We tested out ASUS new TUF Gaming M4 Air gaming mouse, a mouse so light I didn’t even feel it was in my hand! The TUF M4 is what I would class as a super-lite gaming mouse, coming in only at 47grams (that is not even 4 tablespoons of sugar).
The TUF Gaming M4 Air is a barebones mouse, it does not have RGB lighting(which would have looked so cool with this mouse) but it does feature a very high-resolution optical sensor and does feature a braided cord that ends into a USB-A connector. Thanks to the PTFE feet on the M4 Air you can really take this mouse all over the mousepad,
The TUF M4 Air is an open mouse, featuring a honeycomb design and you can actually see the PCB. Now my first concern for this was what about sweaty palms and spilled drinks (especially when teammates don’t play well), well the guys over at ASUS TUF division made sure that the M4 Air has you covered. This is all thanks to the IPX6 water repellent treatment that they applied PCB. Now that doesn’t mean you can use this in the swimming pool, but you can at least be assured that your mouse will live after your dink falls on it….and no I did not test this feature! TUF Gaming does suggest that if you spill anything on the M4 Air that you need to unplug it and leave it for 24hours to dry.
Now as I said the TUF M4 Air is a very light gaming mouse and I found that for me personally, it was too light, especially the type of games that I play (RPG’s, RTS’s and MOBA’s). I did find that in games like Overwatch (I only recently got a chance to play it due to motion sickness) the M4 Air really did help a lot. This was thanks to the 16,000DPI optical sensor and the PTFE feet. But when I played Starcraft, Diablo and League I found that with my play style the mouse didn’t work so good. I do think that this is for me personally and other gamers might find a different experience.
I did a little bit of digging into why people would want a mouse that feels like they hold air and it looks like it stems from the current e-Sports scene. I can remember when you had extra weights that you could add to your mouse (also due to e-Sports influence). I digress.
The ASUS TUF M4 Air gaming mouse I feel is made for the gamer that is just starting out. It has a good optical sensor and is very smooth on one’s mousepad. It also features a braided cable (paracord style)so it would fit into most setups. I do think that some gamers would be put off by the Open design however with the PCB in the unit covered with the IPX6 coating you can be assured the gaming mouse would last(it is a TUF product after all). I do think that they should bring out a Version 2 that is still a super-lite like the M4 Air but with a bit of RGB.
