Anker Vertical Ergonomic Optical Mouse
If you find yourself suffering from wrist pain or hand cramps while using a traditional mouse, it maybe time to upgrade to the best vertical mouse or the best ergonomic mouse. There are many types of ergonomic mice such as trackball, joystick, and vertical. In this article, we will focus more on the vertical mouse. A vertical mouse looks like a mouse turned on its side, which the click buttons on the side instead of on top.
It is designed so that your four fingers wrap on one side and your thumb wraps around another. If you want to imagine the hand posture, imagine grabbing something off of your desk by extending your arm straight. By holding a mouse in this position, you prevent your wrist from going to long in the pronated position, which puts unnecessary strain on your wrist and fingers. One solution to temporarily relieve the problem is to have a mouse with an elevated padded area for your wrist to rest.
However, this is only a temporary relief and if you use the mouse pad for a long time, other problems could arise. The best way to take pressure off of your wrist and fingers is to go vertical, which is the natural way your hands should be resting. While it does take some time to get used to, once you get used to it, you will never want to go back using a regular mouse. There are many types of vertical mice to choose from on the market with many different designs in features. Generally, you should be looking for specifications such as precision, durability, portability, versatility, and responsiveness when shopping for the best vertical mouse. Please see our buying guide below for more details on the factors to consider when looking to buy the best vertical mouse.
Best Vertical Mouse Reviews
- Anker Vertical Ergonomic Optical Mouse (Top Pick)
- Evoluent VerticalMouse Plus Jestik Microfiber Cloth
- J-Tech Digital Scroll Endurance Wired Mouse Ergonomic Vertical USB Mouse
Anker Vertical Ergonomic Optical Mouse
If you want the best vertical mouse and want great value, the Anker 2.4G Wireless Vertical Mouse is the way to go. First of all, we think the selling point of this vertical mouse is the comfort and ergonomic design. Out of all of the reasonably priced vertical mice, we like this one the most in terms of grip and texture. The texture of the rubber feels extra sleek and the mouse is not over-clunky or uncomfortably small.
You have ample space for your thumb to rest on and the grip fits the contour of your palm perfectly no matter the size of your hand. Also, it looks pretty cool and futuristic and at such a low price point, you really can’t beat it in terms of value. Now onto the specs. It is windows, linux, and mac compatible although the two thumb buttons are not recognized on a mac.
This mouse has three levels of DPI from 800 to 1200 to 1600. It works wirelessly through a 2.4G USB receiver that you can fit on the bottom on your mouse. It runs off of 2 AAA batteries and you can get a few months of battery life out of it with continuous use. While we do think the precision and accuracy is a bit sacrificed here for comfort, the difference in performance between the Anker Vertical Mouse and a top end one is not entirely noticeable.
Evoluent VerticalMouse Plus Jestik Microfiber Cloth
If you want the best vertical mouse and want premium performance, the Evoluent Vertical Mouse is the right one for you. This vertical mouse is a win in every category except price. It is quite expensive but you certainly get it back in quality, performance, and design. First of all, let’s talk about performance and sensitivity. Instead of DPI, there are settings on the mouse for extra low, low, medium, and high settings.
You can switch this on a convenient adjustable slider on the mouse. This mouse is exceptionally precise and is great for gaming. And the weight is just right so that you can control it with the right amount of force and pressure. You don’t need to do software tricks with this mouse like cranking up the sensitivity using the operating system. This always leads to a lot of choppiness. In terms of quality, the Evoluent Verticla Mouse is definitely built with super high quality materials and leads to a very comfortable grip as well as alleviating lots of stress from your wrists.
When you pick this mouse up and compare it with the rest of the competition, you will know why it is priced at a premium. It just feels nicer and more sleek and with the perfect weight. The comparable experience is when you pick up an Apple product and just compare it with a regular product. In terms of features, there are 6 programmable buttons that let you personalized the mouse. The Evoluent is a wireless mouse and runs via USB receiver and Bluetooth.
