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."

Looks Nice

[stoolpigeon]

You can pick it up at Amazon [amazon.com] 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.

Re:Looks Nice

[Bieeanda]

There's a left-handed version too, for us southpaws, but Amazon's got it for eighty bucks, where the right-handed one is going for sixty. Discrimination, I say!

ExtremeTech has a review as well...

[puppetman]

right here. [extremetech.com]

They seemed to like it as well.

Link

[Mockylock]

Link seems to be getting crushed at the moment. Here's an alternate.

http://www.evoluent.com/

no wireless = no VM

[illegalcortex]

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.

Re:Looks Nice

[jimstapleton]

As another alternative, newegg has one for slightly cheaper ($1 cheaper), but some people might like to know that as well.

EM500 from 3M

[bmw]

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 [airtech.net]

This Mouse is not good it made my problem worse

[Anonymous Coward]

This Mouse is not good it made my problem worse.

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/ergono mics/home/products/ergonomicmouse/ [3m.com]

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.

Re:Couldn't get use to it.

[CastrTroy]

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.

Re:I just tested it!

[sewiv]

I use my thumb and pinky to move my evoluent most of the time, actually. It's very easy to do, and very precise.

Drivers only for 32-bit XP, Vista

[morningstar8]

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 [evoluent.com].) 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.

Looks Nice, but UK buyers get stiffed again

[Anonymous Coward]

> 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...

Re:Looks Nice, but UK buyers get stiffed again

[Lunar_Lamp]

I haven't searched in detail, but this company from the USA seems to be shipping it to the UK at a sane price: http://store.ergocube.com/evsu.html [ergocube.com]

Re:No sir, I don't like it.

[Alistar]

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.

Ergonomic Keyboards and Mice

[JiveBay]

I posted on my blog a list of Ergonomic Keyboards and Mice [jivebay.com] links I had collected, here is what I had:

Enablemart [enablemart.com] - 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 [3m.com] - Notable is the Ergonomic Mouse that looks kind of like a joystick
Kinesis Corporation [kinesis-ergo.com] - Another third party place that sells ergonomic items (they have chairs also)
Perific [perific.com] - Their main product is the Wireless Dual Mouse
Evoluent [evoluent.com] - They are known for the VerticalMouse
Contour Design [contourdesign.com] - Best known for the RollerMouse and the PerfitMouse (Contour Mouse)
Combimouse [combimouse.com] - Combination Keyboard and Mouse
Adesso [adesso.com] - They make a lot of products
Aerobic Mouse [aerobicmouse.com] - Looks a lot like the VerticalMouse except it has a plastic area to hold your hand
Nohands Mouse [footmouse.com] - Control your mouse with your feet
Zero Tension Mouse [zerotensionmouse.com] - seems like a mix between the VerticalMouse and 3M's Ergonomic Mouse