Build Quality

Overall build quality is very solid. When shaking the mouse, a minor rattle comes from the main buttons. When applying lateral pressure, no creaking or flexing of the shell can be observed. Activating the side buttons by squeezing the sides is impossible. Lastly, accidental clicks when slamming down the mouse do occur regardless of "Button Response Optimization" being enabled or not.

Buttons

Main buttons on the Katar Elite Wireless are very good. There is some pre-travel, but post-travel is very low, resulting in a firm and snappy button response. While the buttons are visually separated from the shell, lateral button movement is low and needs to be provoked. Button stiffness is medium to low. A pair of Omron D2FC-F-K (60 M) (China) switches is used.


Side buttons are good. Pre-travel is noticeable in general and higher on the back than the forward button, but post-travel is equally nonexistent on either button, resulting in a satisfying button response nonetheless. However, the buttons sound rather odd, and the forward button in particular is weirdly loud. The pressure point is mostly even across the entirety of these. Button placement is good as actuation is possible quite easily by rolling one's thumb across. A set of low-profile switches from Kailh (white plunger, blue base) is used for these.

At the top of the mouse is a single button for cycling through the set CPI levels. Its click feel is good. A surface-mounted switch from TTC (black plunger) is used for this one. At the bottom of the mouse is a slider alternating between 2.4 GHz, Bluetooth, and off-state, which works just fine.

Scroll Wheel

The scroll wheel is good. Noise levels are fairly low, but tactility is average at best, resulting in overly smooth scrolling without much control. The encoder comes from Kailh (black) and has a height of 13 mm. Actuating the middle (scroll wheel) click requires medium to high force. A seemingly unbranded tactile switch is used for this one.

Surface

The Katar Elite Wireless has a smooth matte surface on the top and patterned plastic on the sides. Neither attracts fingerprints, dirt, or the likes too much. They're easy to clean, and there are no signs of wear left after doing so. All in all, excellent materials.

Button Sound Test

Disassembly

Disassembling the Katar Elite Wireless is fairly difficult. First, the rear skate and two screws underneath need to be removed. Then, the back cover needs to be lifted, which is done by dislodging two clips towards its front. Afterwards, the main button pieces need to be unclipped, which is best done by starting at the back of each stem. Finally, the top shell can be lifted, by dislodging clips at the sides and front. Caution needs to be applied to avoid ripping the ribbon cable connecting the side-button and main PCB.

The internal design is fairly straightforward. The CPI and side buttons sit on their own PCB screwed into the top shell and connected to the main PCB through a ribbon cable. From there, an auxiliary PCB with a single LED goes to the back, again connected through a ribbon cable. The battery sits on a plastic assembly erected above the main PCB and is affixed with three screws. Another two screws are used to affix the main PCB to the bottom. All PCBs are fairly thin, and the MCU is rear-mounted on the main PCB. The MCU is a Nordic nRF52840, whose datasheet can be found here.


As for the soldering and general quality of the PCBs, I'm unable to find any noteworthy flaws.