I'm a software engineer and ignored wrist and forearm pain for almost a decade. Finally it got really bad so I had to take some steps to improve my condition. I purchased 5 vertical mouses, 1 of the more expensive ones and 4 cheaper ones, to see how they compare.
My conclusion is that you just can't judge how a mouse will fit you from reviews. Even reviewers with small hands like mine, had opinions I wholly disagreed with. And I think it's because people use the mouse in a variety of ways. For example, some people rest their hand entirely on their mouse while others use a "floating" hand. Some anchor their wrist and move their hand, while others anchor their elbow and move their forearm. Some have small hands; but, wrist pads and wrist braces raise the wrist, cancelling the problem of (or even overcompensating for) small hands.
Especially if you're like me and rest the entire weight of your hand and also anchor your wrist, you're not going to be happy with *any* vertical mouse *at first*, because your hand will feel like it's sagging down the mouse, and when you try to unsag your hand the mouse will feel insecure because you're unanchored your wrist. (This is where the cushion of a wrist brace helped immensely. After 2 weeks I was able to use the mouse even without the wrist brace. But man, did I hate all 5 mouses at first.)
Anyway, moral of the story: Bite the bullet and purchase a few mouses. $150 gets you 1 quality mouse and 1 or 2 cheaper ones.
Here's a wrist brace I love because it's not plastic-stiff (no affiliation whatsoever): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072392YGD.
Here are the products I compared:
- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073B12MS6 (Jelly Comb)
- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RK96WF8 (VicTsing)
- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BIFNTMC (Anker)
- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BFCVJZC (Lekvey)
- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FNJB8TT (Logitech MX)
Miscellaenous:
- There's a reason I didn't try the famous Evoluent VM4R. The updated model is getting flack for not living up to its predecessor, and its predecessor apparently hasn't shipped a driver for Mac OSX Catalina, which is what I'm on.
- The Anker and Lekvey have exactly the same chassis (and therefore size). The Anker is battery powered while the Levkey is charged. The VicTsing is slightly larger than those. The Jelly Comb is significantly smaller than any of them.
- See photo attached for comparisons of things like click and scrollwheel feel.
| Brand | Anker |
|---|---|
| Item model number | AK-98ANWVM-UBA |
| Hardware Platform | Mac |
| Operating System | Mac os x, Linux, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 2000, Windows 10 |
| Item Weight | 3.36 ounces |
| Product Dimensions | 3.98 x 3.23 x 3.15 inches |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 3.98 x 3.23 x 3.15 inches |
| Color | Black |
| Power Source | Battery Powered |
| Manufacturer | Anker |
| ASIN | B00BIFNTMC |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Date First Available | July 25, 2013 |