J-Tech Digital Scroll Endurance Wired Mouse Ergonomic Vertical USB Mouse
If you want the best vertical mouse that is wired, you may be interested in the J-Tech Digital Vertical Ergonomic Mouse. The selling point of the J-Tech vertical mouse is that it is extremely durable and as long lasting buttons and a premium design. In fact, the company has calculated the quality of its parts by stress testing the parts.
The buttons all last more than 3 million clicks and 20,000 circles, which is more than enough to last a few years without needing be replaced. This mouse has three sensitivity modes at 600, 1000, and 1600 DPI and it can be adjusted on the mouse itself. There are two thumb buttons for back and forward and these can be programmed to whatever you want. We also really like the included palm rest that is removable.
It really adds something to the mouse that makes it stand apart from the competition. Without the palm rest, you often run into the problem of scraping and rubbing your skin on hard surfaces and eventually developing some sort of rash. Overall, performance is very respectable and quite precise with good maneuverability. The unit is wired however, so you don’t get as much portability, but also you don’t get to deal with batteries.
Best Vertical Mouse Buying Guide
DPI: In terms of precision and accuracy, there is a term in the mouse world that cover this and is it called DPI or Dots per Inch. This basically measures the sensitivity of your mouse and a mouse with a higher DPI will detect smaller movements. Keep in mind that DPI is hardware related and is different from very adjusting the mouse sensitivity on your computer which is just a software gimmick.
Operating system software sensitivity is never as smooth as having a mouse with higher DPI. The best setting is having a high DPI mouse and turn down the sensitivity setting on your operating system. There are even some advanced vertical mice with DPI settings that you can adjust on the mouse itself. Often times you find gaming mice with very high DPI.
Poll Rate: This refers to the frequency in which a mouse reports its position to your operating system, which is measured in Hertz. In a sense, it is also known as the refresh rate. For example, a 100 Hz polling rate means the vertical mouse is reporting its position 100 times per second. The poll rate correlates to the lag rate experienced between when you move the mouse and the time it takes for the cursor to actually move. Of course, we don’t really feel the poll rate as much as we feel the DPI, as a few millisecond lag is not really that noticeable. Nevertheless, it is always better to have a higher poll rate on the best vertical mouse.
Features: A vertical mouse can be very simple with just one button or it can have a slew of buttons that make your productivity higher. One such feature that a vertical mouse can have is a trackwheel, which is used for scrolling. You can also have forward and back buttons built into the side.
Portability: You can either have a wired or wireless vertical or ergonomic mouse. Wired vertical mice usually plug in via USB and wireless mouse connect via Bluetooth. However, you will still need to plug in a Bluetooth receiver on your computer, which usually takes up a USB port. We usually prefer bluetooth vertical mice because wires are just inconvenient. However, we suggest you look carefully at the reported battery life, as there are be a huge difference in between brands. The best vertical mouse that is wireless will have features that help increase battery life.
Comfort: The comfort level of a mouse is very important for those who work a lot on a computer. A good vertical mouse should not be too light or too bulky. It should feel good in your hands and you should be able to control the mouse in a way that doesn’t hurt you. There needs to be a nice and comfortable place to your thumb without feeling too much strain. Most importantly, you wrist should be in a goof position so that it doesn’t strain.
Left Handed: Most vertical mouse will only come in a right handed version. There are very few mice that are left hand only or symmetrical enough to accommodate for left handers. If you are a left handed, for the most part you are out of luck. The best you can do is to find a vertical mouse that is symmetrical, meaning they are the same on both sides.
Durability: Finally, you should look into the durability of your mouse. There is a good chance you may accidentally drop your mouse at some point, and a durable mouse should be able to withstand that fall. Also, every time you lift up mouse and slam it down, you risk the chance of damaging your mouse.
References
https://lifehacker.com/5949361/give-your-tired-wrist-a-break-with-a-vertical-mouse
