Introduction
When shopping for peripherals, there are many options these days, and everyone has an opinion on which is best. So people go with the opinions of friends, reviewers or just buy off experience. I’d say, some of the best opinions are that of pro gamers. So if a team of pro gamers get together and design a gaming mouse, why would you not want to at least try that mouse? Well, that’s exactly what the people from team Fnatic have done. With the launch of the Flick G1 Optical Gaming Mouse, Team Fnatic has extended their Gear line up od gaming peripherals. Some of you may have read my review of the Rush G1 mechanical keyboard the Proclockers has recently published. If you had, you’ll know that I gave the Rush G1 very high praise. It still today remains my keyboard of choice for both typing and gaming. However, will the Flick G1 stand up to the competition and takes its place alongside some of the major competitors like M65 and the Deathadder? Let’s take a look at how it held up. We’d once again like to thank the people of Team Fnatic for making this review possible.
About Fnatic
Fnatic is a leading organization in the E-Sports industry. Founded by Sam and Anne Mathews, their home office is in the heart of London. However, they also have offices in Belgrade and Siberia. They also have a professional gaming house in Cologne, Germany. Their players attend over 75 international events every year. Some of these events include Dota 2, League of Legends (LOL), Battlefield 4 and many more. The Fnatic team was awarded Team of the Year in both 2006 and 2009. They’ve achieved great success and have won multiple world championships across many different games. Their YouTube channel is a favorite among E-Sports fans. With over 100, 000 subscribers they provide game highlights and video interviews. With over 2 million followers on all forms of social media, Fnatic is without a doubt, one of the largest E-Sports franchises.
About the Flick G1
The Flick was designed for gamers by gamers
“Made with the solely purpose to give the E-sports gamer a keen edge over its opponents, the Fnatic Gear FLICK has been designed with a performance driven components and interesting features. The curvature of the body, yet uncomplicated but ergonomically shape has been studied through countless of hours, carved from clay and in the end approved by the Fnatic Teams. Additionally, the Fnatic Gear FLICK features seven programmable buttons and scroll wheel, three user profiles, macro recorder and a customizable LED-lightning system, making it completely customizable to your personal preferences.”
Specifications
- MCU/Processor: Holtek HT68FB560
- Main switches: Omron
- Sensor: ADNS 3310
- Memory: 256 kB
- Resolution: 5000 CPI
- Frames per second: 6500
- Tracking speed: 130 IPS
- Max acceleration: 30 G
- Report rate: Adjustable, up to 1000Hz
- Max acceleration: USB 2.0, Gold plated
- (2 m braided cord)
- PRODUCT DIMENSIONS & WEIGHT
- 126x68x40 mm
- Net weight: 90 g / 0.19 lbs
- RETAIL PACKAGE DIMENSIONS
- 56x160x218 mm
- Package weight: 322 g / 0.70 lbs
- SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
- Windows® compatible
- Available USB port
- 10 MB free space on hard drive
- RETAIL PACKAGE CONTENTS
- Fnatic Gear FLICK
- Quick Guide
- COUNTRY OF ORIGIN
- China
- COMPLIANCE
- CE, FCC
- WARRANTY TERMS
- 2 Year Warranty from purchase date
Features
The Flick has a soft touch rubber feel
The Flick G1 comes equipped with a Pixart 3310 Optical Sensor. It’s the latest optical LED sensor on the market. This sensor has a focus on performance with optimal tracking speed and acceleration.The left and right mouse buttons are OMRON Switches rated at 10 clicks within its life cycle.The cord has been angled upward in a 30° angle. This helps to prevent the cord from touching the surface in front of the mouse and in that way reducing the drag of the cord.The scroll wheel is equipped with a RGB LED that lights up the scroll wheel. The RGB LED can be configured in any color and various levels of brightness.An onboard memory that stores up to three profiles with three CPI, or counts per inch, steps each, as well as macros and light configurations.
Packaging
The front view of the Flick packaging
The Flick G1 comes packed in an average sized box with an oversized image of the Flick G1 on the front along and the Gear logo next to the image. The front flap, help closed with a magnet, opens to reveal the Flick G1 in plastic. On the inside of the flap, we see the technical specifications of the Flick G1. The rear of the box again, depicts the Flick G1 and lists some of the main features and selling points of the mouse. Either side of the packaging show the Gear logo. The very bottom shows the UPC code with the SKU number of the Flick G1.
The rear view of the Flick packaging
The front flap is magnetic and has the technical specs on the inside.
The Flick out of it box, but still in the internal packaging.
This is what comes packed with the mouse
A Closer Look
Top view of the Flick
Top, front view of the Flick with the RGB scroll wheel
The left side view has the page forward and page back buttons and the Gear logo.
The right side of the mouse sports the Flick name.
