Both VAXEE and Zowie mice have always followed a different approach than most other mice: plug and play, ease of use, durability, suitability for competitive play, and a continuing focus on the intricacies of ergonomic shapes. All of this still applies to their latest release, the XE, albeit with some small yet meaningful differences. On the XE, the focus doesn't lie solely on competitive play, which prompted VAXEE to address some long-standing points of criticism directed towards their mice.

The biggest change and, in my book at least, improvement, is the scroll wheel. Previous VAXEE releases utilized an optical wheel encoder, which was durable and reliable, but obnoxiously loud during use. Office work in particular suffered from the stiff and incredibly noisy scrolling. On the XE, a mechanical encoder from ALPS is used instead, which still is noisy, but nowhere near as loud as the previous models. Tactility is still good as well, but I've found the scrolling to be exceedingly stiff, especially when moving just a single notch at a time. Still, the improvement is tangible, and I wouldn't mind at all if VAXEE would continue using this encoder on all of their future releases. Another improvement is the cable. While the wiring is unchanged compared to the previous one, the braiding has been adjusted, resulting in much better flexibility. The cable is roughly on par with that of the Zowie C-series now, which isn't amazing, but a significant step forward, with no downsides in regard to durability. Another plus is the fact that the cable is detachable, allowing one to conveniently install a new one in case the default cable bites the dust, or switch to a more or less flexible model altogether. Since an anchor is present at the mouse-end of the cable, the cable is locked in very tight, so it coming loose is very unlikely.

As with previous VAXEE releases, the buttons are a strong suit of the XE. Once again, various switches from Huano are utilized. A split-button design is used for the main buttons, resulting in snappy and firm actuation, roughly matching the ZYGEN NP-01s and Outset AX in terms of stiffness. Despite being separated from the shell, the main buttons are perfectly stable too, to where lateral movement cannot even be provoked when trying to. The side buttons manage to impress with their lack of pre and post-travel, along with their even actuation across the entire length. Unfortunately, actuating the side buttons by squeezing the sides is still possible, but doing so requires an excessive application of force, so I consider this a non-issue. Aside from that, build quality is solid, and considering the great button quality, the weight of the XE isn't bad at all. In terms of size, the XE sits at the upper range of medium, despite not being particularly bulky, but fairly wide and long. Being the first "true" ambidextrous design by VAXEE, the XE feels surprisingly unique in hand, in spite of looking somewhat generic at first glance. As always, VAXEE has been successful in altering the ergonomics of a shape by adjusting seemingly minor aspects of it. Lastly, the feet have been increased in size, and their surface properties have been changed as well, resulting in a smoother yet more controlled glide.

In terms of internals, VAXEE still opts for PixArt's trusty PMW3389 sensor, which continues to be perfectly sufficient for a wired 1000 Hz mouse. Accordingly, CPI deviation is very low, general tracking fine, motion delay low, and polling perfectly stable. Click latency is on par with previous releases, but an additional 3 ms setting has found its way onto the XE. Remarkably, this one is just 0.8 ms slower than the 2 ms setting, and more consistent as reflected by the significantly lower standard deviation. For those valuing consistency in click response, the 3 ms setting thus may in fact be the best choice, as it beats all the others when it comes to standard deviation by a decent margin.

Overall, the XE could be argued to be the most accomplished VAXEE release thus far, leaving not much for me to criticize. If anything, it is the pricing that is worthy of criticism, as $69.99 isn't exactly a bargain for a rather barebones wired 1000 Hz mouse. At the same time, I'm glad VAXEE continues to be around, and infuses the often unimaginative gaming mouse industry with their unique approach and perspective on things. The XE is another rock-solid offering, and well worthy of our Recommended award.

When looking at the competition, there aren't that many alternatives. The $59.99 Ninjutso Katana follows a similar approach, is a decent bit lighter, and the shape is at least somewhat comparable, but the cable is stiffer, and performance severely lacking. The ASUS TUF M4 Air for $49.99 has a somewhat comparable shape too, is significantly lighter, and excels in the button and performance department, but Armoury Crate continues to be the source of many headaches.