As an IT support person, the problem I have with these mice is that the left mouse button is also on the vertical. So when heavy-handed users click on a file in explorer, they also slightly drag down, so the file “disappears” into a folder, and now it’s a support ticket to get the file restored.
Sigh.
I feel sick to my stomach thinking back to my IT help desk days.
I was remembering just now I used to have one but I gave up on it almost immediately after using irl Thanks for reminding me why I quickly moved on from vertical mouse.
Trackball gang.
I have a couple friends that play PC games on old-school Trackman trackballs. The amount of griping when we play a game with something bound by default to the mousewheel is INCREDIBLE.
That’s like using a Dvorak keyboard and complaining that games default to WASD bindings. This is the exact reason why key remapping is a standard feature on PC games but not on consoles
The old Trackmans have very limited inputs relative to modern gaming mice. There are some trackballs with scroll wheels, but they have different ergonomics (you rotate the ball with your thumb rather than your index, middle, and ring fingers) that my buddies aren’t fond of.
Given that theirs is a very niche use case, I don’t think anybody’s gonna make a trackball to suit them that also has a scroll wheel, but I guess if somebody was motivated enough, there’s an opportunity for some sort of ESP-based open source hardware.
Right, but ultimately their complaint is that a game has actions bound to a scroll wheel and they could simply rebind those actions to something else.
Though the complaint does become legitimate if they are playing one of the handful of poor PC ports out there that lacks key remapping (cough*transformerswarforcybertron*cough)
I’ve always been curious about this. Do they play FPS games by chance? If so, how’s their aim compared to a traditional mouse? I’ve always had this intuition that it would be easier to aim with a trackball, but I’ve never gotten one to see for myself.
Mx Ergo, best of both worlds
Came here to say that
I need me a Logitech G502 hero equivalent but vertical, no way I’m giving up all these extra quick buttons
I’m with you, that or a g903 equivalent. But it has to have Lightning and Powerplay support.
Really love the feel of my Logitech G pro tbh. Super clicky, light, and smooth. The texture of the material is great too.
It’s not at all ergonomic bc it is an ambidextrous design but it hasn’t bothered my yet and I use my PC way more than I should.
I’m not sure I want completely vertical on a 502 variant, but angled maybe 30 degrees from where it is and the thumb buttons moved back a hair would be my ideal mouse.
I had constant pain and switched to evoluent vertical mouse in like 2015 and haven’t had pain since. And it’s an added layer of security
I had the exact same scenario! Just a few years before your issue, I fell and landed on my right hand, straining my wrist. It wasn’t broken, but it was really sore and months later it still hurt just as badly, so I went to a doctor. He said the tendons and the sheath they go through were likely inflamed, and all my mousing (both work and home) was probably keeping it inflamed. I switched to the evoluent at work and a Logitech thumb ball at home, and two weeks later I was fine.
They are great, but I have two issues with my left handed one:
- Right handed people just cannot use it, I can’t just give someone else my mouse for a minute.
- For some stupid reason, the left and right mouse button are switched, so now I have to switch it back in software, so now the buttons on my laptop touchpad are switched.
The IT manager at my previous job used this as a security feature.
People thought that because he was the IT manager he could just get another mouse, so they’d just take his when they left their mouse at home and never return it.
So he got a left handed vertical mouse even though he is right handed.
Nobody steals his mouse now because it is vertical and cannot be used in the right hand.
As a left handed mouse user i wouls steal it fir shits and giggles
We had a guy learn Dvorak specifically so no one could take his keyboard. Madman or brilliant?
Can’t you just go into system settings and have it function as qwerty? You wouldn’t be able to hunt for a key, but if you touch type it shouldn’t matter.
I think if the keyboard had dvorak in it’s firmware (rather than set on the pc) you would need a dvorak-to-qwerty conversion setting which I’ve never seen on a pc.
Most custom layouts (mine included) just assume the keyboard is sending qwerty.
I’ve got a left handed mouse with switched buttons. I’m so used to it now that it takes a good 5 seconds for me to figure out how a normal mouse works.
I’ve used the standard button layout of a right handed mouse all my life, I’m not suddenly switching now.
