Connection: Wired USB-A or 2.4Ghz wireless dongle models available | Power: Wired model or 2 x AAA batteries wireless model | DPI options: 1,000, 1,500, 2,000 and 2,500 | Weight: 110-130g w/o flange, 150-170g with flange | Extra buttons: Forward, backward

I really enjoyed using the Goldtouch Semi-Vertical mouse and it is probably the one I had plugged in the longest, just because I liked it. It’s one of the few non-gaming mice I encountered with adjustable weights. I took two of the four 5g discs out to make it around 120 grams and that, combined with the easy glide, made moving it feel effortless. The cursor movement is precise at all four DPI settings and the light-up Goldtouch logo on the side turns different colors depending on which speed you’ve selected (red is low, blue is medium, green is medium-fast, and purple is fast) which is far easier to discern than most mice that rely on a series of flashes to indicate speed.

It has a soft-touch, rubberized exterior with smooth metallic plastic buttons that are easy to click. As a semi-vertical mouse, it puts your hand in a natural, 60-degree tilt position that, to me, feels more comfortable than the straight-up-and-down of a fully vertical mouse. My medium-sized hand can fully palm the exterior with some distance left between the tips of my fingers and the ends of the mouse buttons, so slightly larger hands should still have room.

There aren’t a ton of extra buttons, just left, right, scroll, DPI and forward and back browser buttons (that aren’t programmable). The scroll button accurately adjusts between a slow line-by-line crawl and a page-swallowing speed run, depending on how fast you turn it. Maybe it’s just the review unit I got, but the wheel occasionally made the faintest squeak, though that’s starting to fade. The clicks are audible, but not annoying and the lift-off distance is just right. When you need to reposition the mouse, tilting it slightly to glide on its right edge doesn’t result in errant cursor movement.

The Goldtouch Semi-Vertical comes with an optional flange that attaches firmly with magnets. It adds a little weight but the mouse still glides admirably. The addition allows you to rest the heel of your palm so it moves along with you as you mouse. This is great for preventing any bending of your wrist as you move your whole arm instead. I didn’t use the flange other than to test it, as moving my whole arm just aggravates my shoulder tension. Goldtouch claims that the flange also adds a little extra length to support up to eight-inch-long hands.

I tested the wired model but Goldtouch also offers wireless versions and, in a rare nod to our sinister-handed kinfolk, wireless left-handed mice as well. 

All three of those models require a USB-A port so if you don’t have one available and don’t want to buy an adapter, you can try Perrix’s Perimice 819 for a similar semi-vertical design. It’s a little smaller, so medium and large hands will use more of a fingertip grip. But it glides easily, has precise movement, a rechargeable battery and connects via Bluetooth or wirelessly with either a USB-C or USB-A dongle. Plus, it’s an ergonomic bargain at $35.

Connection: 2.4Ghz wireless dongle | Power: Rechargeable battery | DPI options: 800, 1,200, 1,600 or 3,200 | Weight: 120g w/o flange, 140g with flange | Extra buttons: Forward, backward, scroll click, RGB (programmable)

The J-Tech Digital V638 feels a lot more premium than its $30 price tag would suggest. It has a comfortable vertical design, a rechargeable battery, a clickable scroll button and even some (optional) RGB lights to keep things interesting.

The exterior is a rubberized plastic with a satiny feel. It has a wider grip than many vertical mice, which results in less of a pinching motion when clicking, which may feel more natural for some. Palming the mouse and moving it around feels smooth and precise. There’s a slight protrusion between where your middle and ring finger rest that sort of reminds me of a flight-sim joystick. When you’re fully gripping the mouse, which is the most relaxed approach, the buttons are easy to click. But if your hand is backed off a little and using more of a fingertip grip, the buttons feel a little stiff towards the back. In practice, this just reminded me to reposition my hand for a better grip.

The RGB lights are fun, glowing and pulsing in different patterns and colors, which can be changed by clicking the button just below the thumb rest. But if an onerous deadline has you feeling particularly unfestive, pressing and holding the button will shut down the glow entirely. Pressing the scroll wheel enables a left click and the scrolling itself is smooth with just the faintest ratchet as it turns. The other buttons are page forward and back browser controls, and while they’re programmable, it requires a third party software; J-Tech recommends X-Mouse Button Control.

A flange is also included and again attaches magnetically. The connection doesn’t feel as firm as the Goldtouch flange, but it’s not in danger of flying off. It’s unfortunately textured with curving lines, which feels uncomfortable, and the added drag with the accessory attached is noticeable. But the V638 is a relatively cheap yet solidly built option that I’d call the best budget ergonomic mouse.

Connection: 2.4Ghz wireless dongle | Power: 1 x AA battery (included)| DPI options: 1,000, 1,500, 2,000 and 2,500 | Weight: 140g | Extra buttons: Clickable wheel, upper and lower thumb buttons, left, right and center mouse buttons

Upon opening the Evoluent VerticalMouse D, I was immediately transported to my childhood: It’s like a model of the Flight of the Navigator ship, all sleek lines and black metallic (another blast from the past). After getting over the nostalgia, I was impressed by the smoothest button clicks on any mouse I’ve tried. The thumb rest on the side is higher than on many other mice, and I found the placement made the vertical shape more comfortable for my hand. There’s even a little lip for the pinky to rest on, something I didn’t even know I wanted, but now all other mice seem like they’re letting down my smallest digit.

