Slashdot Mirror
Review of Ergonomic Evoluent VerticalMouse 3
JJJumper writes "CoolTechZone.com reviews Evoluent's VerticalMouse 3 mouse that's touted to be the world's most health conscious, ergonomics friendly mouse in the world. And it's vertical, too, instead of horizontal. The review states, "Unlike other mice, Evoluent's VerticalMouse 3 stands vertical to locate your hand in a handshake position, or where the arm is in 90-degrees form from the tabletop. It even has a small lip at the bottom to prevent your little finger from touching the desk. According to the company, this is the most natural position for the hand to be in and it reduces a magnitude of stress from your hand, wrist and arm. Apparently traditional mice with horizontal statures twist your lower arm and put unnecessary stress on its vital areas. We must admit that getting used to the mouse didn't take too long, even though it was slightly awkward to get used to in the beginning. After all, old habits die hard."
You can pick it up at Amazon for $60.23. About 20 bucks below retail - not a bad deal.
That is an affiliate link- if you consider that to be a problem, you don't want to click on it.
It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
The review seems only to be touting the health benefits of using the mouse, but if it really reduced stress on key parts of your wrist and arm I expect it would be a lot more comfortable, too. The only problem I can forsee is that it wouldn't fit on those roll-out trays that a lot of desks have for your keyboard and mouse, and that's a pretty serious drawback.
This game will waste your life. Don't clicky!
I have never experienced any pain or stress, even if I sit at my computer for extended ("unhealthy") periods. Why would you pay an extra buck to get a sketchy guarantee for a healthier wrist? The health effect on your wrist from a regular mouse is probably very minute.
The Evoluent looks good, but it's still only usable in one single position as far as I can tell from the write-up. Even though this is a better and more natural position than regular mice, I'd rather use a mouse that promotes changes in posture, like this one: http://www.perific.com/products/
Money for nothing, pix for free
right here.
They seemed to like it as well.
Link seems to be getting crushed at the moment. Here's an alternate.
http://www.evoluent.com/
"Please, shut up. Just when I think you can't say anything more stupid, you speak again." -Archie Bunker.
I used to use the VM2, but their failure to produce a wireless model has kept my Logitech G7 firmly in hand. I've found that using the Kinesis keyboard has been sufficient to reduce all of my hand pain.
Shouldn't be too hard to convert a regular optical mouse to do this. I think all you'd need was a hammer and some duct tape. But you could say that about most things I suppose.
ccalam - acoustic versions of new songs.
I recently discovered this other ergonomic mouse from 3M that has really saved my wrists. It's not the greatest mouse in the world (wish Logitech would buy the design) but the benefit to my health has been amazing. I was beginning to have lots of wrist pain when using a normal mouse and switching to one of these permanently alleviated any pain I was having. I highly recommend either this or the mouse featured in the posted article. This "handshake position" is really how we should have been using mice all along.
http://www.airtech.net/3mermousnewv.html
"No wireless. Fewer buttons than a Logitech MX610. Lame."
"Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue." - David Brent, Wernham Hogg
This Mouse is not good it made my problem worse.
o mics/home/products/ergonomicmouse/
I have problems with my right hand and I have tried every ergonomic mouse that I could get my hands on. The best mouse I have found is the 3M Ergonomic Mouse
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/ergon
I do a lot of cad work and my wrist started hurting even though I was using a Logitech ergonomic mouse. I knew I needed to get a mouse that was vertical. I tried many mice and ended up using the Evoluent Vertical Mouse. My wrist stopped hurting but after two weeks the tendons on the back of my hand started hurting. I think it was because the scroll wheel on the Evoluent Vertical Mouse is too close and you end up bending your fingers a lot to use it. Before the Evoluent mouse my hand tendons were fine and after they started hurting. The tendon problem is worse then the original wrist problem and it still plagues me so I am pretty annoyed about that.
The mouse I use now is the 3M Ergonomic Mouse and it is really nice. The only problem is that it has no scroll wheel (that is why I didn't use it in the first place). I will gladly give up the scroll wheel for no pain in my hand.
Wish I didn't have this problem.
I find it odd that after such a long time you could not get used to the devices. I have been using trackballs for the last 5 years. I remember when I got my first one, it took a few days, maybe a week to get used to, and then I was done. Since I've had a couple different trackballs, and don't have any problem using them. I find trackballs are the best, because you can put them in the right position, and they stay there. Also, I find it a lot easier to just move my thumb or fingers (depending on the trackball) and have the device do it's work. Really when you consider it, it's not much different than typing. I never had any wrist problems, but picked up a trackball because I didn't have a lot of desk space. I find it a lot easier to use a trackball. I really don't know why they aren't more popular.
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
Like these:
http://www.ergo-items.com/3m_ergonomic_mouse.htm
http://www.ergo-items.com/quillMouse.htm
http://www.ergo-items.com/zero_tension_mouse.htm
Not to mention the mouse we used to call "Richard Mouse" back in the day (about 10 years ago) when I was just getting my start in the gaming industry and the place I worked bought an "ergonomic" mouse that operated on these principles so we could test it with our game.
I, like many office workers, sit in an non-OSHA approved seating position while at work. My chair is at it's lowest height, leaned back as far as it will go, and my arm is not near a 90 degree angle. But I'm damn comfortable. My mouse is pointed at "11:00" because that's how my wrist like it. My brain is trained to understand that forward towards the monitor will lead the mouse pointer diaganol towards the top right of the screen. Moving the mouse diagonaly left/forward, moves the pointer vertically on the screen.