I saw one an am curious, does it work well with fps games?
Depends what you expect. On a pro tournament level, nobody will use a vertical mouse. Usually they are a little bit heavier than regular mouses, plus they have a slightly higher center of gravity. This makes them a little bit more “wobbly” during ultra fast movements.
However, for regular playing, they work just fine. I don’t play on pro level, but okay competitive shooters almost daily, and I haven’t noticed any real disadvantage. And it helped my wrists enormously, because I’m a full time office worker as well. I decided a couple years ago that the small theoretical disadvantage is not worth the risk of RSI and have been using the cheap CSL/Anker/whatever vertical mouses since. Only very recently I boughta second, regular mouse with more thumb buttons, useful for some sim games I play. I now tend to switch fairly randomly between the two, which probably is even better for hand and wrist.
Additional info: getting used to a vertical mouse takes much less time than most people expect. Yes, it’s weird at first, but start working or gaming and you’ll stop noticing the different posture very quickly.
Recently there is actually a mild push for gaming vertical mice so that gap might shorten over time. A friend of mine does Valorant semi-pro and he uses a vertical mouse as well.
Not in my experience. It’s novel for work but once I had it for awhile I went back to another mouse. I don’t think they are as useful as others say. Seems more like a preference.
I haven’t tried a lot of those, but it would take a lot of practice to achieve similar accuracy.
My overall accuracy seemed to be just a little bit better at first, but if you’re like me, struggling with severe impulse control and will play games for 10 hours straight some days, it’s actually so much better. Your wrist doesn’t get nearly as tired and you can make some crazy flick shots really consistently
You may need to adjust your sensitivity as your wrist is now moving at a different angle
I moved back to a standard mouse because I like side buttons and I couldn’t find any good vertical mice with more the two (at the time, that may not be true anymore)
I saw a some versions with 2 more buttons. They’re either above or below the length of the thumb.
My mouse has a total of 12 programmable buttons across the whole thing.
I can’t tell any difference with my aim using a vertical mouse, so I wouldn’t stress it.
If anything, it adds a bit of realism cause you hold the mouse at a more similar angle as holding a gun. IMO it’s worth it for the strain relief alone.
Yeah, I’m thinking of trying a not so expensive ones first just to get a feel if I’ll like it.
Yes! The pictured one is a good one too. But currently using the Logitech MX Vertical.
I tried and ironically my wrists didn’t like it at all.
I had a chat about switching to a vertical mouse, with the Ergonomist (desk ergonomics guy) at my workplace. I short, he told me that if a regular mouse doesn’t cause issues, it’s not a good idea to switch. As your wrist and hand will have to adjust to different kinds of loads and movements which can start causing issues.
I’ve never tried it but the idea of constantly holding something just sounds like hell for the carpals.
You don’t hold them any more than a horizontal mouse
Wouldn’t you thumb it against your palm so that your fingers are always aligned with the buttons, such is the case with laying your hand atop a regular mouse?
Just like a “normal” mouse you don’t hold it as much as you push it around. But we (at least, me and the people I’ve discussed this with) tend to actually “hold” normal mouses more because they are rarely very ergonomic and you can’t really move them in a satisfactory manner without gripping them at least a little.
This makes sense. I LOVE my Logitech G502, but even though it seems “palmy” and my hands aren’t even that big, I end up claw-grabbing the thing really hard!
Yeah I had that one at work for a while and had the same problem ! Out of frustration I ended up trying out an ergonomic mouse just like in the OP that was lying around, and never came back
Have you ever tried one of the MX masters? I used to have wrist problems but my master 3 just fits so well (the buttons are slightly angled, not as extremely as these vertical mice but like 20°) and its big enough to be able to comfortably rest my entire hand on it…
Well… I know there’s actually three ways to hold a traditional mouse, I saw a video about it once. Which was surprising to me, but mostly because I have big hands and I can only hold a mouse one way.
But for me when I’m holding a horizontal mouse the mouse is “grasped” by my hand as a whole, and I’d say my pinky and thumb are in a way holding the mouse.
