At first glance, the G9 looks to be quite a departure from Logitech’s sexy gaming mice of the past. Rather than the sleek and sculpted look of luxury sports cars, it now bears a closer resemblance to a Hummer, the military’s workhorse that’s become a much-coveted consumer SUV. In fact, the similarities it shares with the Army’s highly-configurable, multi-role vehicle extend far beyond its appearance.

One reason the Hummer (HMMWV) is so beloved by military commanders is its ability to be quickly adapted to different combat and support roles by switching out different equipment and body configurations. The G9 has a similar capability and comes with two interchangeable grips (with more said to be on the way). The first grip, aptly named “Wide-Load”, feels very wide and most gamers will have to grip it more with their fist, rather than just their fingers.

This made it feel a little like the Fatal1ty gaming mouse Creative came out with a while back. Not our favorite, but a grip style that seems to be gaining in popularity.

The plastic the Wide-Load was formed from also had a very soft-touch to it, a contrast to the second interchangeable grip included called the Precision. Its surface is much harder and features numerous, very fine raised and lowered areas giving it a texture Logitech has dubbed DryGrip™. It did seem to do a decent job of wicking away what little sweat we worked up during testing, but probably didn’t work well enough to justify the attorney’s trademarking fees. The Precision grip is also a bit narrower than the Wide-Load, but still felt just a hair larger than would be our ideal. Still, the reduced size, coupled with the DryGrip™ texture, do give you more fingertip control.

And on the mention of fingertip control, we should call attention to the fact that the mouse’s designers thoughtfully included the pioneering MicroGear Precision Scroll Wheel from last year’s MX and VX Revolution Mice. This allows you to choose from a mouse wheel that can ratchet through weapon selections, or freely spin lightning fast to open up your throttle.

The final handling adjustments come by way of the spring-loaded weight tray at the back end of the mouse. Four slots in the tray allow you to combine any of the eight weights to achieve up to a forearm-burning 28 grams. (FYI - By our rough calculations that’s about six well-fed adult Smurfs.)

In addition to the interchangeable grips option, the G9’s designers appear to have mimicked the Humvee’s go-anywhere, do-anything functionality. Through the latest version of Logitech’s Setpoint software, you can create different profiles for the mouse that establish its sensitivity (from 200 dpi to a whopping 3200 dpi), mouse button functions (there are 7 buttons for normal use, plus the scroll wheel and profile toggle buttons on the bottom) and LED color. The software is intuitive and very easy to use, but the real magic of the G9 shows when it gets plugged into a computer that hasn’t even had its drivers installed on it yet. The mouse’s onboard memory stores up to 5 of your profiles you can easily access via a toggle button on the bottom. Further, you can still adjust the G9’s LED lights and sensitivity, saved profiles or not.

All of that combined makes the G9 the most customizable and adaptable mouse to cross our desks.

As Mr. Cynic always says though, “there is no silver lining without a cloud.” The stiff cloth-covered USB cord will most likely get a mixed response from gamers. Because it is so rigid and nearly posable, it can be carefully positioned so that your mouse cord won’t catch on anything while you are playing and you won’t have to pull for slack. Unfortunately, this also makes it feel like it has the potential to be kinked or snapped easily and makes packing it up for transport a little awkward. Quite ironic when you consider how portable perfect the G9 would be otherwise.

It really is a minor complaint though and certainly is no reason to keep from buying one. What might be a reason that keeps it out of many gamers’ hands is the suggested retail price of $99*. It’s a number that might seem a little steep at first, but for those looking to get the ultimate Hummer of mice, it’s worth the price.

(*We’ve already found it for significantly less at both brick and mortar retail locations and online.)