What if you shrunk one of the best gaming mice ever made, the Logitech Pro X Superlight 2? Enthusiasts who asked that question for years have the solution with the Superlight 2c, which has the same top-end specs in a (5%) smaller and substantially lighter 51g frame. For $160/£160 at regular price, however, it’s one of the most expensive compact mice you can buy. In fact, it’s nearly double the cost of the HyperX Pulsefire Haste 2 Mini, my current favorite small gaming mouse. That’s a lot to live up to.
When we reviewed the Superlight 2 we said it was a solid, incremental upgrade on the brilliant, original model. Since then, a firmware update has increased the maximum polling rate from 2000Hz to 8000Hz, and the 2c gets that too, making it one of Logitech’s fastest mice yet.
Design and Shape
The Superlight 2c’s gentle curves form a compact version of Logitech’s safe, tried-and-tested symmetrical outline. You don’t need small hands to use this mouse: mine are slightly larger than average and it still felt comfortable in fingertip or claw grip. My fingers all had a place to sit, and neither my hand nor wrist ached when I played for several hours without a break.
Its super light 51g weight helps as well, coming in under most “lightweight” mice. While it’s not quite Corsair Sabre V2 Pro level – a mere 36g – it still glides effortlessly. The weight distribution feels balanced throughout your hand and it has larger feet than most compact mice. I personally prefer lighter mice, and I’m therefore glad to have a smaller option in this range. If you’re considering it, compare its size (38.5mm tall, 61.4mm wide and 118.4mm long) to your current mouse and think about how it would fit your hand.
I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re a dedicated palm gripper (with your full palm in contact with the body of the mouse), unless your hands are small. I could just about make it work, but my fingers extruded far past the end of the mouse and my thumb was too far forward to reliably press one of the side buttons. Unfortunately I don’t love the matte coating on the shell. It feels more plastic-y than competitors and less pleasant to touch than mice I’ve recently tested. But it grips absolutely fine and wasn’t uncomfortable or chafing, so it’s not a huge problem.
The left and right clicks are reassuringly heavy and secure to press, but they’re not perfect. They sound a little high-pitched to my ears: the right button in particular really pings as you finish your click. They wiggle a little side-to-side if you try them, and you can press the buttons a fair distance before they fully click, known as pre-travel. None of these caused any problems when I was actually using the 2c, and the buttons felt satisfying to spam when I needed to – for example when firing a semi-automatic weapon as fast as I could in Arc Raiders. I also liked thumbing the side buttons, which are quieter. But I would expect a mouse this expensive to feel premium all the way through and, to me, the left and right clicks don’t.
I feel the same way about the scroll wheel. It was reliable and solid, I could feel every bump as I turned it, and it never spun too far. But it sounds loud, grating and cheap when you scroll fast, almost as if you can hear the mechanism grinding. I would’ve liked a DPI toggle button too, although no Superlight mice have one, so its absence is expected.
What isn’t in doubt, at least out of the box, is the build quality. Despite its weight, this mouse feels rock solid, with no bend or creak when you squeeze it hard and no sound when you shake it. I particularly like the base of the mouse: the on/off switch has a grippy criss-cross texture and the magnetic covering for the dongle storage pouch closes with a loud, sturdy snap.
Performance, Gaming, Battery Life
Logitech’s sensors are some of the best around and the specs sheet for the Hero 2 sensor has big, shouty numbers – 44,000 DPI, 88G of max acceleration, and a max speed of 888 inches per second; which are some of the highest money can buy. It doesn’t mean much on paper when nobody actually needs a mouse to give that level of performance, but what you get is a mouse that feels like it’s tracking you flawlessly, no matter how fast you flick. I tested it in a variety of games, including Arc Raiders, Fortnite, and Anno 117 and whether I needed slow, smooth tracking or precision in frantic gunplay, the mouse did exactly what I wanted it to.
The Superlight 2c’s polling rate – the frequency the mouse reports its position to your computer – goes all the way up to 8000Hz. That’s in line with other high-end mice, including the regular Superlight 2. Whether polling rate matters depends on the person. Some people can’t tell the difference beyond 1000Hz. Others feel that 4000Hz is much smoother and precise than 1000Hz. The limiting factor is often not your mouse but your monitor’s refresh rate and your system’s power, because you need a high framerate to feel any difference.
My display refreshes at 240Hz and I have a solid rig, so I’m well placed to benefit. The mouse does feel a smidgeon snappier as I boost the polling rate from 1000Hz to 2000Hz and 4000Hz, but the difference is so minor that I keep wondering whether it’s placebo. Going up to 8000Hz is, to me, overkill and drains the battery faster. I felt good using both 1000Hz and 2000Hz, knowing that I’d get nearly 100 hours or battery life out of the Superlight 2c. That longevity is nothing special but it’s more than enough for what I need, and lets me go weeks between charges.
Whether the impressive performance of the Superlight 2c is worth the extra cost over, say, the HyperX Pulsefire Haste 2 Mini, depends on your needs and your budget. Logitech’s tech is objectively better, so if you want the top of the range you won’t go wrong with it, but the Haste 2 Mini’s 1000Hz polling rate and 26,000 DPI is plenty for most people.
Software and Connectivity
To put it plainly, Logitech’s G Hub software is awful. Not only does it lack some of the functions of competitors’ software – you can’t adjust the lift-off distance, scroll wheel sensitivity, or sensor axis – it’s also actively confusing. When you load up the software you’re presented with a list of “curated presets” for sensitivity, varying from first person shooter to MOBA. To me, it makes very little sense why a “simulation” game would require a higher DPI than a MMO but lower than a MOBA, or why some of the presets have five DPI levels to toggle between while others have only three. Better to just set your own levels. The space occupied by those presets should’ve been given to the polling rate, which you instead have to scroll down to find when the window isn’t maximized (which it isn’t by default).
Logitech’s G-Shift can be an excellent productivity tool. You can assign a keyboard key or a mouse button to act as a shift function for your mouse, opening up a second set of inputs. The Superlight 2c doesn’t have a DPI button but you could, for example, set the middle mouse button to toggle DPI when G-Shift is active. Unfortunately G Hub doesn’t explain how this system works, or make it obvious how to set it up. I had no issues with the mouse connecting to my PC or to the software, although it’s worth noting that the 2c, like other Superlight mice, has no Bluetooth, so you’ll always need to plug the dongle in. That dongle is thankfully tiny and stored neatly easily inside the mouse if you need to transport it.
Samuel is a freelance reporter and editor specializing in longform journalism and hardware reviews. You can read his work at his website.
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