With a vertical mouse it’s much the same where my whole hand is grasping. I’m not holding it any more with my thumb because the thumb rests on the body of the mouse. In fact as I think about it and type this out I think I have to hold a horizontal mouse more than a vertical, but again it might just be related to hand size.
I use both. Horizontal for gaming so I can have more than two thumb buttons. Vertical for work as it does give my wrist and forearm a “rest.”
Edit: realized I didn’t necessarily answer your question. For me with the vertical mouse the buttons are just there where they need to be. And I guess clicking is a form of holding…
You just lay your hand on it. After a few minutes it settles as a natural resting position. And let me tell you, it’s sooooo much better than resting your hand on a traditional mouse. Best thing: these cheap vertical mice are not inherently worse than, say, a Logitech MX vertical. Just give it a try for 20 bucks.
The more somebody tries to sell me something, the more apprehensive I am to it.
But wait, there’s more! For only 85 easy payments of $69.69 you can get 420 more copies of hurdurhurdur weekly!
:P
I was experiencing some wrist pain at work so I had my employer buy me one. If you have real ergonomics concerns, you can always try that route.
Well random cheap mice could die after a while (happened to my brother), or need battery replacements often (happens to a colleague). Logi MX vertical has the benefit that you can charge it, and it lasts quite a long time before you need to recharge it.
Though honestly I’d never spend €100+ on a mouse. My company offered money to buy office things, I didn’t need anything so I took the mx vertical haha.
Trackball gang represent
All hail trackballs ٩( ᐛ )و
real mice have balls
Have ball
Any recommendations? I had to swap out my Microsoft Trackball Explorer as it didn’t keep up any more.
I’ve been using Kensington Orbit (with scroll) and it’s been great.
If it just had three buttons, it’d be perfect. As it is, I’m using the Orbit Fusion as my couch mouse, with the “Forward” button remapped to left-click, which lets me rest my hand similar to how I would on the “classic” Orbit.
Ploopy Classic, it’s a modern version of that. Open source software (QMK) and hardware
Recently picked up the Kingsenton Slimblade Pro. Love it.
Elecom
I clean mine every 3-7 days. Some times it gathers cat hair (I assume) faster than others.
CST L-Trac enjoyer reporting in! Come to our party, we have custom 3D printed tents and custom additional programmable buttons!
What is a tent in this context?
A stand that helps keep your hand and arm in a neutral position while you’re using the device 😊 It might not be the perfect term in this context, but it’s widely used with split mechanical keyboards (which I also use a tent for)
Thank you very much.
Any suggestions for a good quality vertical? The one the office purchased for me feels cheap and the time-to-sleep is too short(mouse doesn’t wake on motion).
https://sandberg.world/en-us/product/wireless-vertical-mouse-pro
I use this one, mostly because it was pretty cheap, is wireless and has a rechargeable battery.
I would splurge a little more now that I like using a vertical one, but I was afraid of spending a lot just to shelve it for eternity like I did with some other devices…
I use the Logitech MX Vertical. https://a.co/d/9eDjEZ8
Took a little getting used to, but the wrist pain is gone and the mouse is reliable.
The two I’ve used are the one in the image (it’s from Anker, I forget the model) and Logitech’s MX Vertical (they have a second, smaller version if the original is too big). I’ve been maining the Vertical the past 4 years for work and personal use.
Both have pros and cons:
Anker is cheaper. ~$35 vs ~$80. Also has a built in slot to put the receiver in when not in use.
It curves with your hand more than the Vertical.
Anker uses easily replaceable AAA batteries. Usually lasted me about 3 months before I needed to swap them. I only used it for work though.The Vertical can connect to 3 different devices (1 dongle, 2 Bluetooth) whereas Anker is limited to whatever the dongle is connected to.
The Vertical is made of better feeling materials; like a rubber for extra grip vs hard plastic with the Anker.
There’s a USB C port to charge its (not easily replaceable) battery.
Edit: Vertical won’t go to “sleep” like the Anker will. If the Anker isn’t touched for X minutes, it will go to sleep and you’ll have to click one of the switches to wake it. Otherwise moving it won’t move the cursor. Not that huge of an issue, but definitely annoying if you don’t know what’s going on.There is a design flaw with the Vertical. Logitech, like with other mice, use the wrong switches in it. The mouse operates at very low voltage and current; lower than what the switches are rated for. This leads to corrosion building up on the metal switches, leading to incomplete/missed clicks, phantom double clicks, or impossible to hold a click.
