The recipe for the Razer Viper Mini was simple: Take an established shape, size it down, and sell it as a budget mouse. The DeathAdder V2 Mini follows the same principle, albeit with some adjustments. Whereas the Viper Mini received a bigger hump as the low-profile design of the Viper didn't work as well when sized-down, the DeathAdder V2 Mini has been scaled down uniformly; i.e., the dimensions have been reduced by an equal amount across the board. This has worked reasonably well, although those with larger hands will inevitably struggle and no doubt are better served tending to the original DeathAdder. Originally designed for Asian markets only, the DeathAdder V2 Mini is a seriously small mouse, albeit not quite as tiny as the Orochi V2. I think Razer's approach of not messing with the geometry of the shape is sound as increasing some parts in size but not others may throw off the overall balance of the shape. However, as a result, the appeal of the DeathAdder V2 Mini is limited in that only people with medium to small hands will be able to get a proper grip, especially when using palm grip. Some remedy is provided by the included set of grip tape, which not only makes the DeathAdder V2 Mini less slippery, but also adds a precious millimeter here and there. A convenient side effect of the small form factor is the low weight, which is the same as on the Viper Mini at 58 g. Build quality isn't negatively affected by this: My sample has no creaking or flexing, and actuating the side buttons by squeezing the sides is impossible.

As far as the internals are concerned, the DeathAdder V2 Mini is virtually identical to the Viper Mini. PixArt's PAW3359 sensor is used, which is nominally a budget model, but performs on a high level regardless; tracking is great, maximum tracking speed sufficiently high, polling stability fine, and motion delay low, though smoothing kicks in at 3300 CPI, whereas the Viper Mini had none across the entire range. I've only found two issues: First, there is quite a bit of CPI deviation, and CPI adjustment being restricted to increments of 100 makes it difficult to get all steps fully on target. Second, at more than 2 DVDs, the lift-off distance is relatively high, higher than on the Viper Mini, which stayed below 2 DVDs. Unfortunately, the 3359 lacks the ability to natively adjust lift-off distance, and tracking noticeably suffers when forcing lower LOD through other means. In short, this sensor simply isn't meant for those seeking an LOD of 1 DVD or less.

Much like the Viper Mini, the DeathAdder V2 Mini comes with optical switches for the main buttons. The main benefit of optical switches is no double-clicking along with lower click latency, which too applies to the DeathAdder V2 Mini. While I wasn't a fan of the implementation of optical switches on the DeathAdder V2 Pro, the V2 Mini fares much better in this regard. The right click sounds and feels a bit different than the left one, but in terms of actuation force, both are fairly uniform, and neither suffer from mushiness. The V2 Pro has the better side buttons, though those on the V2 Mini are far from bad, either. The scroll wheel is decent, with manageable noise levels and fairly well-separated steps. The feet are made out of pure PTFE and glide incredibly well, and unlike on the Viper Mini, the ring around the sensor isn't just for show, but an actual PTFE skate. The cable is no different from the Viper Mini cable: decently flexible, but falling a bit behind when compared to what the competition is able to bring to the cable table, even among budget options. Unsurprisingly, the DeathAdder V2 Mini is also fully compatible with Razer Synapse, which still eats more resources than I'd like it to, but the on-board memory allows one to set everything up to one's liking and uninstall Synapse right after.

Overall, the DeathAdder V2 Mini is a good mouse. However, at $50, one has to wonder where that $10 premium over the $40 Viper Mini comes from. Sure, the DeathAdder V2 Mini has a set of grip tape included and an actual PTFE sensor ring, but that accounts for $1, not $10. Frankly, I think the DeathAdder V2 Mini is a bit too pricey for what it has to offer. For $50, there already are right-handed ergonomic alternatives with a PMW3360 or 3389 sensor available, which typically have much lower LOD, too. On the other hand, these options aren't a miniature-sized DeathAdder, and they often don't have optical switches, either. At the end of the day, it comes down to whether one can deal with the high LOD and, more specifically, is in the market for a genuinely small right-handed ergonomic mouse, of which there aren't that many. In particular, the DeathAdder V2 Mini is a compelling option for those with smaller hands and wanting something to palm, especially when discounted, which happens fairly often. Accordingly, I've settled for our Recommended award.