To compensate for the fact that I don't have a "natural" or "ergonomic" keyboard I have changed my finger position from the standard "asd fjkl;" line up to "cdsa nkl;" my fingers make the "ergonomic" shape.
They make these things for people who sit "properly" the only problem is that most people don't sit "properly"
Actually, I just turned my normal mouse on its side and started moving it around seeing how it would feel if it actually worked that way... To be honest, it was a bit more comfortable on my wrist, but I realized that I would lose an important function of the traditional orientation.
How many people use their fingers to move the mouse around? I know I do on occasion... When I'm making fine adjustments to my pointer, I don't move my whole wrist, I move my fingers only, and that reason alone keeps me from buying the vertical mouse. With your hand in the handshake position, you won't be able to move the mouse with your fingers, and won't get the same fine-grained control as you would with fingers.
Also, their "expert opinions" note on the article seems a bit flaky:
Some doctors who specialize in ergonomics consider the vertical position preferable.
Some doctors? It just seems like some doctor with a degree held one and said, "Yeah that feels a bit better." They made no mention of a medical reason to use one over any other mouse, they simply said, "It might feel a little better."
Note that the only supported drivers for this mouse (and its predecessor) are for 32-bit XP and Vista. (See the driver download page at http://www.evoluent.com/download.htm.) The site links to a "freeware" driver provided by somebody else, but it had enough issues that I had to uninstall it.
I own an Evoluent VerticalMouse 2, which became an $80 paperweight after my work OS became WinXP x64. Evoluent's support told me that no 64-bit driver was forthcoming.
> You can pick it up at Amazon for $60.23.
Whereas on amazon.co.uk, it's 76 *pounds*, or roughly $150.
Ye flippin' gods...
I actually have a version 2 of the Evoluent mouse and I quite like it.
I find it incredibly comfortable to use and it had completley removed the pain I used to get in my hands and forearm.
Now, I do understand what you are saying and when I first got this mouse that is what I had done, gripped it with my palm cause otherwise if didn't feel right not having some grip on it. However, after a week of that, it wasn't very comfortable, so what I do is keep no grip on it. When I move my hand it just moves the mouse as if Im sweeping it. My thumb moves the mouse right, my palm moves it left, back of my palm forward, and my fingers move it back (the clicks are not so senstitive that you can do this quickly without accidently clicking) then I just use my fingers to click, using the space between the thumb and palm as the resting point to push against.
I keep my hand completely relaxed (no using muscles to keep it in a position) and maintain fast mouse movement and clicking. Now I will admit, I am still technically faster with a standard button on top mouse, but Im twitch gaming to get a headshot and its plenty fast enough. It did take a little while to get used to using it this way though, but it has been incredibly helpful, even to teh point that I can use a normal use the odd time without getting pain like I used to. I also don't use wrist movements to move the mouse, but rather my forearm, that helps as well I found.
Enablemart - This seems to be a third party seller but I've yet to find out who makes all the equipment they sell
3M Ergonomic Products - Notable is the Ergonomic Mouse that looks kind of like a joystick
Kinesis Corporation - Another third party place that sells ergonomic items (they have chairs also)
Perific - Their main product is the Wireless Dual Mouse
Evoluent - They are known for the VerticalMouse
Contour Design - Best known for the RollerMouse and the PerfitMouse (Contour Mouse)
Combimouse - Combination Keyboard and Mouse
Adesso - They make a lot of products
Aerobic Mouse - Looks a lot like the VerticalMouse except it has a plastic area to hold your hand
Nohands Mouse - Control your mouse with your feet
Zero Tension Mouse - seems like a mix between the VerticalMouse and 3M's Ergonomic Mouse
I actually have an Evoluent VerticalMouse3. I got it because I suffer from tendonitis.
I switch back and forth between the VM3 and a Contour Perfit (optical) mouse because I find that both tend to relieve tension in one area (e.g., the radial nerve) but cause tension in another (e.g., the palm, or the back of the hand).
For the Contour Perfit, there are different sizes and different models for right vs. left-handed use (I use a large right-handed one). They're designed so that your whole hand rests on the mouse, in a "neutral" position (halfway between full flexion and full extension).
I think I like the Contour mouse a little better. I find with the VM3, despite the (very slight) lip at the bottom, my hand still tends to drag on the mousepad.
The scroll wheel, on pretty much any mouse I've tried, is a major culprit for repetitive stress injury. But the function is just too useful to give up!
Probably a bigger problem is the one discovered by rehtonAesoohC (parent poster): fine mouse movements are very difficult to achieve when using your whole arm rather than your fingers. Those larger muscles just lack the precision of our fingers, which is why I often find myself using the Contour mouse inappropriately, with my fingertips touching the mouse and rest of the hand arched up above it rather than laying flat. I've developed a few little tricks to get back some precision, like incorporating a kind of wrist wiggle to move the mouse left and right in a fan-like motion and get the mouse pointer to home in on a specific little point. But that can lead to wrist pain if overdone, and I think especially gives me pain along the radial nerve when using VM3
At any rate, I'm glad to see other recommendations from Slashdotters, and may try a few more mice. Don't overlook the possibility of using several mice and switching between them at times.