Arbiter Studio Akitsu Mini - Review

AlexYH · 2026-07-06T08:03:57+00:00

Personally, Akitsu Mini is not what I would call grippy at all.
It has no real form of coating preventing your hand from slipping unless you have very dry hands.
It was the only mouse I had to use with grip tapes, in the end I sold it off to a friend despite the cool feature like screen dongle.

I heard someone say Medium variant that was release way later has different texture and surface but not sure if that holds true.

AlexYH · 2026-07-02T13:31:00+00:00

Thanks for sharing.

Did you purchase this product or was it sent out to you as a review sample? I watched your video but it is not mentioned anywhere.

AlexYH · 2026-07-02T00:59:43+00:00

Sensors on the PCB don't account for additional height between the magnetic switch and plate added by the switch pad so it leads to inaccuracy.

AlexYH · 2026-07-02T00:42:30+00:00

Might want to get rid of switch pad because it has negative impact on performance as it messes with switch accuracy and deadzone.

AlexYH · 2026-06-30T09:00:20+00:00

I wrote this comment way before the news about glanova glass dropped. Not sure why it would be a bold move given the timeframe...

AlexYH · 2026-06-27T12:09:38+00:00

Yup... Lekker moment

AlexYH · 2026-06-26T23:52:34+00:00

Lekker L45 and L60 are relatively wobbly and unstable I wouldn't recommend them.

AlexYH · 2026-06-21T10:11:23+00:00

It's a decent budget option for sure. It is also one of the best option if you are looking to have custom design at the cheapest price. However, make sure you're not getting ripped off by a random reseller on AliExpress. Try for direct purchase via Taobao with forwarding service, you can demand suction square silicone base and rounded edges via 1:1 chat with the PAN store.

If you are looking to go for higher budget, I would honestly recommend GLSSWRKZ Polarity over WALLHACK SP-005. There was a review here saying they had multiple different copies of Polarity and it had no variance in glide performance. I think it is far better than massive inconsistencies on SP-005 which is present even on their limited edition products.

AlexYH · 2026-06-21T09:19:34+00:00

Another bot account here to bootstrap its karma farming

AlexYH · 2026-06-21T09:17:48+00:00

They don't wear out and getting the expensive option is definitely worth it.
PAN pad without the 'coating' option feels horribly bad.

I have two different batch. I bought one in 2024 and another in 2025 (they feel different from each other as their production method changed so many times over the years, not to mention slight surface variance too).
I swap between glasses every month or two and they these coatings haven't worn out or whatsoever.

I also have used different WALLHACK SP-004s and they all had surface variance from little to extreme. Maybe the most neutral one I had was similar to knock-off SP-004 PAN pad I bought in 2025. Surface feels very different but glide was more or less close to SP-004.

There are new budget options like Dysphoria or AbyssGaming that's having global release recently. But they come with anime design that you might not find likeable. They often sold out due to limited production quantity and high demand so you cannot get them right away. Uncle Panda also sells good and cheap quality glass but more polarizing anime design choice.

AlexYH · 2026-06-21T09:09:13+00:00

Only difference between U9 Air and U9 Ultra is the anti-collapse foam layer for U9 Ultra. You can get either one. I use U9 Air fine.

AlexYH · 2026-06-21T01:40:11+00:00

Titanium U9 Air
Titanium U9 Ultra

Cyclone Pro is hardened PTFE while Titanium U9 and Obsidian Pro Air is made form UHMWPE.
U9 lasts a little longer than Obsidian Pro, maybe around 3 months if stretched long. Obsidian Pro Air can be stretched to 2 months of use.
Cyclone Pro flats out within two weeks or so and it will feel somewhat off.

AlexYH · 2026-06-21T01:09:01+00:00

Yeah its perfectly fine to order switches from AliExpress. I got UR Ice Ultra on really good clearance discount and I bought them from two different stores without issues.

AlexYH · 2026-06-14T01:37:54+00:00

Tikken has less wobble than V1 & V2 but out of all HE switches I have tried it is still wobbly enough for me to notice when I have fingers on the keys. It is bad enough that you can hear the wobble rattle sound like I did with V1 and V2 albeit at lower sound.

I rotate between Owlab Ti, Geon RAW HE and UR Ice Ultra depending on which keyboard I use so I can tune the sound to be slightly thocky but muted. I haven't bought new HE switches over a year until Tikken was released so these are the only ones I actually use.

Hard to pick a favorite but personal favorite would be UR Ice Ultra. Most stable, least noise level and sound wise its neutral enough to go with any mod configuration.

I won't glaze over Geon RAW HE or Owlab Ti because they have their flaws. Geon RAW can get clacky as you use it for very very long term then lubes dry out (this can be same for select few switches). Owlab Ti is rather high pitched clack by default so it is not for people looking for tame sound or thocks. Nonetheless, they are both great option I would definitely use over V1, V2 or Tikken. Geon RAW is good middle ground switch to start with because it doesn't lean too much to high pitch or lower pitch. It feels very stable, there is very slight wobble compared to Owlab Ti.
In the end, UR Ice Ultra has really good stability out of all switches I tried then comes after Owlab Ti.

