The ROCCAT Kain 120 AIMO is a wired gaming mouse with two buttons on its left side and a CPI switching button below its scroll wheel. It feels well-built, and its right-handed design is suitable for most hand sizes using any grip type, although people with extra-large hands may find their fingers extend past the front end of the mouse using a palm grip. It has a wide CPI range, a CPI you can adjust in increments of 50, and a very low lift-off distance. The click latency should be good enough for most gamers. However, if you play fast-paced games, you may prefer something more responsive-feeling. Unfortunately, the mouse is quite heavy, which may disappoint fans of lightweight mice. There are reports online that, after a few months, the scroll wheel tends to double scroll or scroll in the opposite direction at the end of a scroll, but we can't confirm this.
Our Verdict
The ROCCAT Kain 120 AIMO is a decent office mouse. It feels well-built overall, and it has a right-handed design that's suitable for most hand sizes using any grip type. You can program all buttons, and you can even set an Easy-Shift[+] button that enables a second layer of controls. Unfortunately, there are no wireless connectivity options, and its scroll wheel doesn't have L/R tilt buttons or a free-scrolling mode.
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All buttons are programmable.
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All default buttons work on Windows and macOS.
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Scroll wheel lacks L/R tilt buttons and free scrolling.
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Wired-only design.
The ROCCAT Kain 120 AIMO is very good for FPS gaming, but it's a bit heavy. That said, it feels well-built overall, and it has a right-handed design that's suitable with any grip type for most hand sizes. It has a very low lift-off distance, a wide CPI range, and you can adjust the set CPI in increments of 50. You can program all buttons, and you can set an Easy-Shift[+] button that enables a second layer of controls. The braided cable is flexible, but it isn't as flexible as most paracord-like cables. While the click latency should be good enough for most gamers, you may prefer something more responsive-feeling if you play fast-paced FPS games.
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Low click latency.
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Very low lift off-distance.
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All buttons are programmable.
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Quite heavy.
The ROCCAT Kain 120 AIMO is a good MMO gaming mouse, but it doesn't have nearly as many buttons as dedicated MMO mice. That said, you can program all of the buttons it does have, and you can even set an Easy-Shift[+] button that enables a second layer of controls for as long as you hold it. The lift-off distance is very low, and the click latency should be good enough for most gamers. It has a wide CPI range, and you can adjust the CPI in increments of 50.
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Low click latency.
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Very low lift off-distance.
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All buttons are programmable.
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Doesn't have as many buttons as dedicated MMO mice.
The ROCCAT Kain 120 AIMO scores well as an ultra-light gaming mouse, but it's heavier than what we consider lightweight, and the mouse feet are only decent. That said, it feels well-built overall, and the braided cable is flexible, but it isn't as flexible as most paracord-like cables. The mouse has a right-handed designed that's suitable with any grip type for most hand sizes. The click latency should be good enough for most gamers. However, if you play fast-paced games, you may prefer something more responsive-feeling.
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Low click latency.
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Very low lift off-distance.
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All buttons are programmable.
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Quite heavy.
The ROCCAT Kain 120 AIMO is inadequate for travel. It's a wired-only mouse, meaning that it may be annoying in tight spaces like buses, trains, or planes. Also, it's bulky and may not fit in some laptop cases, and you can't remove its cable for easier traveling.
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All default buttons work on Windows and macOS.
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Wired-only design.
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Bulky; may not fit in most laptop cases.
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Quite heavy.
- 7.2 Office/Multimedia
- 7.9 Video Games (FPS)
- 7.7 Video Games (MMO)
- 7.8 Ultra-Light Gaming
- 5.3 Travel
- Updated Sep 20, 2021: Review published.
- Updated Sep 14, 2021: Early access published.
- Updated Jul 05, 2021: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated Jun 29, 2021: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
- Updated May 11, 2021: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the ROCCAT Kain 120 in the black color variant. There's also a white color variant available named the ROCCAT Kain 122 AIMO. Although differently named, the differences between the two variants seem to be exclusively the color, so we expect our test results to apply to the Kain 122 as well. You can see our unit's label here.
Compared To Other Mice
The ROCCAT Kain 120 is similar to other mice in the Kain lineup, it looks nearly identical to the ROCCAT Kain 100 AIMO, but the Kain 120 has some new upgrades. These include a proprietary OWL-EYE sensor, a grippy soft-touch coating over its entire body, and a braided cable. Like the Kain 100 AIMO, it's popular with gamers who drag click, which is a technique some people use to increase their clicks-per-second to them an advantage in some games. However, we don't currently test this, and we generally don't recommend it since it may reduce the life span of the switches. Unfortunately, it comes with a braided cable instead of a paracord-like cable that most other mice in this price range have.
For other options, see our recommendations for the best mice, the best gaming mice, and the best FPS gaming mice.
