Packaging

The SteelSeries Rival 600 is a high-end product and comes in a stylish and premium packaging. The first layer is a thin outer cardboard box with the latest SteelSeries color scheme and design patterns that contain the usual render pictures and bits of product information. Once we open this up, there is a thicker, black cardboard box with a meaningful "RISE UP" slogan on it. After opening this box, we can finally get to our mouse. It is very nicely surrounded by some dense foam for extra padding to ensure it does not get damaged during shipping. The cable is in another smaller oblong box at the bottom of the package. Please note that the Rival 600 is not a wireless mouse that has a wired mode as well, so the cable has to be plugged in at all times as there is no built-in battery.

Shape

The SteelSeries Rival 600 has an ergonomic and quite aggressive right-handed design. At first glance, it is already quite obviously mainly designed for palm grippers, but it may be suitable for claw and fingertip grip users as well, depending on the size of one's hands and personal preference. Some people may refer to this mouse as a successor to the original Rival or Rival 300, but that is hardly case. The shape is vastly different, and they don't feel the same at all. There are of course similarities, such as the rather straight left side and curvier and bulkier right side. Thankfully, a lot of things were also upgraded compared to the older Rivals, such as the button separation and side grips. As for a comparison with the Rival 310, the 600 is a tad bigger and with a higher profile, especially at the front.


The Rival 600 is not a small rodent at all. I have 18.5 cm long hands, and honestly, I couldn't comfortably use this mouse over the long run; everyone is different, of course, so what suits me may not suit you and vice versa. The mouse is quite long with its length of 131 mm (5.15"), and is rather wide too. The front and middle grip areas are 62 mm (2.44") wide, and the back part goes out to 69 mm (2.72"). It is about 43 mm (1.69") high, and the hump is located at the center of the mouse.

Comparisons

Here are some shape/size comparisons with other mice:


Cooler Master MasterMouse MM530


Razer DeathAdder


Roccat Kone AIMO


ASUS ROG Gladius II Origin