The ASUS ROG Strix Carry is available for $74.99.

Exceptionally small shell

Great choice of materials

Hot-swappable main switches

Extra Omron D2F-01F switches provided

Default main switches rated for 50 million clicks

Top-tier wireless response time

Fantastic sensor performance

Smooth, low-resistance mouse feet

Handy accessories Shell can creak upon pressure

Very heavy with 2 AA batteries

No replacement mouse feet provided

Small rain lays great dust, and the ASUS ROG Strix Carry is an exceptionally apt example of it. With dimensions of 101 mm x 62 mm x 36 mm (or 3.98" x 2.44" x 1.42"), it's definitely the smallest mouse I've ever tested. The reason I'm counting this as a positive is because there are essentially no small gaming mice on the market that hit this level. I had my initial fears because of its internals and wireless latency, but those quickly dissolved into thin air. ASUS packed a lot of goodies with the mouse, including a padded hard-cover travel pouch that is extremely handy if you take your mouse with you on your travels a lot. The Carry is a right-handed model with side buttons on the left side only, and it is short with a low profile. Its width is rather average, though, which helps with gripping it properly. The mouse is mostly suitable for fingertip gripping, but smaller-handed users may find it comfortable with a claw grip as well.



As for the surface coating, it has the same top coating as the ASUS ROG Gladius mice, a semi-matte, semi-glossy transition with sparkly bits inside. It feels nice and rather grippy to the touch (the latter highly depends on your skin type, though) and doesn't collect fingerprints. The sides have a rugged, thick, textured rubberization that is really grippy and most probably won't slip on you in tough situations. Build quality could be better, but is not bad overall. My main gripe is with some creaking around the shell as both the side panels and top cover can creak slightly if above average pressure is applied, though it shouldn't really happen during regular use. Since the whole top cover is removable and the mouse is small, I can understand it, but it's obviously still a negative.



Buttons are generally good, but there is some room for improvement, which can quickly be done by swapping the D2FC-F-K switches to the D2F-01F models ASUS generously packed with the mouse. By default, the main switches can have a bit of pre-travel and a noticeable amount of post-travel. The former can be fixed by switch swapping, which is exceptionally easy due to the manufacturer's unique switch-socket design, and this is where the packed tweezers come in handy. The scroll wheel is just fantastic; it's tactile and snappy, but the notches are easy to scroll through. The middle click is relatively light, but still harder than the main buttons to eliminate accidental scrolling during clicking. Side buttons are a bit mushy, but generally still nice and spammable, and pretty much the same can be said of the CPI-changer.



Moving on to the sensor, you really carry with the Carry as it uses a PixArt PMW3330 optical sensor. This tracking unit isn't really considered high-end, but according to its specs and my measurements, it is just that. It has a moderately high perfect control speed the vast majority of users won't be able to reach. The LOD is adjustable, with the default at less than a DVD in height. Overall responsiveness is fantastic—tracking is great, and as far as wireless latency goes, ASUS did a fantastic job since wireless input lag is below 1 ms (on 1000 Hz), which is still very rare nowadays.



The mouse operates with 2 AA batteries, and according to the company, these can last for up to 300 hours on 2.4 GHz and 400 hours if connected via Bluetooth. However, if I am correct, this continuous 300 hours of 2.4 GHz usage is true on a polling rate of 500 Hz, which is the factory default. Increasing the polling rate to 1000 Hz may cut battery life in half.



Weight-wise, the mouse has a net mass of 72.9 grams, but adding 2 AA batteries increases this to a staggering 120 g, which is ridiculously heavy for a mouse of such small dimensions. I highly recommend using AAA lithium batteries with AA adapters as it can reduce the overall weight to 95 grams. There are four small, smooth and even mouse feet at the bottom of the mouse that have a relatively low friction once they break in. Unfortunately, there are no replacements in the package.



The ASUS ROG Armoury software is fast, intuitive, and without bugs, although it seems to reset macros if uninstalled for some reason. It is not lightweight, so if you'd like, you can uninstall it as the mouse has on-board memory. RGB lighting is not present to maximize battery life, which I'm perfectly alright with.



The ASUS ROG Carry has an MSRP of $74.99, which might sound like a lot at first—it's such a small mouse! However, considering its performance, I would say it's a fair deal for the price. It has a great sensor, an ultra-low wireless response time, two connectivity modes, and the company's switch-socket feature, which is a fantastic invention. At this price, I'd expect a shell that does not creak, and a set of replacement mouse feet would be nice, but many extras have been included—the travel case is extra handy in my book. Taking everything into consideration, I would call the Carry an Editor's Choice, and I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who likes its tiny shape and lovely specifications.