Logitech G502 Lightspeed review: A wireless gaming mouse that's just as responsive as a wired one

The Logitech G502 Lightspeed is an ambitious mouse. Not only does it seek to live up to the reputation of the G502 series and the expectations of its most ardent supporters, but it takes that experience completely wireless. For gamers who have long held fast to their corded mice, that means the G502 Lightspeed has a high bar to overcome.

Fortunately for Logitech, and barring a couple of small issues, the G502 Lightspeed kills any concerns with a great mix of features, killer performance, and exceptional battery life. In other words, the G502 Lightspeed checks all of the right boxes for a solid wireless gaming mouse, if you're willing to pay for all of its bells and whistles.

What you'll like about the Logitech G502 Lightspeed

Wireless mice have long been pariahs among serious gamers, but that market has opened up quite a bit in recent years as companies like Logitech, Razer, and Corsair have continued to refine the sensors and wireless tech that power them. The G502 Lightspeed is no exception, largely thanks to the aptly named Lightspeed wireless technology powering communication between your PC and the mouse over the 2.4GHz band.

There is no noticeable lag with the G502 Lightspeed when compared to my cadre of wired mice. In fact, the whole time I've been using it, it still felt as though I had a direct line from the sensor to my PC — albeit with much more freedom of movement. With the accompanying HERO 16,000 DPI sensor, everything felt responsive and smooth, whether it involved clicking through World of Warcraft, taking out enemies in Wolfenstein, or just clicking through the web and text editors.

If you like to tune your mouse to your needs, the G502 Lightspeed delivers in spades. There are 11 buttons across the mouse, all of which can be configured through Logitech's G Hub software. That's where you'll also find all of the tuning knobs for your DPI (sensitivity) presets and lighting.

You can set up different profiles for your DPI presets, and the settings get pretty granular. You're allowed to set four presets, which you can cycle through using the dedicated on-the-fly DPI switches to the left of your left mouse button. Each preset can be tuned anywhere from 100 to 16,000 DPI. There's also a DPI-drop button on the mouse for when you want to instantly slow things down, and you can set that up here as well.

Along with the DPI speeds, you can adjust the polling rate — the per-second rate at which the mouse reports information to your PC — at 125, 250, 500, or 1000.

One of the best aspects of the G502 Lightspeed is that you can customize its weight to fit your needs. Out of the box, the mouse weighs in at 4.02 ounces (114 g), but it comes with 16 grams of extra weights in the box (four two-gram weights, and two four-gram weights). Simply open up the bottom of the mouse, and you'll find space to slot in the weights as needed.

The weights came in especially handy for me because I typically use the Logitech MX Master 2S as my daily mouse. At 5.1 ounces, it's a fair bit heavier in the hand than the G502 Lightspeed, so the latter immediately felt a little too light. Four weights later, and everything was feeling right again.

I didn't get to test it out during my review, but the G502 Lightspeed can be paired with Logitech's Powerplay mat to go completely wireless. A removable disc at the bottom of the mouse, which usually hides a compartment for extra weight and storage for the USB dongle, can be replaced with an alternate disc that enables wireless charging with the Powerplay mat. If you're willing to invest an extra $100, the Powerplay mat will charge the mouse as you use it, so you'll never have to sully it with a wire again.

However, even without the Powerplay mat, you won't have to charge the G502 Lightspeed often. It's rated for up to 48 hours of use (60 hours with the lighting off), and I've been getting through full work weeks with some gaming thrown in on a single charge.

What you'll dislike about the Logitech G502 Lightspeed

The design of the wired G502 is what many people love about the mouse, and that's very much carried forward on the G502 Lightspeed. For most, that's a good thing, but it does come with drawbacks. If you're looking for a compact mouse, the G502 Lightspeed isn't it. Its complement of buttons and thumb rest make it a bit bulky, though that assessment will depend on your preference. It's also not the lightest mouse out there, but it's also far from the heaviest.

The scroll wheel is an area where some people might find some dissatisfaction. I say some because the scroll wheel feels great and much higher quality than the Corsair Dark Core wireless mouse I had on hand to compare it to. However, it's a noticeable downgrade coming from the metallic quality of the non-gaming MX Master 2S — though both can swap between a satisfying clicky feel to a free scroll with the tap of a button.

Speaking of the Corsair Dark Core, one of my favorite features of that mouse is that you can swap out the side grip between two different styles to fit your preference. Given the Dark Core is much cheaper than the G502 Lightspeed, it would have been nice to see a similar level of customization here. However, Logitech had quite a bit on its hands in redesigning the whole mouse to be wireless while sticking to the G502 style without making it any heavier, so it's understandable that the company didn't go quite that far.

Finally, I've hinted at it a couple of times already, but the price of the G502 Lightspeed isn't for the faint of heart. At $150, it's definitely on the very premium end of gaming mice. Add in the Powerplay mousepad if you want to completely rid yourself of wires, and you're looking at $250. That's a steep asking price.

So should you buy the Logitech G502 Lightspeed?

If you've got the extra money to spend and want what is one of the best wireless gaming mice out there, then the G502 Lightspeed should be at the top of your list. Its mixture of features, design, and customization make it well worth the money. Most importantly, it's a wireless gaming mouse that still manages to feel just a responsive as a wired one.

For the thrifty out there, you may want to look at alternative wireless gaming mice like Corsair's Dark Core or Ironclaw, or even the Razer Mamba wireless. All three are suitable wireless gaming mice at cheaper prices, but you'll miss out on some of what makes the G502 Lightspeed special.

The Logitech G502 Lightspeed is available now for $150. If you want to get the full experience, you can add the Powerplay mouse mat for another $100 and eliminate the need to ever recharge again.