Recommendations for mouse with buttons that only need pressing very gently please

LydiaJ

Hi everyone

I can't find anybody having asked this question before, but apologies if I've missed something.

The computers I use at work have mice that I find very easy to use - clicking the mouse is easy, I don't have to press at all hard, and I never have any trouble clicking in the right place. However, it's different at home. The wired mouse I've been using for ages has always been annoyingly stiff, but the wireless mouse I've recently bought is much worse - about 5% of the time I find I've clicked on the wrong thing because getting the left mouse button to click requires pressing so hard that I jolt the whole mouse and the cursor moves slightly. My mouse hand also gets very tired if I use it for any length of time - not a good thing for somebody with a history of RSI. Strangely, a gentle click is quite sufficient when clicking the wheel - for example to open a web page in a separate tab.

So I'd like to buy a new cordless mouse with really gentle clicks. But of course I can't go into a shop and try any out because they're all inaccessible inside their packaging. So I wonder if any of you lovely people can recommend one to me. I would be very grateful if you could.

Thanks.

victor2

I've had a Logitech wireless mouse for a few years now. It's an MX620, but is probably discontinued now. Takes 2 AA batteries and Alkaline ones last for months (something like 6).
Don't have a problem clicking with it, the buttons are nice and light. But then I wouldn't say it's lighter or heavier than other corded mice I've used.
"Borrow" your mouse from work and see if it still works with your own computer as it does at home. If it does, buy one of those?

Quiet_Spark

If the mouse you use at work is agreeable, why not just buy the same make/model for home?

esuhl

I'd had worsening RSI for years and tried all sorts of mice, but none were perfect. I saw that trackballs were supposed to be good for people with RSI, so I bought a Logitech Marble Mouse (despite the name, it's a trackball -- and there's an identical version called the Trackman Marble).

I find it keeps your hand in a much more comfortable position. I found it so easy to use that I swapped to using my left hand to let my right hand recover and (several years later) I haven't had any problems.

There wasn't a wireless version the last time I looked, but that's not so important with a trackball (if you're using it with a desktop PC) as it stays in one place on the desk. And it doesn't need batteries or an extra plug socket!

Maybe worth a look...?

http://www.logitech.com/en-gb/product/4786

LydiaJ

I have two at work:
1) The wired one at my desk, which is Dell, but as far as I can see they aren't doing it any more, and my idea that getting a Dell wireless one might give the same softness of click hasn't worked, because that's what my ultra-stiff new wireless one at home is.
2) The wireless one in the lab, which is perhaps a little smaller than I'd like, so ideally I'd like a larger one, but yes, I'll try to see if it's got any identifying numbers etc on it, and find out if it's still available.

I haven't had RSI for years, so I'm OK for now, but don't want to bring it back on again. It was bad enough last time!

Thanks everyone.

Contessa

esuhl wrote: »

I'd had worsening RSI for years and tried all sorts of mice, but none were perfect. I saw that trackballs were supposed to be good for people with RSI, so I bought a Logitech Marble Mouse (despite the name, it's a trackball -- and there's an identical version called the Trackman Marble).

I find it keeps your hand in a much more comfortable position. I found it so easy to use that I swapped to using my left hand to let my right hand recover and (several years later) I haven't had any problems.

There wasn't a wireless version the last time I looked, but that's not so important with a trackball (if you're using it with a desktop PC) as it stays in one place on the desk. And it doesn't need batteries or an extra plug socket!

Maybe worth a look...?

http://www.logitech.com/en-gb/product/4786

My wrist was starting to hurt so I was persuaded to buy one of those. It's brilliant and certainly works-no more wrist problems.

LydiaJ

Thanks Contessa and esuhl, but I've never got on very well with trackballs. Glad yours works for you, though.

I went into school today and borrowed the wireless one to try out at home over half term. (I told the IT support people I'd have it back in time for school on Monday.) It's a Logitech M215. It's just as well I brought it home to try out instead of just buying one. It's the opposite way round from the Dell wireless mouse that I've got at home. The left and right buttons are lovely and gentle, but pressing the scroll wheel (which I do all the time at home and hardly ever at work) is very stiff!

So I'm back to the drawing board looking for one for which both the buttons and the wheel only need pressing gently!

LydiaJ

LydiaJ wrote: »

I have two at work:
1) The wired one at my desk, which is Dell, but as far as I can see they aren't doing it any more, and my idea that getting a Dell wireless one might give the same softness of click hasn't worked, because that's what my ultra-stiff new wireless one at home is.
2) The wireless one in the lab, which is perhaps a little smaller than I'd like, so ideally I'd like a larger one, but yes, I'll try to see if it's got any identifying numbers etc on it, and find out if it's still available.

I haven't had RSI for years, so I'm OK for now, but don't want to bring it back on again. It was bad enough last time!

Thanks everyone.

Update:
I borrowed the wireless one from work and brought it home today to try out. The buttons are indeed lovely and gentle, but pressing the wheel is extremely stiff. This doesn't matter at work, because I do very little web browsing at work, and the only thing I press the wheel for is opening a link in a new tab. It does matter at home, though, where web browsing is one of the main things I do with the machine. So, back to square one.

cookie365

LydiaJ wrote: »

Update:
I borrowed the wireless one from work and brought it home today to try out. The buttons are indeed lovely and gentle, but pressing the wheel is extremely stiff. This doesn't matter at work, because I do very little web browsing at work, and the only thing I press the wheel for is opening a link in a new tab. It does matter at home, though, where web browsing is one of the main things I do with the machine. So, back to square one.

My Logitech mouse (a wired laser one) has a centre wheel that has different activations for pushing down, left, and right.

Does yours? If so, you might find it easier to make pushing the wheel to the left equivalent to pushing it down.