I thought the GravaStar charger was a bold move in terms of expanding the product line of the brand I associate with pretty awesome sci-fi-looking Bluetooth speakers (GravaStar Mars Pro, GravaStar Venus) and here I hold the latest design from them: GravaStar Mercury M2 – a gaming mouse made like no other. It looks great next to my GravaStar buds, but is it good?
Battling the Pros!
My gaming days are pretty much over. I do get excited each time I get to test a gaming gadget, as it allows me to dive into a couple of games and spend some time playing them in the name of science! GravaStar Mercury M2 is a gaming mouse at heart, but I’m also a content creator. I already own Roccat Tyon and Razer Basilisk V3 Pro – so my impressions are made against the best of the best products you can buy.
GravaStar products may look like they favour style over function, but each time I hold a speaker, earbud or charger made by them I realise that no sacrifices have been made to create a great-looking product. In this review, my expectations are set high for GravaStar Mercury M1.
Out of this word
GravaStar Mercury M2 isn’t the only flavour that you can buy from GravaStar. The more premium model, the M1 Pro, offers premium materials, colour schemes, and a 4K polling rate at an increased price point. You can check the comparison table below to find out which configuration suits you, I have the GravaStar Mercury M2 to test and my thoughts are based on this model alone.
Unlike the packaging for their speakers (which I retained), unboxing brings no-nonsense access to your brand-new mouse, a dedicated wireless dongle, USB-A to USB-C adapter and a nice, soft charging cable. Side note: one of my pet peeves for Razer Basilisk V3 was the use of a micro USB port that required a proprietary Razer charging cable or a £50 dock to charge the mouse, which was just driving me crazy. GravaStar Mercury M2 can be charged with any USB-C cable. There are spare slip pads included, and grip-increasing stickers with themed prints.
The mouse looks like no other. GravaStar Mercury M2 is hollowed out to save weight and create a unique design that could be appreciated by everyone but trypophobia. Specification reveals 1000Hz polling via dongle, 26000 DPI and support for Bluetooth if all you need is a free USB-A port and no-nonsense operation. The six-button design should meet the basic configurations for most folks and the RGB ball inside the mouse brings gaming vibes to your desk setup.
At 80g, the mouse is the lightest I used, but the first thing I noticed was how the weight is shifted to the front of the mouse. At the bottom of the GravaStar Mercury M2, I found an optical sensor that moves nicely even on glass and a slot to store the wireless dongle. At the bottom of the mouse, a three-position toggle switches between wireless mode, Bluetooth and off position.
Comfort
When I looked at the GravaStar Mercury M2, I wondered how comfortable the hollowed-out design would be. After all, I have not seen anything like it online. It’s not the holes that were the issue. The mouse is a little smaller than what I’m used to (I’m using a palm grip) and I had to move the mouse deeper into the desk to support my hand better. This took me by surprise as the mouse isn’t significantly smaller than the Razer Basilisk V3.
There is a video on the GravaStar page showing other grip types and how your hands would rest on the mouse – I found this to be reassuring for all users out there.
The biggest difference in feel is the actual weight distribution. I can feel that most of the GravaStar Mercury M2 weight is moved by my fingers, not my palm. This would be especially noticeable for anyone using a finger grip. It’s not an issue, but depending on the mouse used before – this will take some getting used to.
Gaming on GravaStar Mercury M2
Cranking up the polling rate to 1K and dialing my DPI to match my playstyle… well I’m not a pro gamer and I couldn’t tell much difference. I’m sure some reviews will test the input lag and other nerdy data, I’ll just give you my take on how it feels to play a couple of games. In case 1000Hz isn’t responsive enough, the M1 Pro version comes with a dongle capable of pulling 4000Hz.
The battery life will depend on the mouse settings including the polling rate, DPI, RGB profile etc. If the advertised 60-80h isn’t enough and you get caught without the battery, the included snag-free USB-C cable works great and won’t affect your K/D ratio.
To dial in your gaming mouse, you will need GravaStar software. It’s well-designed, clear to use and allows you to customise your settings, update firmware etc. The only annoyance is that the mouse has to be connected via a dongle or USB cable to be detected. In Bluetooth mode, it acts as a usual HID device and options are limited. The only option that seems to be missing, is the ability to store the presets on the mouse itself. A function that many gamers like to have.
I found the LMC and RMC to activate a little too easily. I would have to re-train my hand to avoid accidental activations of the RMC. When used over a USB cable or wireless dongle, clicks can be debounced in software which is a neat feature to have. An average user will never notice the difference, but anyone putting hours into a single game, can appreciate these.
The scroll wheel has enough resistance and tactile feedback to provide controllable scrolling without making the process tedious. My hands never suffered from excessive sweating but I can confirm that thanks to the hollow-out design the mouse imposes less onto your palm. There are enough contact points to feel in control whatever the grip type. If you find yourself needing more – the included sticker pack could address that.
Content creation on GravaStar Mercury M2
Switching from Roccat Tyon to Razer Razer Basilisk V3 was a downgrade in the number of buttons I had at my disposal. I wanted to have a wireless mouse, I paid the price. Moving from Razer Basilisk V3 to GravaStar Mercury M2 feels more parallel. I have a similar number of buttons which I can map with the same flexibility.
The biggest advantage of the GravaStar Mercury M2 is the Bluetooth interface. As my Asus laptop features two USB-A ports, having one of them permanently occupied by a dongle feels like a waste. A 1000Hz poll rate isn’t exactly required for editing videos, but the extra USB port comes in handy.
In this respect, the GravaStar Mercury M2 feels like a natural choice for my laptop. In content creation mode, I can switch over to Bluetooth and if the gamer in me strikes again, I can switch back to the performance mode through the wireless adapter.
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Final thoughts
GravaStar Mercury M2 is a funky mouse. Once again, GravaStar has proven that bold design choices don’t have to come at a reduction in utility. More buttons or the option for lefties would be appreciated. As pricing starts from $79.95, it would be hard to find a better mouse with Bluetooth and wireless support, that feels this premium, and comes with an incredible design and durability. I’m sold! If you have any questions, let me know in this Reddit thread.
🆓📈💵 – See the transparency note for details.
