HyperX Pulsefire Haste 2 Wireless is all about speed. In fact, its name itself contains speed. Any competitive gamer will tell you that to achieve high K/D/A, you need a speedy (and accurate) gaming mouse to maintain lightning-quick reflexes. The lightweight Haste 2 Wireless has much to offer. It's not perfect, but with its speed and price, you can put up with some rough edges.

The wireless (and wired) Haste 2 comes standard with the flashy new HyperX 26K sensor with a 650IPS tracking speed, making it suitable for twitch shooters like Valorant and Counter-Strike 2 (open in new tab), as well as accuracy-critical It is suitable for games with a lot of intense movement.

This 6-button mouse offers 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth connectivity, and when charged, it can be used for wired gameplay with a 6-foot paracord cable. If you are not a wireless mouse user, the wired Haste 2 sells for $60. However, you won't notice much difference in speed or accuracy when the mouse is connected or not. As someone who tries to live a cable-free life, I prefer less wiring, and in this case the $30 difference is worth it.

Personally, I found Haste 2 especially helpful in games like Warhammer 40K Dark Tide, where the relentless Warhammer creepy army is out to kill you. Haste 2 helped me keep up with the action happening around me. It was nice to be able to quickly eliminate infected poxwalkers from all directions, score a decisive headshot, or spray and pray the old-fashioned way.

It helps that the wireless mouse weighs 61g, which is quite light for a wireless gaming mouse. For even lighter weight, the wired Haste 2 is only 53g. A heavy mouse can lead to hand fatigue in the long run, so a light gaming mouse is desirable for ergonomic reasons alone. For a gaming mouse, lighter weight means that the mouse can be swiped quickly.

The downside I experienced was a slight slipping feeling, especially at the very intense end of a Fortnite match, where my right hand felt constricted. Thankfully, the Haste 2 comes with grips for the side buttons and mouse buttons. If you are a slow, deliberate shooter (aka stressful battle royale), you might want to wear these grips.

My problem is that the grip tape looks pretty ugly. I, of course, went nuts when I put the grip tape crookedly on the right button of my mouse. Thankfully, after the third or fourth attempt, I was able to get it somewhat straight; it wouldn't be too noticeable on the black version of the Haste 2, but the white version I have looks pretty silly and is a far cry from the sleek design. This is something to consider if you suffer from sweaty hands.

HyperX claims that the Haste 2 has a battery life of about 100 hours. I've been using it as my main gaming mouse for work and play for about a week and so far the battery is about 65% depleted. If I had turned off the RGB lighting on the mouse wheel, it could have lasted much longer. But unlike the Glorious O 2 wireless (opens in new tab), which completely ran out of battery power in two days when RGB was turned on, this does not affect the battery much. To be fair, that mouse has more RGB zones, whereas the Haste 2 only has RGB LEDs on the wheel.

Speaking of RGB, the lighting and all DPI settings are handled by the HyperX Ngenuity app. If you use a mouse often, this can be frustrating.

Unfortunately, this mouse only has one profile. So if you are the type of person who has many profiles for each game or app, you have to go back to the Ngenuity app and change them. it is puzzling that in 2023 we are still talking about how bad these apps are. Once I updated the firmware on my mouse, I immediately deleted the app for my sanity.

The HyperX Haste 2 is a solid budget wireless gaming mouse whose performance and accuracy can keep up with rodents twice its price. However, it lacks some of the familiar bells and whistles. This is a concession that must be made in order to game competitively on a budget.