The G-Lab Kult Promethium: a low-cost RGB laser mouse

Ergonomics

With its fine and slender silhouette (128 x 69 x 40 mm), the Kult Promethium is easy to handle and adapts to most hands, which can place all or part of the palm on it. You quickly find your marks.

Left-handers could even have been tempted because of the ambidextrous design, if the manufacturer had also integrated buttons on the right edge. This mouse therefore remains rather intended for right-handers.

Despite this symmetrical shape, the grip is pleasant, the edges being curved and the main buttons slightly concave to better accommodate the fingers.

Strangely, The G-Lab says his mouse weighs 137g, which is pretty heavy. This is in fact understood with its cable! On our scale, the mouse alone weighs only 103 g, a much more reasonable mass. It is certainly not the lightest mouse on the market, but the Kult Promethium remains easy to lift, which is important if you play in low sensitivity and you have to constantly refocus the mouse on the mat. Gliding is also correct thanks to the 3 PTFE pads glued under the mouse. However, we have some reservations about their lifespan due to their thinness.

In terms of manufacturing quality, without reaching the level of sophistication of the top or even mid-range models of the big brands, the Kult Promethium defends itself quite well. The soft plastic (soft-touch type) of its upper shell is pleasant under the fingers without being too dirty, while the plastic of the edges is a little rougher for better adhesion. Finally, it is mainly the glossy black plastic that detonates a little at the front of the mouse because of its fairly low-end appearance. The translucent border incorporating the RGB LEDs would also have been better finished. Too bad, because the assembly is otherwise very correct. However, there is play in the fixing of the wheel and some movements of the sensor lens (lense rattle). Nothing very annoying, but the movement of the wheel is clearly heard if you have the habit of shaking your mouse strongly in certain nervous games. The wheel in question, however, does not offer horizontal scrolling and should therefore not move sideways at all.

On this point, precisely, note that the scrolling of the said is soft; a little too much even for our taste, because the notches are not very marked.

On the side of the buttons, we feel that we are not dealing with high-end switches. From the Chinese brand Lejin - red model for the 2 main buttons, blue for the others -, they produce a free click, but rather firm and relatively noisy. No problem for playing FPS type games, for example, but for strategy titles and other Moba, requiring a very high number of clicks per minute, they will be less suitable.

The two buttons on the left edge, for their part, have a more plastic look and feel, but still respond well. Their accessibility to the thumb is also quite good despite their small size, even if we have known better.

A last button located in front of the wheel allows you to change the sensitivity of the mouse on the fly. You have to bend your finger a little to reach it, but its curved shape makes handling a little easier.

A few words to finish with the multizone RGB backlight. Based on 21 RGB LEDs integrated in the translucent strip of the shell, an LED in the middle of the wheel and one under the logo, it is very classic and helps brighten up the design of the Kult Promethium. The finish of the translucent border around the mouse is unfortunately perfectible and the light diffusion, in general, could have been a little more careful. Nothing prohibitive, but after having in my hands during the same period a Roccat Kone Aimo and a SteelSeries Rival 600, the difference is obvious.

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Precision

At a time when optical sensors are making a comeback and are preferred by major brands, The G-Lab has chosen a laser sensor to equip its most advanced mice. The Kult Promethium thus integrates an Avago ADNS-9800, already well known, because used in mice like the RAT 6 of Mad Catz, the Ripjaws MX780 RGB of G.Skill or the RGB Lightsaber of Corsair. Main advantage of the laser: its surface recognition is better than that of an optical sensor; therefore, the mouse can be used on a wide variety of media. Transparent materials such as glass seem to be a problem for this mouse, and since it is intended more for video game use, we can only advise too much a good mouse pad, which will improve comfort like gliding and reduce the passage pad wear.

If this ADNS-9800 sensor supports very high maximum speeds and accelerations (respectively 3.81 m / s and 30 g), never picking up whatever the violence of the movements that we apply the mouse, we note however a subtle disadvantage compared to the best optical sensors of the moment: a very slight acceleration, which is detected only during very large and rapid movements, therefore in low sensitivity. Few players will be really bothered by this, but compared to the 1: 1 recognition of the most advanced optical sensors, it is still to be specified.

In terms of sensor sensitivity, the 8,200 dpi is more than enough since at this maximum level, a displacement of 19 mm is enough to cover the entire width of a UHD screen. Professional players are often content with less than 1000 dpi and recommendations rarely go beyond the 3000 dpi bar. There is therefore plenty to take advantage of a multi-monitor installation in very high definition.

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Conclusion

Globally pleasant to handle, with a good laser sensor, the Kult Promethium globally offers value for money. The compromises made to maintain a relatively low sale price unfortunately lead to some faults which, if they are not prohibitive, prevent this mouse from claiming a better score. It is nevertheless recommended for those who cannot necessarily afford a higher-end mouse, since its quality / price ratio is quite good, especially since it approaches 30 €.

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