to wrangle. With the latter being a stiff mouse wheel, one that made it almost impossible to reflex tap a middle click when needed.
Let’s pause for a second, we’ve called out some issues on the ZA11 – that’s for’ sure, let’s talk solutions – or better yet, no need. The issues addressed above were, from what I have been informed, fixed in a product refresh later down the line.
The EC2-A slots in nicely here, a mouse that ZOWIE kindly sent out alongside a slew of other reviewal products for us to check out.
First impressions were all positives, packaging was a good combination of being simple, yet laid out with attention to detail. The mission statement that stands behind ZOWIE as a company certainly echoes throughout too, from packaging right through to actual mouse externals, something we’ll touch in just a moment.
Before we move on, for those interested in the intricate details, a simple black box, overlayed by the ZOWIE logo. Inside we found the mouse itself, encased a plastic wrap. Laid aside were an extra set of mouse feet, a sticker set and lastly an attached manual.
The mouse itself is rockin’ the same black look with the only shining of colour pushed through by the mouse wheel that boasts a backlit red LED, met well by the centred, offset ZOWIE logo that sits deadset on the palm.
Top down view of the EC2-A
In terms of shape, I must stress just how important it is to not apply a one-fits-all policy to mice, its all down to preference as well as grip type. What can be said is that the EC2-A accommodates well to both a Hybrid and Palm / Claw grips respectively. The design of the mouse follows a very ergonomic pattern that’s built around right-handed users, in contrast, the ZA series is designed for both left & right handed use cases.
A smooth curved body makes this mouse comfortable for all grip styles
Talking personally, switching from the ZA11 to the EC2-A felt natural, the shape certainly moulds itself in a much more comfortable manner to my hand, backed further by the size of the mouse being a perfect balance, in my opinion, between being on the bigger side, while keeping that small – quick, flexibility.
Bringing this forward, next up on the chopping block of a review is usually something sensor related, however, I found the sensors in both my old tried ‘n’ tested ZA11 and recent addition, EC2-A to be flawless. Running them both at a high polling rate of 1000hz, an amount that translates to a rate of 1ms, something that runs akin to a standard competitive setup for titles such as Counter-Strike.
Much like my ZA11, every small movement, no matter how minuscule, had its own effect on the position of the cursor / crosshair. Usually this level of control comes with some jitteriness or something along those lines – however that was a concept non-existent as both mice had neither, accurate & comfortable — an all around win-win.
