The G-Wolves HSK Plus is what happens when you take an endgame fingertip grip mouse like the HSK and make it wireless. Unlike traditional fingertip grip mice like the Model O- and Razer Viper Mini the HSK line makes no compromises in terms of shape and caters solely to fingertip grip.
This is not a mouse for everyone like the GPX but is a specialized tool that will allow those who use a fingertip grip to achieve their maximum potential.
You can tell from a glance that the half-mouse aesthetic of the original HSK stayed but the shape did change a bit to make it even more comfortable to hold while only using your fingertips.
While looking at the size comparison chart provided by G-Wolves themselves the HSK Plus is slightly longer and has a slightly less pronounced hump. These small differences can be felt immediately when holding the mice in a side-by-side comparison and it is clear that the HSK Plus is more comfortable to use.
The increase in length did not add much to the weight which is still under 40g (38-39g) and that is very important for a fingertip mouse – the lighter the mouse is, the better it feels in hand.
The biggest issue of the HSK was the squared-off back hump that would sometimes dig into the top of your palm. With the shape being rounded up the mouse now flows better with the natural design of your hand and is a lot more comfortable to hold.
As mentioned before, this mouse is tiny so unless you fingertip grip this mouse is not for you.
The HSK Plus uses a PAW3370 sensor which is a flawless sensor that beats out the top-end 3389 sensor used in the HSK. As explained in this post by Endgame Gear the 3370 performs better than a 3389 because it has a lower lift-off distance and resolution error. Moreover, it has lower motion delay which means better precision while gaming.
The 3370 is also more energy efficient which makes for a better overall sensor to use in a wireless mouse of this size. During personal use the sensor performed without any troubles on cloth/hybrid/hard surfaces with a stable polling rate and no noticeable DPI deviations.
The one department where the HSK Plus feels like a downgrade to the original HSK is the clicks and switches used for the mouse. The original HSK came with nicely tuned Kailh 8.0’s while the Plus came with red Omron switches (D2FC-F-K).
The red Omron switches are not bad but are still a downgrade from the original Kailh 8.0 switches so I have soldered some Japanese Omron (D2F-F-3-7) switches into my mouse. With the new switches, the mouse felt a lot better since the clicks were light, crispy, and quite spammable.
The HSK Plus also comes with a big improvement compared to the HSK since it now includes side buttons which for many are a must on a gaming mouse. These are quite tiny but are well placed for my grip and offer you the opportunity to have extra keys bound to your mouse if that is your thing.
The mouse feet on the HSK Plus are pretty good – not the best out there but usable on any surface. Since I am using the SkyPad 3.0 the original feet are quite nice since they are made from harder PTFE (unlike Corepads), therefore, these feet hold up to being used on hard surfaces well.
The cool part is that G–Wolves gives you 2 spare sets and also a set of PTFE dots you can use on the mouse so you will never really run out of mouse feet while you use the HSK Plus.
The mouse also comes with a set of grips that you can apply to your mouse if it is too slippery for you. I have cut out some of my grip tape since I like the two-tone look.
Overall the mouse comes with everything you would ever need and scores some big brownie points for the sheer amount of things that come with the mouse.
The wireless technology of the HSK Plus is on par with the other mice G-Wolves released in the past and is on par with the usual industry wireless capability. What this means, in reality, is that the HSK Plus is not a bad mouse but it is not quite on top of the chart when it comes to wireless latency like the big contenders (Logitech & Razer).
The difference is in end-to-end latency, but overall, the mouse feels good to use in wireless mode, and the slightly higher latency is not a game breaker. The marginally higher latency can also simply be tweaked with software updates so this should not hold you back from purchasing the mouse.
Although the mouse is tiny the build quality of the mouse is decent with no creaking or rattling. The full shell is also an improvement over the honeycomb since dust or other particles cannot get inside of your device.
The only tiny complaint I would have regarding build quality is the on/off button which doesn’t always feel crisp and sometimes gets stuck in the middle of the on/off position.
The packaging this time is a bit simpler without the metal tin so the mouse and all of your accessories come in a simple box. Maybe G-Wolves ran out of tin containers for their mice?
The software for the HSK Plus is very simple to use and is lightweight on resource use. It includes all of the main options you would be interested in tweaking. You can set your debounce time, LOD, polling rate, DPI, and macros from the software, and then it will be saved to the onboard memory allowing you to never open the software again.
I do not mind simple software and quite prefer it over something like the Logitech Hub or Razer Synapse which are closer to malware that is almost impossible to fully uninstall.
The G-Wolves HSK Plus is a natural upgrade to the HSK mouse and in essence, is the final step for someone that is looking for a tiny mouse he could use with his fingertip grip. The Plus improves the shape, makes the mouse wireless, and also adds side buttons for those who missed those. There is simply nothing to complain about this mouse if you are a fingertip gripper.
The G-Wolves HSK Plus is a gradual improvement of the HSK with a more refined shape and wireless connectivity. There are genuinely no significant complaints about the mouse and even the small troubles you might encounter are simply a matter of preference (could have used better switches). A clear contender for the G.O.A.T position in the fingertip grip category.