Among the most used components on a gaming mouse are the main button switches. Thus, mechanical switches in particular wear down over time, resulting in mushier actuation or unintended double-clicking. In addition, whatever switches are installed by default may not suit one's tastes, and changing to different mechanical switches would require soldering, which isn't everyone's cup of tea. The solution to these problems is to make the main button switches hot-swappable, and although this concept has been around for many years, it is notable how rarely it is adopted by manufacturers. The HPC01M Pro is among the few wireless mice having hot-swappable main button switches, and the solution used is both fairly original and functional. Unlike on ASUS mice, which typically have removable tops exposing the innards, the switch sockets sit on their own PCB on the HPC01M Pro, and can be taken out on the bottom of the mouse. Instead of a drop-in system like on the Dream Machines DM7 Switch Duo, the HPC01M Pro utilizes switch sockets similar to those seen on ASUS mice. Any 3-pin mechanical switches are compatible with these, and Incott includes four sets of switches in total along with the mouse (including a set of silent switches), so finding one that suits one's preferences shouldn't be difficult. The mechanism works reasonably well, though the first swap may be a bit rough, but it'll loosen for subsequent ones.

The biggest issue with the hot-swap solution doesn't lie in the mechanism itself but rather with how it interacts with the button design. Apparently, Incott didn't want to risk anything regarding tolerances, which is why the main button pre-travel is greater than it could be. Though not too irritating, those preferring low pre-travel will likely want to use button spacers, which thankfully are included with the mouse as well. Pre-travel aside, the Huano switches (transparent white shell, white plunger) installed by default deliver snappy actuation, and the button design fares quite well in regard to lateral movement, which only becomes apparent if explicitly provoked. For the side buttons, Incott has likewise opted for a set of switches from Huano, and the forward button in particular can impress with low pre and post-travel, with the back button doing a bit worse in this regard. The scroll wheel encoder comes from F-Switch, and even though noise levels are high, tactility is plain excellent, with each step being very nicely defined without scrolling being overly stiff as a result. I have no complaints about the default feet, either, which are pure PTFE throughout, though the way the skates for the hot-swap pieces are designed isn't conducive to their glide. Incott also includes several sets of replacement feet, though somewhat curiously, replacement PTFE feet only include the top skate, though a two-piece set of glass feet is also included. In addition, a full set of grip tape is also found in the box.

Much like manufacturers such as Pulsar or LAMZU, Incott has opted for a firmware and software solution from CompX in conjunction with a Nordic MCU, the nRF52833 to be specific. As such, performance is largely as expected: CPI deviation is low, general tracking fine regardless of whether MotionSync is enabled or not, and polling is largely stable, with the exception of non-1000 Hz polling rates in wireless mode. The only difference is found in regard to the sensor run mode, which can only be modified for wireless operation. The sensor run mode generally defines how the sensor behaves in regard to sensor framerate and its scaling, with the default "LP" (low power) run mode trading lower framerates and slower framerate ramp-up for higher battery life, whereas the "HP" (high performance) does the opposite. This setting also exists on LAMZU mice such as the Thorn, but there, it had no effect on motion delay. On the HPC01M Pro, however, there is a stark difference in how these modes perform, as the LP mode posts a motion delay differential of 1 ms without MotionSync, which is upped to 2 ms with MotionSync. HP mode, on the other hand, achieves parity with the Logitech G403 (control subject) without MotionSync, and enabling MotionSync only adds around 0.5 ms worth of motion delay. Thus, in terms of performance, HP mode is the unequivocal winner. Click latency is on exactly the same level as other mice using this solution: 2.4 ms are averaged in wireless operation when using the lowest debounce time of 0 ms. However, selecting this debounce time comes with the caveat of slam-clicking, which describes inadvertent button actuation upon resetting the mouse after lift-off, and which only disappears when using a debounce time of 2 ms or higher, which in turn increases click latency again.

For those who'd like to improve these numbers even further, Incott offers a dedicated 4K Wireless Dongle for the HPC01M Pro. After pairing the 4K dongle to the mouse, polling rates of 2000 and 4000 Hz become available in the software, though 1000 Hz too benefits from the change from USB full-speed to USB high-speed, as click latency is lowered to 1.7 ms, whereas motion delay is unchanged, at least when using HP mode. Both 2000 and 4000 Hz achieve even better numbers, with click latency at the lowest debounce time settings averaging 0.9 and 0.7 ms, respectively, and motion delay likewise sees an improvement, as the G403 gets soundly beaten no matter what. However, this comes with a large caveat, as when using the 4K Wireless Dongle, all polling rates will become unstable, including 1000 Hz which has no issues in this regard when using the default USB full-speed dongle. The biggest offender of course is 4000 Hz, where missed polls are very common, and a lot of the time, not just a couple of microframes are missed but several, as polls are often late by 3 ms or more. Hence, while average latency may be better, standard deviation is much worse compared to 1000 Hz (full-speed), resulting in worse consistency. Unfortunately, simply reverting to the full-speed dongle for those instances where you don't need high polling rates and prefer stable 1000 Hz isn't possible in a convenient fashion, since only a single dongle can be paired to the mouse at any time, so in order to get the full-dongle working again, it would first have to be re-paired, which in turn has the 4K dongle stop working, and so on.

When it comes to battery life, things are a bit fuzzy. Incott cites up to 94 hours, though polling rate or sensor run mode aren't specified, so this number isn't too helpful. And while the software does include a battery life indicator, it lacks any sort of segmentation or a percentage, so at most one can "eyeball" the current charge, which of course isn't exactly the most reliable method. During testing, I've used the fully charged mouse for ten hours in HP mode at 1000 Hz and for another two at 4000 Hz, at which point the mouse turned off. Given the mixed usage, it is unclear whether it was the 4000 Hz or the HP mode that drained the battery that quickly, but either way, it certainly doesn't paint a good picture for the HPC01M Pro. Charging at least is reasonably fast, though the charging cable being on the stiffer side makes playing while charging not a particularly pleasing experience, especially given the fact that the HPC01M Pro is quite light at 61 g. This rather low weight is doubly remarkable given the presence of hot-swappable main button switches, which of course add weight, and neither holes nor an open-bottom design being resorted to. Build quality is spotless too, as my unit doesn't have any rattle when shaking, only minor creaking and flexing when applying lateral pressure, and actuating the side buttons by pressing below them is impossible regardless of the applied force.

For the $119.99 it retails on Mechkeys.com, the HPC01M Pro is not a bargain, though given the number of switches and other accessories bundled with the mouse, it's not completely unreasonable, either. Of course, what sets the HPC01M Pro apart from other wireless mice are the hot-swappable main button switches. And even if we look at competitors with hot-swappable main button switches, there aren't all that many alternatives. ASUS has several on offer, but many of them are either wired or right-handed ergonomic and hence not direct competitors. The Dream Machines DM7 Switch Duo, however, is both wireless and ambidextrous, but gets soundly beaten by the HPC01M Pro on every conceivable level. The 4K Wireless Dongle for the HPC01M Pro, on the other hand, isn't worth the investment. A latency reduction is present, but only in exchange for severe polling instability across the board, and conveniently swapping between the default and 4K dongle isn't possible, since only a single dongle can be paired to the mouse at any time. Accordingly, the HPC01M Pro gets our Recommended award, but only in the base version.