The ROCCAT Kain 120 AIMO and the ROCCAT Kain 100 AIMO are nearly identical, but the 120 AIMO has a few upgrades, like a grippy soft-touch coating over its entire body, a braided cable, and an RGB zone in its logo at the back of the palm rest. Also, it has a proprietary OWL-EYE sensor, giving it a wider CPI range, a more precisely adjustable CPI, and a lower lift-off distance. The 100 AIMO's click latency is marginally lower than on our 120 AIMO, but the difference won't be noticeable to most people.
The ROCCAT Kain 120 AIMO and the ROCCAT Kone AIMO Remastered are both wired gaming mice. The Kain 120 AIMO is much lighter, and its size and shape is better suited for larger-sized hands using a claw or fingertip grip. Also, it has a more flexible braided cable and lower click latency. Comparatively, the Kone AIMO Remastered has a thumb rest, better build quality, and more programmable buttons, including a button at the bottom of its thumb rest.
The ROCCAT Kone Pure Ultra is overall a better gaming mouse than the ROCCAT Kain 100 AIMO. The Kone Pure Ultra is lighter, and it has a better build quality, one more programmable button, and a slightly more consistent sensor. On the other hand, the Kain 120 AIMO has a more flexible cable. Both mice are suitable for most hand sizes using any grip type, but people with small hands may prefer the Kain 120 AIMO for a fingertip grip. Unfortunately, neither mouse is suitable with a palm grip for extra-large hands.
The ROCCAT Kone Pro is a better gaming mouse than the ROCCAT Kain 120 AIMO. The Kone Pro is lighter, and it has better build quality, a much more flexible cable, and smoother-gliding mouse feet. Also, it has lower latency and a higher maximum CPI. On the other hand, the Kain 120 AIMO has more RGB zones and a CPI-switching button below the scroll wheel. Both mice are suitable with any grip type, but people with extra-large hands may prefer the Kone Pro for a palm grip, and people with small hands may prefer the Kain 120 AIMO for a claw or fingertip grip.
The ROCCAT Kone Pro Air is an excellent wireless gaming mouse, while the ROCCAT Kain 120 AIMO is a good wired gaming mouse. You can use the Kone Pro Air wirelessly via Bluetooth or its USB receiver. Also, its mouse feet glide more smoothly, and its paracord-like charging cable is more flexible than the Kain 120 AIMO's braided cable. The Kone Pro Air is much lighter and has lower click latency. On the other hand, the Kain 120 AIMO has more RGB zones and a CPI-switching button below the scroll wheel.
The GLORIOUS Model O- is an excellent ultra-light ambidextrous gaming mouse, while the ROCCAT Kain 120 AIMO is a good right-handed gaming mouse. The GLORIOUS is much lighter, thanks in part to its honeycomb cutout pattern. Its cable is more flexible, its mouse feet glide more smoothly, and it has lower latency. Comparatively, The ROCCAT has a wider CPI range with a CPI you can adjust more precisely. Also, you can set an Easy-Shift[+] button that enables a second layer of controls.
The GLORIOUS Model O is an excellent ultra-light gaming mouse, while the ROCCAT Kain 120 AIMO is a very good FPS gaming mouse. The GLORIOUS weighs much less, and it has a much more flexible cable and smoother-gliding mouse feet. Also, its click latency is marginally lower. On the other hand, the ROCCAT has a wider CPI range with a more precisely adjustable CPI, and you can set an Easy-Shift[ button that enables a second set of controls for as long as you press it.
The Razer DeathAdder V2 is a better gaming mouse than the ROCCAT Kain 120 AIMO. The Razer is lighter, and it has smoother-gliding mouse feet, more programmable buttons, and significantly lower latency. Comparatively, the ROCCAT has a lower minimum CPI, but most gamers are unlikely to need it this low. Both mice are suitable with any grip type, but people with extra-large hands may prefer the Razer for a palm grip, and people with small hands may prefer the ROCCAT for a claw or fingertip grip.
Test Results
The ROCCAT Kain 120 feels well-built. That said, there are reports online that after two to three months, the scroll wheel tends to double scroll or scroll in the opposite direction at the end of a scroll. However, we can't confirm this. If you have this mouse and have experienced this or another issue, let us know in the discussions.
The polling rate options on the ROCCAT Kain 120 are 125Hz, 250Hz, 500Hz, 1000Hz. You can set the lift-off distance to low or very low in the software, and you can also calibrate your surface for a more accurate result. ROCCAT calls the sensor the "ROCCAT Owl-Eye optical sensor," which is a modified PixArt PMW 3381 sensor.
You can program all buttons on the ROCCAT Kain 120, but the software requires you to have the left- and right-click functionality assigned to another button before you can reprogram the two mouse click buttons. You can also assign an Easy-Shift[+] button that enables another layer of controls.
There are reports online that after two to three months, the scroll wheel tends to double scroll or scroll in the opposite direction at the end of a scroll; however, we can't confirm this. If you have this mouse and have experienced this or another issue, let us know in the discussions.
The ROCCAT Swarm software offers many customizations, including adjusting the lift-off distance, creating profiles, setting macros, and customize five CPI settings. Also, you can adjust the debounce settings and turn on zero debounce; however, this tends to cause unintended double-clicks.