With its ergonomic design and soft touch rubber feel, the Flick G1 is an absolutely beautiful mouse. It’s also one of the most comfortable mice I’ve held to date.The flick G1 is sporting 4 decent sized feet on the four corners of the underside of the mouse. The braided cable measures 6 feet in length. At its base, the cable is angled up 30° to help prevent the cable from dragging. On the other end is a gold plated USB connection. The rubber scroll wheel features 16.8 million color RGB lighting. This allows you to customize its lighting to fit your preferences. You are able to change the color, saturation and effect of the lighting on the scroll wheel. The effects include fade in and out, blink, heartbeat, and pulsate. You can also add your own custom effect by setting the brightness and timing of the lighting.
Here you see the PIXART 3310 sensor and the glide feet
The USB connection on the braided cable is gold plated to extend the life of the connector
In the Gear Software, this is where you set the RGB lighting of the scroll wheel
Right below the scroll wheel is the CPI (counts per inch) indicator. CPI is the measure of a number of typeset font characters per inch used or supported by a digital display device. Some mice measure its movement in DPI, which is the measure of a number of pixels per inch used in a graphic or supported by a digital display device, used to specify type or image resolution. Either way, it’s basically used to set the speed on the pointer on screen. To the left of the 3 CPI indicator button are the CPI indicator lights. These lights are used to show the 3 preset levels of CPI that can be set in the Fnatic software as well as the profiles that have been set by the user.If you set a CPI changing function to the mouse, the level LED’s present the CPI levels in orange. If the LEDs are white, it indicates a specific user profile is set, and not just the CPI settings. However, if both CPI and Profile functions is assigned, the color will stay orange.
My personal preference is usually a rather low CPI when browsing or just general use of about 1800 CPI, or DPI. However, when in a FPS like the New Doom, or other fast passed shooter, a higher CPI is used, about 6400 for me. This allows for faster movement in game. In the same software, you can also set the polling rate of the mouse, the pointer sensitivity, the double click speed, and one if my favorite features, the scroll speed. This allows you to skip between lines or pages using the scroll wheel.
Here is where you set the CPI of the mouse as well as the Polling Rate, Scroll Sped and Pointer Sensitivity.
Just below the indicator lights are two additional buttons. Although they are programmable, I prefer their default settings of page forward and page back. However, they can not only be remapped, but also set as Macros. As we all know, Macros can be the most useful thing ever. For me personally, the first thing I do with a mouse that has macro recording, is map the command to export media in Adobe Premier Pro. Given there are many other uses for Macros, but that’s the most useful to me. The Gear software also give you the ability to remap all the buttons on the mouse. The onboard memory allows you to save up to 3 profiles including CPI settings, Macros, and Light configurations.
This is where you’d remap the button on the Flick
The Boost Control Mousepad
The Front View of the Boost Controls Packaging
With the Flick mouse, I also received the Boost Control, poly carbonate, hard mouse pad. Its comes nicely in what to me, looks like a hard book cover. Since it’s a hard mousepad, this makes sense as to not damage it during shipping. It’s paper thin and a flawless tracking surface. It allowed for quick, seamless movements, without skipping or stuttering. The Boost Control was developed by professional gamers to ensure precision tracking and reliability to support gameplay at both the highest levels of competition or just during casual gaming. Since it’s polycarbonate, it’ll never fray, therefore it’s life expectancy is mock longer than that of an average mousepad. The Boost is designed with an arc shape to reflect the natural movements of the hand, arm and wrist. It comes with a nonstick, rubber backing to keep it in place when in use. The Boost comes with a 2-year warranty and comes in 3 sizes.
- Size M: 280 x 214 x 2mm
- Size L: 340 x 260 x 2mm
- Size XL: 400 x 305 x 2mm
The Boost Control’s Packaging Rear View
The Boost and Flick make a perfect pair for any gamer or enthusiast
Final Thoughts and Conclusion
The Gear logo on the front left side of the Flick Mouse
Going into a mouse review can be rather difficult. With the number of companies producing mice these days, you have to delve deep to really find things that stick out, and set that specific mouse apart from the rest. However, that’s not the case with the Flick from Fnatic. When I first set my hand on the mouse, I cracked a smile due to its soft touch rubber feel. The design is extremely comfortable. Not only that, but the software is user friendly and I had zero issues installing it and running it on both Windows 7 and 10. You can pick up the Boost mouse pad right now for only $19.99 at Amazon, and the Flick Optical Mouse for only $49.99 at Amazon. The combination of the price, quality and beauty, I’m very happy to award both the Boost mousepad and the Flick Gaming Mouse with Proclockers “Elite Hardware” award! When combined with the Boost mouse pad, and the Rush Mechanical Keyboard, this set up is a gamers dream.