I actually had to go into my Vertical, desolder the old switches and replace them with new ones (I think I went with Kale’s light blue switches). I did that in summer '22 and haven’t had any issues since.
The rubber material is also showing wear and tear where my fingers sit, but that’s just cosmetic.I got the Anker one for my mom holiday '22 and she’s been happy with it. It helped the discomfort in her hand.
Both mice improved the stiffness in my right hand, so either one will get the job done. I will also say that there is a bit of an adjustment period. Surprisingly, changing the angle of your hand kind of throws you off and takes some getting used to. Before my office went remote, my coworkers would avoid using it because it wasn’t easy for them to switch to for just a short period of time.Hopefully this info is helpful. I can try answering any questions you have on them, but those are the only two I have experience in.
Is it possible to use any of the two wired? Or are there better wired alternatives?
The Anker doesn’t have a port to use wired. But you can with the Logitech. You can also use it while it’s charging.
Actually the Anker comes in wired predominantly; I usually find them while looking for the other.
There is a design flaw with the Vertical. Logitech, like with other mice, use the wrong switches in it. The mouse operates at very low voltage and current; lower than what the switches are rated for. This leads to corrosion building up on the metal switches, leading to incomplete/missed clicks, phantom double clicks, or impossible to hold a click.
Wow that is a major screw up. Probably part of the planned obsolescence though.
It’s very possible. It happened to a previous Logitech mouse of mine, which led to me using a Razer for the next 6 years. And with how much work it was to take this apart, I could see them wanting me to just buy a new $80-100 mouse every two years.
I went down a rabbit hole to find this info out. People dug deep trying to find what was going on with the switches.
So basically you’re saying that my beloved MX Vertical will 100% fail pretty soon? I freaking love this mouse, it’s so comfortable and elegant and a joy to use :(
It’s possible. There’s also a chance Logitech started using the right switches by the time you bought yours. Once you start getting the weird clicking behavior, that’s a sign the switches are on their way out.
But if you’re willing to put in the work, you can replace the switches yourself. iFixit has instructions on how to replace the switches. I followed that and I was able to successfully swap mine.Good to know, I’ll look out for those signs then, thanks a lot!
Praise iFixit. Soldering required does mean that I’ll have to learn that first though. Do you have, by any chance, a recommendation for a sort of “intro to soldering” type of video/content that I can start with?
Sadly, I don’t. I pretty much looked online for a recommended temp for my soldering iron, picked a tip that seemed appropriate, and slowly desoldered it.
Pro tips: get a tool to hold the circuit board for you. I didn’t have one when I did it and it was a pain the ass. And actually dangerous because you have your fingers working near a very hot piece of metal.
Also the switches are connected by 3 rather spaced solder points. You’ll have to balance heating all the solder points to keep it soft, and then use a pair of tweezers to slowly wiggle the switch out.
Putting the new switch in is easier. Just need to make sure you orient it correctly and make sure it isn’t misaligned. Or else it might not click right. Thankfully it’s not hard to line up.
I have a couple of these and like them: https://www.amazon.com/J-Tech-Digital-V628-Adjustable-Sensitivity/dp/B0759V6FZC
I’ve tried so many vertical mice, but for some reason this one worked out the best for me. It kind of feels cheap compared to others, but I’ve had it for a number of years and I haven’t found anything that can top it. It’s worth trying out if anyone is on the fence since it is priced under $20.
I think it’s because it’s an unapologetic vertical mouse. Most others are just slanted mice. Note that the furst couple days might be slow because you have to adjust to using your arm that way. I got this one in uni because my wrist just didn’t like being flat, and I used computers a lot. This one matches my resting position really well, and the wrist rest means I’m not sliding the side of my hand all over the desk.
I had a thumb trackball for years, miss it tbh
Mice rise up
Move the wheel under the thumb. Until then it’s anything but ergonomic.
trackball
I have a stationary mouse that’s kinda like that.