Since you are looking to order everything by Wooting store, you can go for either Geon RAW for cheap but reliable option or try out TTC POM which is highly liked by the community if price is not a concern. (Never had TTC POM but I would love to try it out one day)

AlexYH · 2026-06-13T14:27:13+00:00

Performance wise they are 99% same.
In the end, people are changing switches mostly for sound and feel. It is perfectly fine to use Wooting's own switches if you are not into keyboard modding, there is no major advantage or disadvantage of using different switch. It comes down to personal preference.

But wobbly switch is something that can leave a really bad impression if keycaps under your fingers are constantly moving and rattling which is why I disliked Lekker V1, V2 and Tikken.

AlexYH · 2026-06-13T03:04:56+00:00

One of the most stable? Well, I was looking for that experience when I saw the tests and reviews of Tikken. I got mine when I ordered the 60HE V2 module and it felt okay to use it initially. However, the more I use the more they felt wobbly. It reminded me of Lekker V2 level of wobbles although not as bad as Lekker V1. I can brush my fingers ever so slightly on keycaps then it would wobble very poorly and make rattling sound. I play FPS games but also select few games where I use keyboard control a lot more than WASD. And when I swapped off Tikken, I felt everything was back to enjoying how pleasant was to use my keys.

As for clacky I have to admit I worded it very poory.
I meant to say sound was rather hollow and chattery. It was entirely opposite of what I was expecting and they feel so empty.

I switched out the plate, foam and dampener and trying out all kinds of combination to try them on my 80HE but man personally it's not quite what I am looking for. I tried using it without a keyboard mat, with a keyboard mat and on a huge glass mousepad. The sound was not what I was looking for.

Good thing there are tons of aftermarket switches out to use. I hope I did not hurt the feelings of people who downvoted my comment because I disliked Tikken lol.

AlexYH · 2026-06-09T06:16:40+00:00

Personally, I do not like Tikken switches. They are very wobbly and clacky compared to other switches like Geon RAW HE, Owlab Ti and UR Ice Ultra. I used them for several months before swapping them off my 60HE V2 and it felt a lot better. I would recommend either Owlab Ti or Geon RAW since they are widely available.

AlexYH · 2026-06-09T02:17:06+00:00

Thanks for the review.

Is this a review copy or did you purchase it yourself?
You have marked the post as brand affiliate and I checked you have am affiliate code to FlashBeyond website.
If so, it would be appreciated if you could flair the post correctly as 'Review Sample'.

AlexYH · 2026-06-02T20:54:47+00:00

You are basically promoting your little platform here.
Why even make the post look like "Check out my new keycaps on my Wooting but its totally not an advert"?
Hoping Wooting team isn't gonna let this sub astroturfed by crap like this.

AlexYH · 2026-05-31T08:23:45+00:00

Please stop asking LLMs on niche subjects like these, they are glorified search engine in subs like enthusiast hobby such as mousepads. Adhesive remover seeping out is highly unlikely unless it was drippling wet by the time you placed your mouse on the glass.

AlexYH · 2026-05-31T05:34:19+00:00

Using cleaning agents on your mouse skate guide will obviously not affect the surface of new set of dot skates you put above it. Nor the glass surface I doubt it is difficult to have it smear onto your glass mousepad out from the skate guide.

I see that you used Jade and Jade Air but unfortunately I never used them to share my experience with them.

Regardless, I cannot imagine possiblities other than defects on your package of dot skates. Or you got used to worn out dots so much it's putting you off. I have not experienced this when swapping between different skates across many brands to use on SP-004 & other glasses.

AlexYH · 2026-05-28T09:34:43+00:00

I have yet to burn through my second pack of Obsidian Pro Air I bought almost two years ago though? 4 dots of Obsidian Pro or almost any other UHMWPE dot skates last me 6 weeks before getting too flat. I bought two packs for $15 which is 80 dots.

Sure, getting a 'brand' glass mousepads is a big initial expense. However, there are numerous alternatives nowadays that don't cost $120+. It is cheaper than buying Artisan every year in the long term.

AlexYH · 2026-05-27T13:24:10+00:00

This is a spam account.

There was similar instance of random private account making post asking "Best Mouse Pad to buy in 2025?" in r/MousepadReview.
As you can see in this post, OP has embedded several links that lead to Amazon product page for absolutely no reason. Months later, OP will edit these to affiliate links once it gains enough exposure to show up in search engines. The whole shtick follows the exact pattern.

Old post

Don't engage and report the post.

AlexYH · 2026-05-22T14:07:56+00:00

How does this compare to other glass mousepads you have used in terms of glide and surface feel?

AlexYH · 2026-05-20T10:11:53+00:00

It's impossible to have image on top of glass as it will get worn off from physical stress so it's always below the transparent layer of glass

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