I have a confession to make. In my G603 review, I took a shot at the battery life of the G305…but the G305 is the mouse I really wanted, and the 603 was my number two choice.
I just couldn’t find the 305 in stock anywhere. Until now!
I have smaller hands. I really liked the old Logitech G Pro Mouse, in spite of having a rough recent history with Logitech mice.
The Logitech G305 is a wireless version of the G Pro with an amazing sensor, buttons that aren’t rated for as many clicks, and stupidly long battery life.
Priced at just $59.99, there’s only a few reasons why you’d ever want to buy any other mouse.
OVERVIEW
I bought this mouse myself at a Fry’s Electronics for full retail price.
The Logitech G305 uses the same basic shell design from the recent G Pro and G203 mice. It’s an ambidextrous design save for side buttons on the left side, so it’s slightly biased towards right hand mouse users.
It has a removable back cover that doesn’t have the fun magnets of the Logitech G603. Unlike that larger mouse, it only has room for one AA battery. With one alkaline battery you’ll get up to 250 hours of active use in performance mode and a hilarious 9 months in endurance mode. You can get a little more performance, and less weight, with a lithium battery.
You’re forced to change modes in the Logitech Gaming Software, unlike the G603 which had a hardware switch for this on the bottom.
It comes packaged in Logitech’s new eco-friendly box design, which is almost entirely recyclable.
SHAPE/COMFORT
The Logtech G305 is perfectly-sized for small to medium hands. If you have a really large hand, and you like to get all up in your mouse’s business with a big meaty palm grip…this probably isn’t for you.
But it is shaped perfectly for virtually everyone else.
I love the way this mouse fits my hand.
I can perfectly grip it, and my aim and movement precision is incredible as a result. It’s easy to pick up and reposition thanks to the slightly sloped edges, and it has just enough texture to maintain grip even in a sweaty gaming hand.
This sucker is also light. In a good way. It’s the lightest wireless mouse I’ve ever used, and I think it’s the lightest one on the market? With a lithium battery, its weight is basically indistinguishable from my old G Pro, which is amazing. By comparison, the G603 was just a touch heavier than my G703, even with only one battery inserted.
Logitech knew they already had a winning shell, and they did some serious engineering to keep the weight down here.
BUTTONS
The switches under the buttons are made by Omron…but they’re rated for a “mere” 10 million clicks, unlike the higher click rating of some of Logitech’s other mice.
10 million clicks is still good enough for several years of use.
The buttons are slightly lighter than the average gaming mouse, with a quick snappy feel to their action. They don’t rattle around when you shake the mouse or wiggle your fingers on them. I like the feel of the buttons, but if you’re used to tighter buttons or fancier mice with adjustable tension…you might find these a tiny bit loose.
The side buttons are responsive but have a surprising amount of travel into the body of the mouse. They’re positioned well to hit easily with the thumb on my right hand.
The wheel is a touch too easy to click, and sometimes when I’m intensely wheeling, I accidentally push it in just enough to make it register. But this is more me being nitpicky and not adjusting yet than having any fault with the switch mechanism itself. I like the rough, clicky feel of the wheel steps.
TRACKING
Logitech’s HERO optical sensor is indistinguishable, to me, from the best wired optical mice I’ve owned in the past.
They claim that it matches the performance of the celebrated PixArt 3366 sensor, and I believe them, although I’m not a professional gamer at all. Not even close.
I tested it across a wide variety of games, and my Windows desktop, and not only does the mouse track exceptionally well, it tracks without any perceptible lag in the Performance mode.
In Endurance mode, it’s just a tiny bit slower, but only the pickiest among you will notice.
I’ve taken to switching the mouse into Endurance mode when I’m just doing standard browsing/email stuff, and it’s a bit cumbersome to have to open the software every time. I wish that Logitech had used the two step power switch from the G603.
EXTRAS
The G305 is light in the extras department…but I mean, it’s $60.
That’s less than the price of most new video games once you factor in ever-increasing DLC/Season Pass costs.
You’re getting an exceptional core high-end mouse experience here.
There’s no RGB lighting, there’s no flashy materials, there’s no MMO buttons. It’s just a great mouse with two side buttons, and you get a USB extension cable in the box to reposition the receiver in the case of interference.
The basic mouse experience is so good and perfect that it honestly doesn’t matter that the extras package is slim. Logitech includes an alkaline AA battery to get you started…which I immediately threw in my kitchen stash in favor of a lithium instead.
The “Lightspeed” receiver is tiny, and there’s a small slot in the body of the mouse to store it in, so this makes a great portable/laptop mouse too. There’s no other way to connect the mouse, but the proprietary receiver is a key piece of the secret sauce that lets it work so well.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This is not the flashiest mouse I’ve ever used, but it’s probably the best?
It takes the rock solid performance of the G Pro/ G203 and recreates it perfectly in a wireless package with astounding battery life.
It’s no wonder that the few local stores that carry this mouse near me have been constantly out of stock. And this hasn’t been the easiest mouse to pin down online either.
The Logitech G305 is the most easily recommendable wireless gaming mouse on the market. It’s cheap. It performs perfectly. It has great battery life.
The only people who might not like it are those with the largest hands, those that need a ton of extra side buttons, or those that insist on having a rechargeable battery built-in, or wired/bluetooth support.
Buy this and then never think about mice again.
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