It’s heavier at 140 grams but it moves smoothly and quickly on its feet. The shape makes it easy to perform the smaller, more minute fingertip adjustments and quickly return to the full support of a palm grip. Scrolling has a satisfying clickiness and slow rotations are extra precise. The wheel itself is clickable, but on my unit it was pre-programed as a browser back button. The cursor movements out of the box were also way too accelerated.

Thankfully, all the buttons and mouse speeds on the VerticalMouse D are customizable. Evoluent offers its own drivers for Windows, but the downloads page says that Mac support is forthcoming, as the company is waiting on a driver development kit from Apple that hasn’t been delivered despite “repeated emails” from Evoluent. In the meantime, I used USB Overdrive to change up the acceleration speeds (which afterwards felt accurate) and changed a few of the button functions.

In addition to the standard buttons, there’s a third near the right and left, so your pointer, middle and ring finger all have something to push. Two above and below the thumb rest are also customizable, but I programmed the top one to do nothing because I kept accidentally hitting it when I moved my hand from keyboard to mouse. I set the bottom button to show all windows (Mission Control) and the third mouse button to open the clipboard. Now there are two moves I no longer need to use my keyboard for, which is handy.

Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, Evoluent makes three sizes of its mice. I tested the medium, which worked well for my 7.25-inch long hand. But there’s also a small and large model. The company claims to have come up with the idea for a vertical mouse back in 1994. The mice it makes thirty years later seems to live up to that legacy with a comfortable, programmable peripheral that totally makes you feel like the navigator. 

Connection: Dual Bluetooth, 2.4Ghz wireless | Power: 2 x AA battery (included)| DPI options: 400 fixed, 400-800 dynamic, 800-1500 dynamic | Weight: 175g | Extra buttons: Clickable wheel with horizontal scroll, forward and back, two programmable thumb buttons, device switch button

I’m on my second Logitech MX Ergo Advanced trackball mouse, after the one I had for nearly six years finally started acting up. So I was pretty certain which trackball mouse would win the prize here. Well, I was wrong. While the MX Ergo is an amazing mouse that feels good in the hand and has a responsive roller movement, there were so many additional elements to like about the Kensington Pro Fit Ergo that it edged out my favorite. And it’s $30 less.

The first thing that impressed me was the trackball ejector button. Because trackball mice stay in one place and don’t track over your desk, they’re actually better for surfaces that happen to accumulate cat hair (the lack of movement also helps to not disturb the depositor of said cat hair). But small bits of dust can still fall into the gap surrounding the trackball and mess with its roll, so occasionally you need to pop out the ball and clean the little supports in the socket. Getting the ball out was always kind of a pain — until now.

The Pro Fit Ergo has a slightly steeper tilt than the MX Ergo, which ultimately feels more natural, with less forearm twisting. The dynamic acceleration with the two variable DPI settings make cursor movements both quick and precise. Kensington’s software (or third party software like USB Overdrive) will let you program the two extra buttons as well as the forward and back button and multipurpose scroll wheel, which also has click and horizontal scroll abilities. There’s A device-switcher button cycles through the two Bluetooth and one wireless dongle connection. That’s a feature I could see using fairly often, given that the mouse is compatible with iPads, and trackball mice are excellent for use on the arms of couches.

One of the few gripes I have is that the DPI button is on the bottom — inconvenient for quickly swapping to precision mode in Photoshop and the like. I’m also not crazy about the hard-touch plastic on the exterior. It’s heavy at 175 grams, but since trackball mice need to anchor down, that’s actually a good thing.

Connection: Wired, Bluetooth, 2.4Ghz wireless | Power: Rechargeable battery | DPI options: five stages, max 26,000 | Weight: 101g | Extra buttons: Clickable wheel with horizontal scroll, three programmable thumb buttons, profile switch button

Full disclosure: No one would mistake me for a gamer (and when I do get around to playing something, it’s on a console). But I wanted to see what an “ergonomic” gaming mouse would feel like compared to a standard, productivity-style option. There aren’t very many vertical gaming mice and virtually none made by a company I’m familiar with. I don’t imagine many trackball users make it very high on the leaderboards, either. So that leaves mice that the gaming world calls “ergonomic.” In that realm, ergonomic means shaped to fit a particular hand, with curves and cutouts that conform to palms and fingers. It’s distinct from ambidextrous mice that offer a standard oblong shape with less consideration for conforming to either hand.

The mouse I tried from this category that felt the most comfortable turned out to be Jeff’s top pick in his best gaming mouse guide: Razer’s Basilisk V3. It’s light and super easy to whip around a mouse pad and, even at higher DPI settings, the cursor stops on a dime for precision clicks. It has a nicely textured, rubberized exterior and a comfy ledge for your thumb to rest on. There’s no tilt to speak of; your hand is pretty much twisted palm-down on your desk, but the light, easy and accurate movement keeps the strain down.

Then there’s all the stuff that makes it a good mouse for competitive play, like customizable buttons and multiple profiles so you can program unique actions for different games using Razer’s software. The scroll wheel has a chunky notched movement, but a button toggles to make scrolling super slick. There’s also a button near the thumb that comes programmed as a low DPI button so you can do precision things like aim in your wand or gatling gun, or clean dust from Photoshop images.