SADES. You may remember the name from our Jan and Feb giveaways, or when Chris reviewed their Snowwolf Gaming Headset. Well, they’re back again and this time we’re checking out their Axe Gaming Mouse.
BUILD QUALITY & DESIGN – 5/5
A mouse is an essential piece of kit for any PC Gamer. Because unless you use eye-tracking software or voodoo witch doctor wizardry, you’re going to struggle to do much on your screen. And as an essential peripheral, it needs to be built and designed to withstand heavy use.
The Axe certainly performs well in this category. The outer shell is made of hard matt-black plastic that can take a beating, having given it a couple of bangs and squeezed with a bear-like grip. But the part that speaks real quality to me is the cable, which isn’t your cheap rubber kind that will break down over time, it’s a decent quality nylon braided one.
The matt-black shell is offset with multiple gloss black and one blue button, with RGB lighting running around the base and popping through the SADES logo on top. Sadly for you lefties, it is made for a right-handed claw-like grip, which fits naturally in your hand and feels comfortable even after prolonged use.
My favourite design feature though comes under the mouse, where a weight tuning cartridge is hidden away. And you’re provided with an extra 10.5g of weight to customise it how you wish. This is so you can customise it to suit yourself so it performs will in response, tracking and precision.
FUNCTIONALITY – 5/5
As mentioned, there are multiple buttons dotted around the Axe. You’ve two on top to switch between DPI settings, which range from 400 – 10,000 DPI which is quite a wide range and very generous. There are then your standard side buttons which in a browser allow you to skip back and forth between web pages, as well as a clickable scroll wheel on top.
Aimed at FPS gamers though, SADES have added an additional 5 buttons. An FPS button to the top left, and four function buttons on the side. Each of the buttons, including the standard ones, are all customisable. Meaning you can set the mouse up as you like to give you the best chance at performing at your peak when gaming competitively.
The Axe driver installs itself so you can use it from the box. But to customise everything you’ll have to download software from sades.gg/driver. Once downloaded, just install and you’re good to go. A window will open up that allows you to customise the buttons, DPI settings and set up any macros you may want to use right away. If you do have a second mouse in when you start though, you will have to unplug it or the software won’t work.
HANDLING – 4.6/5
Being at the upper end of the budget market, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from SADES. But, after some heavy use during the lockdown, I am pleasantly surprised. The Axe gaming mouse comes equipped with an advanced PMW 3325 optical sensor, which is really responsive. So much so I’m not even able to notice a delay, it’s almost like it reads my mind before I’ve made a decision to use.
I’ve played a bit of everything with it as well. From strategy games like Pheonix Point to trying my hand at Apex on PC, since I usually play it on a console. I’m not saying the mouse was the reason, but my KDR on Apex certainly improved on PC compared to console. But I do find that with most games due to better precision when aiming. Still, it’s a good sign that I can finally hit some of those headshots to meet my weekly challenges on the battle pass.
The one thing I do struggle with a little is the placement of the function buttons on the side, but I do have slightly small hands, so it’s mainly the bottom button I struggle to reach comfortably. Luckily, I don’t need to use them too much anyway so it’s not a major issue, but maybe if they were just a smidge further up I’d have been fine.
VALUE FOR MONEY – 4.5/5
You certainly get a lot of bang for your buck with the SADES Axe. Compare it to other mice on Amazon in the same price bracket (around £26.99) and you’d struggle to find mice that offer as many buttons as this does. Showing it’s customisability really is a strong selling point for those competitive gamers who are on a budget.
There is the odd one that has swappable sides like Genesis’ Xenon 770 that we reviewed late last year, however, they’re from unknown Chinese brands no one has ever heard of. So how reliable they’d be, I’m not sure. Otherwise, it is probably one of the most packed with features in that price range.
The only qualms I did have, were there are no replacement feet for the base and the warranty. Feet will wear down over time and spares are cheap enough. But it’s nice to have a spare set chucked in. The 18-month guarantee is great. But compare it to Sandberg who offer 5-years for their products. I just see it as a “we have faith in our product” thing, and if you can’t offer up a big guarantee to back up the quality, it says to me in time it might falter.
SADES AXE OVERALL SCORE – 4.7/5
If you’re looking for a gaming mouse and you’re on a budget, SADES’ Axe gaming mouse won’t steer you wrong. It feels well built, is designed well, even to the point it is comfortable to use for prolonged use, and it is packed full of features. Whilst maybe the placement of the side buttons could’ve been a tad further up the shell, there were no spare feet and the guarantee isn’t that long in comparison to others, it still is great value for money. You probably won’t find another mouse as good as this, that’s as customisable, at this price.
The SADES Axe gaming mouse is available to purchase from Amazon now. Click HERE to go over to their store, where they currently have a £2 off coupon, and an offer to save 5% if you buy their Meteor RGB Mouse Pad too. For more information on the SADES Axe, click HERE to head to their official site. And don’t forget to check out more of our hardware reviews by clicking HERE.
