Introduction
Founded in 1981, Trust International B.V is a company specialized in the manufacturing of IT accessories with its headquarters in Dordrecht, The Netherlands. The Trust products are oriented towards the budget segment of the market.
The Dutch company was initially founded under the name Aashima Technology B.V, but during the 90’ it became Trust International B.V. At this moment, the company has expanded in 19 countries from Europe while the Trust products are present in more than 44 countries.
Official product link:
https://www.trust.com/en/product/22401-gxt-180-kusan-pro-gaming-mouse
Packaging and accessories
The GXT 180 Kusan is packaged in a standard cardboard box that follows the general design of the Trust Gaming packaging. The front side of the box features a profile view of the mouse and its full name. On the top part of this side there are listed the main features of the mouse as well as the name and logo of the Trust GXT series.
The back side presents the mouse and its main features in 6 different languages. On the right side there is a top down photo of the mouse. The Trust Gaming and Epsilon team logos are also present on the back of the packaging
The mouse itself is held in place inside the packaging by a thin plastic case. The accessories are found under the mouse and it’s case.
Accessories
The product comes with the following accessories:
– 1x User Manual
– 1x Sticker GXT Trust
Specifications
Main Switches: Huano Pink
Sensor: PixArt PWM 3325 optical sensor
Buttons: 6
Resolution: 100 – 5000 DPI
Maximum Speed: 100 ips
Polling rate: 125 – 1000Hz
Surface: Matte
Connection: USB 2.0, Gold Plated
Cable Length: 1.8 m
Weight: 107g (without cable)
Warranty: 2 years
Features:
– Co-developed by professionals: As extensively tested by team Epsilon, the superior high-end quality materials and ideal lightweight, ergonomic design fit the needs of every competitive gamer perfectly. With its ambidextrous form factor, this mouse is designed for both left and right-handed gamers.
– Programmed to win: You’re one step ahead of your enemies when you and your gear become one. The advanced software allows you to alter the 6 responsive and programmable buttons so the mouse is perfectly adjusted to your preferences.
– Commit to memory: You can store your optimized settings for every game into one of the 5 gaming profiles on the onboard memory of this mouse.
– Control the game: With the Kusan at your side, you enter the gaming arena with a high precision Pixart 3325 sensor which gives you that edge to improve your headshot statistics.
Visual inspection
The GXT 180 Kusan Pro is an ambidextrous mouse designed with the help of the Epsilon eSports team. The mouse uses a PixArt made PWM 3325 optical sensor with a DPI range between 100 and 5000 DPI and a pooling rate between 125 and 1000Hz. The mouse itself is designed to suit all gamers and playing styles while being available at an affordable price.
The mouse has a textured matte finish on the top part of the case. The sides of the Kusan Pro are rubberized and soft to provide a better grip when gaming. Using two materials for the different sections of the mouse creates a unique design that is also functional.
The main clicks of the GXT 180 Kusan Pro are made by Huano, and have the Pink top. While Huano switches are of lower quality than Omron made switches, the Pink Top Huano switches offer a good mix between stiffness and actuation force.
The scroll wheel also uses a two material construction; the exterior is coated with rubber for a better grip while the middle is made out of smoked plastic to better diffuse the light of the LEDs. There are no indents on the surface of the scroll wheel, this makes the distinction of each step of the wheel harder. The switch used for the middle click is made by Huano and has a white top while the encoder of the scroll wheel is made by TTC and features a black core.
The GXT 180 Kusan Pro has a single DPI profile button that is positioned in the middle above the scroll wheel. This button is in fact integrated into the case surface and is very shallow, however it is easy to press.
The only side buttons present on the Kusan Pro are located on the left side, these have a glossy finish and are also illuminated alongside the rest of the mouse. These buttons are by default mapped for Forwards and Backwards functions.
The back of the mouse features the Trust GXT logo, that is illuminated in tandem with the scroll wheel. The Trust logo at the back is also the main RGB element present on this model.
The cable of the mouse has no textile braiding or special coating, in terms of length, it is 180 cm and uses a gold-plated USB 2.0 connector that has no protective cap or cover.
On the underside of the Kusan Pro there are three Teflon skidpads, one wider at the front and two smaller at the back. This configuration has been used before and is proven to offer a great platform for the mouse. In the middle there is the PixArt PWM 3325 optical sensor, the sensor itself is placed in the center of the mouse.
Testing
Removing the case of the mouse reveals the PCB and components of the GXT 180 Kusan. The PCB is smaller than the actual case and is mounted to the case with the help of 2 screws at the front. The sensor is covered by black tape, removing that reveals not only the sensor lens but also an unused LED. This is often due to the manufacturer reusing a PCB layout for different models.
The side buttons are also using Huano switches with white tops, this is unusual especially for a budget mouse. The norm for side buttons is usually elevated switches that are of lower quality, however the Kusan uses micro switches.
The cable while it is not sleeved it is using a standard 4 Pin connector on the PCB, this allows for easy replacement of the cable.
In order to better asses the performance of the mouse, the GXT 180 Kusan Pro was used as the daily mouse for a total of two weeks. The usage involves photo and video editing, office work and gaming.
The gaming experience is good, the shape of the Kusan Pro will please both left handed and right handed users thanks to the symmetry between the two sides. The mouse will also work well with palm grip and claw grip styles of gaming.
The PWM 3325 optical sensor can be tricky to work with at first, in my case the mouse was too sensitive at the beginning. However, this was fixed by using the provided software that allows the user to change the sensitivity and other features of the sensor.
The mouse was tested both in normal use & gaming.
Normal day to day use consist of Internet browsing & a few photo & video editing software.
The games used for testing are the following:
– Battlefield 1
– Grand Theft Auto V
– Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
– Rise of the Tomb Raider
– Kingdom Come Deliverance
– The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Software
The mouse has its own software for customizing the sensor and creating profiles that can be later stored into the onboard memory chip of the mouse. The software itself is basic but offers enough options to be useful. The program allows for three main items to be configured individually, the sensor, integrated RGB lightning and the button mapping.
Final thoughts
With the GXT 180 Kusan Pro, Trust Gaming has shown that they are looking into developing better gaming mice for affordable prices. The Kusan was developed with the help of the Epsilon eSports team and is available at a price around 40 Euros or USD but can be had for less depending on the sales available.
The Kusan Pro is a good and affordable gaming mouse with discrete RGB elements and surprising internal construction. While many budget gaming mice are offered with only two branded switches, the Kusan Pro uses Huano switches for every button apart from the DPI switch.
The overall gaming performance of this mouse is good, and after a bit of tweaking in the software, I had no problem using it as my daily mouse.
In conclusion, the GXT 180 Kusan Pro is a great affordable gaming mouse that offers the important functions for gaming and is available at a good price. The software is simple and has the basic functionalities that you’d want and more importantly, can store your customized profiles on the onboard memory of the mouse.
The performance is good but I will strongly encourage everyone to download the Trust Gaming software and tweak the mouse so you can get the best experience possible with the Kusan Pro.
In terms of ergonomics, the shape of the Kusan is symmetrical and can be successfully used by both right and left handed users. The shape itself is comfortable and provides a good base for the hand.
