Jaeger Interest Check Summary

First off, thank you for all your feedback! We received over 100 submissions, highlighting which parts of Jaeger are most important and which features could be improved. Here's a summary of the form submissions over the last month!

Feature Priority

  • PCB Donor Options

    The importance of PCB donors definitely surprised us! While we initially targeted donors with key features we liked, we’ve realized that use cases are far more varied than we originally imagined. We’ll be working to add more donors while the molds are in production.

  • Customizable Scroll Wheel

    Over 80% of submissions requested colorful wheels instead of the subtle black wheel! We’ll be adding wheels and rings in a variety of colors for customization. Colors will be finalized alongside Jaeger, though production is still a little ways off.

  • Reinforced Threads

    For production, the reinforced threads will likely be changed from steel helicoils to aluminum heat-set inserts. Heat-set inserts are generally the preferred solution for injection-molded products. This may increase the weight just a touch.

Color Choice

We asked about this to get a sense of which cosmetic shells are popular right now and to help us plan our production colors. The strong preference for translucent shells doesn’t mean they’ll be the only option! We’re thrilled to see that you love the translucent style as much as we do.

Transparent Colors

This is a fantastic starting point for our color-matching process! Matching opaque colors can be tricky, but translucent colors add an extra layer of challenge. We can’t guarantee that we’ll hit these renders exactly as shown, but the guide is still incredibly helpful for guiding our color choices. Moreover, a color with lower popularity isn’t automatically out of the running, so don’t worry if one of your picks has a smaller count.

Some of the suggested colors would be amazing! Certain shades proved tricky to render accurately, and these early renders weren’t close enough to a real product. For example, orange and neon green showed a lot of light reflectance in the renders, which we are confident will not match the final production look. This issue was compounded when using white accents instead of black. We will be doing more testing once we have a tangible product. As a teaser, there is a translucent pink sample in the works!

Opaque Colors

The opaque renders gave us a better sense of how white accents compare to black accents. Lilac, aqua, and pink all featured white accents in the renders, but producing white accents is particularly challenging. The internal structure is made from sintered PA12 (nylon), which is normally grey. Creating a white structure requires a specialized PA12 used in medical equipment, and white PA12 also tends to print less accurately than grey. Despite these challenges, having a cosmetic white internal structure is important for achieving a true white accent profile for Jaeger.

Assembly Service

We are super excited to offer assembly as an option! Coming from the mechanical keyboard world, we know how much assembly services can help more people get involved in the hobby. Working alongside content creators has taught us a lot about good design choices and helped us spot challenges in the build process. We have also picked up plenty of tips and tricks ourselves, from properly lubing parts to tuning a keyboard’s overall sound. Building multiple boards every week quickly turns anyone into an expert at crafting a perfectly tuned keyboard.

That said, it takes two to tango. We first need to see enough interest in assembly services before reaching out to content creators for support. The feedback from the interest check also gives us valuable guidance on pricing, helping us make these services accessible to everyone.

QA on Interest Check

We’ve gathered some of the most common questions from the interest check form! If your question isn’t answered below, feel free to reach out in our community Discord server!

Can we support more donors from popular mice?

Yes! We’re currently working on this. Specifically, we’re looking to add support for the OP1 8K V2 Wired, Razer Viper V3 SE, and Logitech G Pro X2 Superlight. At this time, we can’t guarantee that all of these will be included in the final revision of Jaeger. Each of these PCBs has its own quirks and significantly alters the build process compared to the Mchose L7, Scyrox V8, and ATK F1 v2 that we currently support.

Can we add more features to the mouse (wireless charging, haptics, etc)? 

Features and donors are closely related. We can’t add a feature to a donor that doesn’t already support it. Among the features listed in the interest check, we’re particularly interested in supporting haptic input if possible (X2 donor).

The OP1 8K also offers a variety of interesting hot-swap options for switches, along with SPDT support for lower input latency. This PCB is widely used in the mouse modding community, so we expect it to be a popular option for Jaeger if integration is feasible. However, switches on separate daughterboards present an interesting challenge.

The lowest priority is the Razer VV3SE, as it uses a software suite very similar to that of the Mchose L7. Additionally, the VV3 8K will not be supported due to the significantly larger antenna inside the mouse.

Stay tuned to see which donors are added! We’ll be continuing donor evaluation while simultaneously developing molds for Jaeger kit manufacturing.

Can we add an adjustable sensor position?

This is a key feature that is particularly difficult to implement. The Pwnage system cannot be used with other mice, and Pwnage donors are relatively expensive without offering meaningful PCB improvements beyond an adjustable sensor.

Even if implemented, the sensor shift on Pwnage donors is relatively limited compared to our target range. In fingertip designs, the sensor is typically positioned sideways to save space and allow for a more forward placement. As this is not possible with Pwnage donors, the value added is rather minimal for the inflated cost of donors.

At this time, we are not aware of any donor that can offer this feature at a reasonable price.

Can we mix and match parts for the same order? IE. Clicker of one color, Shell of another?

We had not considered this. Yes, this is absolutely possible. It will be a very simple update to the product page design, and we’re more than happy to support this customization.

Are spare parts available?

Of course! We’ll offer spare parts for every component listed, all available separately. If you happen to break a clicker or shell, you’ll be able to replace it directly without needing to purchase an entirely new kit.

We also believe that offering replacement shells will encourage more creative mods, whether for weight reduction or cosmetic customization. We’re really looking forward to seeing unique Jaeger builds in the wild!

Can we add a solid shell option?

This is definitely a possibility. A solid shell option with slightly higher weight would be relatively easy to produce, though likely not in ABS plastic. Based on the interest check, only a small portion of users requested a solid shell, so the cost of a steel mold is not justified at this time.

Most likely, solid shells would be produced using silicone molding to achieve a finish comparable to steel molding, rather than 3D printing.

However, we cannot produce a solid shell at the same weight. Jaeger’s features add significant weight compared to a traditional design, which is offset by the use of cutouts in the shell.

I saw the original Opus had a gradient. Will Jaeger also have gradient options?

Maybe...

What we really want to avoid is offering a painted gradient, as paint will fade quickly with daily usage. This is one of the main reasons we discontinued Opus. The coloring wore down within 6-8 weeks after driving the mouse daily. We'd prefer the cosmetics to withstand usage for a reasonable amount of time.

We’re currently exploring a few alternative production methods in parallel while Jaeger molds are in production. At this time, we’re not sure if these approaches will be successful, and we don’t yet have meaningful results to share. Fingers crossed!

Can we make more shapes?

You bet! We have several shapes planned. The next mouse will feature a smaller shape designed for smaller hand sizes, followed by a larger option for bigger hands. You can find more information on these designs in our Discord server, where you can even download and print the block files.

These shapes were delayed to allow us to focus on solidifying our design methodology. We want all of our mice to meet the same level of polish, so Jaeger needed to be fully refined before we moved on to other shapes.
Donors may not be the same for other shapes, as shapes are pretty particular to the donors they can accept. For example, a scroll wheel encoder for Jaeger maybe too high for a smaller mouse.
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Thank you for the feedback!

This project could not be as polished as possible without this amazing community. Excited to show off our first molded prototype soon!

Jaeger Info Page