Tesoro Shrike H2L Laser Gaming Mouse Review

Choosing the right gaming mouse is not as easy as pie and not as simple as  you think it is. Picking up the right mouse differs from every gamer’s preferences. There are gamers who are left handed and needs gaming mice that are built with ambidextrous design. Some considers the weight of the mouse. The genre that the gamer is playing is another thing to consider when it comes to choosing the right mouse. Basically, it’s like getting the right wand that suits you if you’re living in the world of Harry Potter. Good thing, gaming peripheral manufacturers are doing great when it comes to designing their products. They’re giving like almost everything a gamer needs in just one gaming mouse.

With all of my yapping aside, I luckily got myself to use a revolutionary mouse of Tesoro from 2013-2014. What I’m talking about is the Tesoro Shrike Gaming Mouse.  I’ve been using the Tesoro Shrike for one and half year now and I must say that this mouse provides the gaming needs I need whatever the genre I play and whatever my gaming situation is.

FEATURES AND SPECIFICATIONS:

• 5600 DPI Laser Sensor.
• 5 levels adjustable laser resolution dpi control. 800/1600/3200/4800/5600
• High speed motion detection and acceleration.
• 1000Hz Ultrapolling rate control.
• 128Kb onboard memory.
• Adjustable weight plates; 10g x 3pcs + 5g x 1pc
• 8 independently programmable buttons.
• Rubberized thumb grip.
• User friendly UI for easy setup.
• 5 mapping sets,40 macro keys.
• Adjustable full color LED control.
• Compatible with Windows XP/Vista/7.
• Gold-plated USB connector with braided cable.

PACKAGING/UNBOXING:

The Tesoro Shrike comes in a black, with a touch of purple packaging, with a cut out window shaped like the company’s logo. The cut out window gives way to the preview of the beauty of the Shrike it can offer. The front side boasts the customized name of the product and the basic features of the mouse that you are about to use. The Tesoro logo is seen on the top-right part.

The back side of the packaging is as busy as ever with the detailed specifications of the mouse in different languages. A graphical representation of the mouse is seen here as well together with the UI of the software.

The Shrike aside, the packaging also includes a driver disc and a box that contains weights (3x10g and 1x5g). The weights mentioned are subject to be placed inside the mouse to suit the right weight the gamer prefers for his/her gaming needs.

THE TESORO SHRIKE H2L LASER GAMING MOUSE:

Upon reaching freedom from its packaging, the Tesoro Shrike will bless you with its plastic built body with a touch of metallic brush effect to aesthetically show its capabilities in gaming. Aside from a chrome LED, the scroll wheel is complimented as well by a rubberized grip which helps with precision when it comes to scrolling whether you’re gaming or just surfing the web. Aside from the main button of the mouse, Shrike also features a “Forward” and “Back” button beside the Left button. A “DPI” button just below the scroll wheel is seen as well that will help in changing the DPI settings of the mouse in a jiffy.

The sides of the mouse features a crater like circles which gives off a weird but satisfying feeling while holding the mouse. Also, the left side of the mouse features two extra buttons which is also completely programmable through the Shrike’s software.

The bottom side of the mouse features the Tesoro and the product’s logo and some information warnings. Here, a button is placed that will open the lower side of the mouse where the weights mentioned earlier will be placed in order to adjust the weight of the mouse. Yep, you may add an additional 35g worth of weights to this mouse.

Tesoro did not hold back when it comes to build of the mouse as they provided the mouse with a braided cable and a gold plated USB.

SOFTWARE:

The only thing that I find hateable about Tesoro is their software’s design. There’s just too much design in the UI that makes it look so overrated and messy at the same time.

The design aside, the functions that the Shrike’s software offers are self-explanatory. It actually provides a lot… like a lot of customization and configuration for the mouse. Aside from the changing of the LED color, it also allows the user to configure up to 5 mappings which may be used in different kind of games the user play. Even the “DPI” button is programmable to whatever the hell you want to assign to it. There’s just almost no limit in programming the mouse’ mapping with the Shrike software.

USER EXPERIENCE AND CONCLUSION:

I’ve been using the Tesoro Shrike for 1 and a half year now and it’s still as useful as ever. The physical build quality is so great and the versatility of the mouse’ weight is just so awesome. The mouse is super precise and very comfortable to use. The placement of the buttons are so good that I did not experience any accidental clicks ever since I started using the mouse. I’m a claw grip kind of guy and unlike the other mouse I used, the Shrike is so comfortable to hold due to its right amount of length and bulkiness. The extra buttons doesn’t interfere with my hands which gives me a really really enjoyable time playing without even worrying of accidental clicks or key presses. Aside from claw grip, the shape of the Shrike is perfect for palm grip kind of people out there. However, I think, tip grip people will find it hard to manipulate the mouse with its full additional 35g of weight equipped.

Gaming wise, I used the Tesoro Shrike playing Dota 2 and Batllefield 4. In Dota 2, the macros that I set with the extra buttons helped me get by with the in-game items I needed to activate compared to its original shortcut in my keyboard. It actually lessened my “misuse-of-item-due-to-panic” moments everytime the clashes heat up. In Battlefield 4, even though I’m not really good at it, the mouse gave me leverage when it comes to aiming. The DPI changing button helped a lot whenever I tried to snipe.

Overall, I personally think that Tesoro did a great job when it comes designing AND building this mouse. I didn’t really encountered any issues with the mouse and its performance. If we’ll talk about the availability, the Tesoro Shrike is not available in the Philippines. However, you may get one at Amazon for only $29.99 or P1,382.42.

PROS:

• GREAT BUILD QUALITY
• GREAT DESIGN
• WEIGHT VERSATILITY
• ALMOST UNLIMITED CONFIGURATION
• PRECISION
• PRICE POINT

CONS:

• SOFTWARE DESIGN
• AVAILABILITY