Package

Like its bigger brother, the Kinzu comes in a relatively sturdy box. One of the things you notice straight away is that it is a little smaller than the Xai.


The cable is well made, but has a woven cable jacket which makes it a bit stiff. Of course the weave makes it a bit better looking than an ordinary cable.


Plug wise the Kinzu is well equipped, it is the same size at its bigger brother's.

Closer Examination

This mouse continues the simple design from the SteelSeries Xai, however, the Kinzu is quite a bit smaller. In fact so much that I will recommend you saving up for the big Xai if you have a large hand and grip your mouse with your palm. Another thing that has been altered from the Xai to the Kinzu is the amount of buttons, the Kinzu completely lacks side buttons! This is a shame both for gaming and for regular desktop use. Even in very basic applications the lack of back / forward buttons makes navigation a lot slower.


On the back side it is pretty similar to the Xai, however, the LCD display is omitted in the Kinzu design. The back side is dominated by the huge Teflon feet which are the best mouse feet on the market today.


This mouse looks the business. The simple yet elegant design sets this mouse apart from the other LED ridden gaming mice on the market today.


One of the major design changes between the Xai and Kinzu is the size. The fact that the Kinzu is about 1 cm shorter, shallower, and thinner makes a huge difference both when it comes to looks and the way it feels in your palm. The Xai is clearly intended for players with a palm type grip whereas the Kinzu is more for those who have a more nimble finger type control. The weight difference between the two is noticeable in air, however, on the mat it seems largely irrelevant.


Side buttons are non existant on the Kinzu which harms performance in many games and applications. Fortunately for gamers the overall shape is the same as that of the Xai which means you are able to get a very comfortable grip. Because SteelSeries have adopted a design which does not force you to grip the mouse in a certain way almost everyone will be able to achieve a firm and comfortable grip.


Size it not everything! As you can see the Kinzu is clearly the smallest of the bunch, which includes the SteelSeries Xai and Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer 3.0.