After years of seeming stagnation, Zowie has finally started updating their mice line-up. The EC3-C makes the start, but despite significant improvements, a rather inexplicable blunder has made it past QA.

Among the most noticeable advancements is the scroll wheel. Compared to both previous Zowie iterations and the scroll wheel VAXEE is using on their mice, the scroll wheel on the EC3-C is much better. However, "better" is both a generalizing and indeterminate notion, which applies to the EC3-C scroll wheel in particular. Whereas noise levels are much more manageable now, they are still too high compared to most other wheels, and the lighter scrolling coupled with a heavy wheel click often leads to unintended scrolling when pressing said wheel click. In addition to that, CS players in particular may prefer the stiffer and slightly more defined scrolling of previous models. In short, even though the scroll wheel is nowhere near as flimsy as it used to be, and its added steps (24-step instead of 16-step) are welcome, there is still room for improvement.

The next advancement is the cable. The stiffness of the rubber cables used by Zowie past was only alleviated by the angled cable exit, which at least eased using a bungee. For the EC3-C, the angled cable exit is still present, but Zowie finally switched to a braided, paracord-like cable much like what most of the competition is using these days. While its flexibility can't measure up to the very best, it is a massive step forward for Zowie and easily eclipses VAXEE's still rather stiff braided cables. In terms of buttons, the EC3-C does well across the board. Both main and side buttons have some pre-travel, but this is mostly by design. Zowie mice still are mainly conceived for CS players, and they typically prefer their buttons to not be overly sensitive. Whereas the EC2-A in particular suffered from incredibly poor side buttons, the EC3-C is the opposite, and the lack of post-travel on the side buttons in particular manages to impress. Another design choice made with CS players in mind is the mouse feet, which are big like on the older EC-A series and on the slower side. Still, glide is just fine, a set of replacement mouse feet is included, and a set of faster feet is available as a separate purchase for those craving more speed. On a side note, CPI deviation has been kept to a minimum irrespective of whether the stock or faster feet are used.

As with previous Zowie mice, configuration happens entirely on-device. Whereas previous series were stuck with a single and not particularly low click latency setting, the EC3-C allows for a second, lower setting. With said setting, click latency has been measured to be the lowest of any Zowie mouse so far, although not as low as on VAXEE mice using the lowest setting. Furthermore, VAXEE's solution of having a button that simply cycles through three latency levels is no doubt more elegant than Zowie's approach of pressing a specific button when plugging the mouse in. In addition to that, the EC3-C allows changing lift-off distance (LOD) through the same method—that is, in theory at least. On my unit, this simply doesn't work as LOD can be neither lowered nor increased and one is permanently stuck on the medium setting, which is the default. After some asking around, I've come to the conclusion that this isn't exclusive to my unit, and rather affects all of them. Considering the very limited configuration options present on the EC3-C, it is beyond me how a blunder this obvious managed to get past any stage of QA, and I sincerely hope Zowie will manage to address this issue ASAP for future batches, especially since Zowie traditionally doesn't do firmware updates.

Lastly, the EC3-C also introduces a new size option to the EC roster. For me, the thought of a smaller-sized EC3 has always been an enticing prospect, which is why the EC3-C has me slightly disappointed. The EC3-C is more of an EC2.5 or EC2*; i.e., a differently balanced instead of straight-up smaller EC2. While the shorter length makes the EC3-C a worthwhile alternative for those always having considered the EC2 to be too long, it is a less compelling offering for those looking for a smaller mouse altogether. I simply expected an EC3 that is uniformly smaller than the EC2 by the same amount the EC2 is smaller than the EC1, but for some reason, Zowie decided to set different priorities. However, this is more of a personal perspective, and thus intricately linked to my own expectations rather than the mouse objectively falling short.

This conclusion may sound more negative than it should. At the end of the day, the EC3-C is no doubt a genuinely good mouse, and it has received ample improvements over previous series. In fact, the most serious criticism that could be leveled at the EC3-C is the price—at $69.99, the EC3-C costs $10 more than the VAXEE Outset AX (or $5, as of a recent price increase for all VAXEE mice), which comes with a 3389 instead of a 3360, working LOD adjustment, and click latency that is both lower and more convenient to configure. On the other hand, although less expensive than the 3389, the 3360 performs just as well in the EC3-C in practice, and the AX sets different priorities when it comes to shape, buttons, and feet. All in all, the choice comes down to preference, and there is little doubt that the EC3-C is a very solid mouse, which is why it secures our Recommended award.

When looking at competing EC2-inspired mice, there is absolutely no shortage. The Pulsar Xlite is closer to an EC1 in size, has similar performance and build quality, but weighs significantly less, for $59.95. The Sharkoon Light² 200 is pretty much an exact EC2 clone with similar performance and build quality, lower weight, but a stiffer cable, for $49.99. Though not an exact clone, the Glorious Model D- is very much EC2-inspired and comes with similar performance, lower weight, and a slightly better cable, for $49.99. Lastly, the Xtrfy M4 actually isn't EC2-like (!), has similar performance, lower weight, but a stiffer cable, along with extensive on-device configurability, for $59.00.