While there’s been a lot of wireless releases in recent months, there has been a slight lack of support for claw grippers. While gamers continue to wait for the Endgame XM1 to go wireless, Ninjutso serves up their own competitor, the Sora which continues to refine the wireless formula from the brand and offers up a new option for small to medium handed gamers.
Measurements (L x W x H)
120.8 x 59 x 37.3 mm
Weight
45g
Unboxing and Extras
The packaging and unboxing experience has been streamlined slightly from past Ninjutso products. It all feels very minimal and compact and some of the more ornate artwork has been done away with for a bright blue colored box. The mouse and accessories are nicely tucked away inside the box. Inside are an extra set of mouse skates, the charging cable and usb receiver.
Design and Build Quality
The design of the mouse feels well made straight out the box. There is a feeling of quality and refinement despite the light weight and smaller size. The mouse has a smooth matte coating that is comfortable to hold. As for build quality, my copy did not have any rattles, squeaking or flexing. The Sora feels really solid and well crafted throughout. The mousewheel and clicks all felt nicely tuned without any noticeable weak points upon first use. The plastic has just a slight graininess to it that helps with grip. There is minimal branding with just a silver/grey ninja star logo below the hump of the mouse. At just 45g this mouse feels incredibly light for a design that doesn’t utilize any holes.
The shape has a hump towards the back and should appeal to gamers who liked the Endgame XM1 or the Zowie ZA13. I was able to find a comfortable position using claw grip and I think most medium or small handed gamers will really easily adapt to the Sora.
Buttons & Scroll Wheel
Ninjutso is using the Huano pink dot switches on the Sora, which is also found on their last mouse, the Katana. The switches will be instantly familiar to those who’ve used recent Zowie and Vaxee mice. The inclusion of these switches results in satisfying tactile click that feel better tensioned than on the previous wired version. The main click themselves are responsive tactile and quiet. They don’t have minimal pre-travel, post-travel and very little side play. . This does give the clicks a nice sense of reliability and compatibility when it comes to click timing in-game. The clicks themselves are quite light and easily spammable if you find yourself in a pinch in-game.
The scroll wheel is low profile and light weight with a medium amount of tension to each scroll. The wheel has nice grip and tactility and you can feel the individual steps easily The middle click feels especially nice with a satisfying feel and medium amount of travel and gives a nice sounding click. It takes a moderate amount of force to depress it but it’s not so light that accidental clicks should occur.
The side buttons are well placed and easily reached in claw grip. They have very little pre or post travel and feel crisp and tactile. The pill shaped side buttons stick nicely out from the frame and avoid that dull feeling that some mice have, these are sharp tactical and have a nice crisp sounding click. If you rely a lot on side buttons in-game, these won’t feel like they’re a hinderance to your performance as they’re well sized for a compact mouse like the Sora. Lastly there’s a DPI switch button on the underside of the mouse that makes it easy to change settings on the fly without needing to install the proprietary software.
Shape, Performance and Software
In terms of the shape, the most obvious comparison for this mouse is the Endgame XM1. Their wireless model has already been out for pre-order but as it hasn’t hit the market yet, the Sora becomes a direct competitor with one key difference, it’s smaller. The mouse is a tiny bit shorter, smaller in length and with. It almost feels like what an XM1 mini would be and that makes it such a fun mouse to use. There’s already not too many shapes out there for claw grippers and even fewer for smaller handed gamers and the Sora fills that niche very well.
In terms of in-game performance, I felt instantly comfortable with the Sora but it wasn’t until after I got a few reps in that I got really good with this mouse. What I love about the shape and build quality is that it gave me really consistent performance. I aimed well throughout as the wireless freedom paired with the 45g weight offered up great tracking accuracy and quick flicks. I found this to be one of the top performing mice in a variety of FPS games because I didn’t have to make a sacrifice between light weight or the restrictions of a cable.
The Sora has optional software if you want to adjust the LOD, debounce time and custom macros but it works just fine out the box for most users. You can find the software through the Ninjutso site.
Battery Life, Sensor and Skates
The sensor on the Sora is the PAW3395 and as expected for a top of the line sensor it performs flawlessly. I didn’t have any problems at all with LOD, spinouts or skipped tracking. My usual DPI felt consistent and stable and did not require a large adjustment from other wireless mice that I’ve tested. The tracking performance felt snappy and it functioned well on a variety of mousepad surfaces.
As for the battery life of the Sora mouse, it’s rated for 70 hours of use on a full charge. From my usage, this seemed like an accurate estimate and you can rest assured that you won’t need to be constantly charging the mouse.. I think gamers can easily expect 1-2 weeks of frequent use on one charge without needing to plug this thing in which puts it in the same class as the Logitech GPX or Finalmouse Starlight-12 in terms of battery life.
The lightweight cable is usable plugged in though you won’t have to spend much time charging it every month. It’s also USB-C which is great for gamers who want consistency in their cables and like the clean uniform look of the charge port on the mouse itself. The receiver was nice and compact and offered great wireless range and consistent signal.
The mouse comes with 4 corner PTFE feet and a sensor ring. The feet have decent glide out of the box and feel fast and smooth. They are well rounded and give consistent glide even before getting worn-in. Upon inspection they’re a milky translucent color and not just white PTFE. These gave great consistent glide and the fact that there’s an extra set in the box is just a nice bonus.Some surfaces may offer a slightly scratchy response but at that point I may just be nitpicking. I don’t feel compelled to rush out and replace these with aftermarket skates so I think they’re good enough to use for longer periods of time .
Conclusion and Value
For small to medium handed claw grippers, this is a top tier choice if you want lightweight and wireless. I feel like any drawbacks to the mouse are mostly nitpicking as this is just terrific performance and value in one package. At a retail price of $94 USD, the mouse makes no noticeable sacrifices and provides excellent value compared to the current competition.
Pros
Excellent all around build quality
Crispy clicks and great feeling scroll wheel
High end sensor and good battery life
One of the lightest wireless mice
Cons
Skates have slight screechiness on some surfaces
Rating
9.5/10
Bottom Line
If you claw grip and liked the XM1, you’ll love the Sora. It’s a mouse that is better than the sum of its parts at a very competitive pricepoint.
Where to buy the Ninjutso Sora Wireless