Keychron M4 vs. Darmoshark M5 Review
Introduction
Today I'll be reviewing the Keychron M4 fingertip mouse and more importantly comparing it to the Darmoshark M5 fingertip mouse.
A few different people commented on my Darmoshark M5 review asking if I had opinions on it compared to the Keychron since I claimed the M5 was the best budget fingertip mouse on the market.
I had not tried it at that time so I ordered one and have been using it extensively over the past month or so.
So let's go ahead and go over the pros and cons of the Keychron M4, and then finally pick a winner.
Pros
Starting off with the pros, this mouse has some really great strong points.
The clicks are impressively good on this mouse. They are tactile with practically zero pre and post travel. I'm so impressed with them and they are almost up there with the HTR or the OP1 8K clicks but not quite. Still insane though.
The stock skates are another strong point of the mouse, as they work very well with glass which is really all I use nowadays. They wore in very well and became super smooth during gameplay.
Lastly for the pros, the shape was surprisingly great for me. When I first opened the mouse, I instantly thought that it would be way too small for me, but once I got used to it I loved it. I've heard other people say this when talking about small mice, but it really does feel like you're using a pencil or just pointing with your finger when you're tracking during gameplay, and it's a very unique but great feeling mouse.
Cons
Moving on to the cons, there are still a few with the M4, the first being the scroll wheel. It's very hard to press and is extremely small. I know the mouse itself is small, but I really feel like they could've made it just a little bit bigger. It also is hard to press, probably because of how small it is, and it was definitely noticeable during gameplay.
The coating is another drawback. I wouldn't say the coating is as lackluster as the Darmoshark's coating, but I still felt the need to put grips on it. Unfortunately, it didn't come with grips so I had to improvise and use some cicada wings I had which did the trick. Still wish the coating was just better.
Lastly, I know this seems to contradict what I just said, but some aspects of the shape are a drawback. Although I love that the mouse is small, the sides of the mouse have a weird curvature to them that I wish was not there. If Keychron had just made them completely flat like the Darmoshark is, I would have zero complaints about the shape, but alas they did so there could be improvements.
Rating
For a rating, I would also give this mouse a 3.5/5.0, just like I did the Darmoshark. A very solid mouse that I would recommend buying.
Comparison
Now, let's compare the two mice. Honestly, when I think about playing with both mice, I did enjoy using the Keychron more than I did the Darmoshark. I think the size of the mouse is really what did it for me. I thought I would hate a tiny mouse like this one, but I ended up loving it.
Another plus to the Keychron are the clicks. They are miles better than the Darmoshark, and I could instantly tell during gameplay.
On the other side though, the flat sides of the Darmoshark and better middle mouse do add to its case as the best budget fingertip mouse. I also think that the stock skates on the Darmoshark would be better suited for a cloth pad which does cater to a wider audience.
All in all, it is very hard to decide. They are both the same weight and similarly priced, but I have to give it to the Keychron M4. For me, I just enjoyed using it so much more, and felt more comfortable with it during gameplay.
Conclusion
Now, this does not mean that you shouldn't consider the Darmoshark when purchasing a budget fingertip mouse. The shape of the Darmoshark is way way safer than the shape of the Keychron.
The Keychron is by far the smallest stock mouse I've ever seen, so getting it definitely poses a risk if you don't have baby hands. The Darmoshark on the other hand has flat sides and a medium-sized hump that gives it more to hold on to.
So, if you are just getting into using fingertip mice, I would still recommend the Darmoshark, but if I had to endorse one of the two I'm going with the Keychron.
Anyway, that's gonna wrap up this review, thanks so much for reading!
