Zowie ZA12-C

“Zowie’s Wireless Comeback – A Long-Awaited Return The shape king is back! It’s been years since I last heavily used a Zowie, but now that they’ve finally released the long-overdue wireless models, I had to jump back in and pick up both the ZA13-DW and S2-DW. My Zowie journey started with the ZA11 → ZA12 → S1 → S2, so I guess you could say I’m well-acquainted with these shapes. It feels amazing to finally be back on Zowie, but I have to admit I’ve gotten a little too used to and maybe even spoiled by lightweight mice over the years. I’ve been maining a Finalmouse SL12 Ares Medium that I’ve modded extensively for the past few years. I gave the ULX about two hours of trial and gave up since the weight was actually too light for me. At this point, I think we’re all spoiled by lightweight mice nowadays, and honestly, I prefer them too—just not too light. The ZA13-DW and S2-DW both come in at 65g, but to me, it feels slightly on the heavier side. I know it’s weird to say 65g is slightly heavy, but to fix this itch, I designed and 3D-printed a lightweight base plate for the ZA13-DW, bringing it down to 56.7g—a nearly 10g reduction with just the base plate while leaving everything else intact. Personally, I find the high 40s to mid-50s to be the perfect weight. Anything under 40g feels too light, while mid-60s and up creates too much inertia on flicks. For reference, I use a glass pad (SP004) and X-raypad Obsidian Air dot skates, so your mileage may vary. But with this combination, I’ve found the perfect balance of speed and control. At stock weight, the ZA13-DW and S2-DW caused overshooting due to excess inertia, so a lighter build was absolutely necessary. Zowie could definitely refine its weight in future models, but as usual, they over-engineer their internals. After taking it apart, I found plenty of areas where they could trim unnecessary bulk—which is why I designed and created this baseplate. I did sacrifice easy access to DPI, polling rate, the power switch, and dock charging but it’s a fair trade-off for the weight savings. The ZA13-DW’s aggressive, high rear hump and downward-sloped angle suit my playstyle better. The large hump fits into my palm nicely, and with the addition of the lightweight base plate, I can make precise and confident flicks. It feels absolutely amazing—like I traveled back in time to 2015-2016 when I first used the ZA11 and ZA12. Now onto the S series. Some of you may remember my old post about building a pair of wireless S1 mice years ago. The S series was one of my favorites, and I wanted a wireless version so badly that I reached out to [u/ZoroSeerus](https://www.reddit.com/user/ZoroSeerus/)—huge shoutout to him for making it happen back in the day! But times have changed, and I think I may just prefer a different shape. Don’t get me wrong, the S2-DW is still a great shape—extremely comfortable—but for me, it’s almost too relaxing. I don’t feel as locked in as I did many years ago when maining the S1 and S2. Bu”