When I first looked at the vertical gaming mouse I wondered what took the industry so long. Using the regular mouse stresses out our hands after half an hour of browsing. And gaming for extended hours usually became so painful. This mouse is everything we needed for so long and finally found.
So what’s new with a vertical gaming mouse that we didn’t have before in a standard mouse? First of all, there’s a fancy word we like: Ergonomic. Which means designed to be comfortable and healthy. And second, there’s a list of improved and new features that come with the new designs.
The vertical gaming mouse is inspired by the gaming joystick, so there are programmable buttons you can customize to your favorite games, the scrolling wheel and thumb buttons are placed for maximum efficiency and least effort for your hands, and you can change the mouse resolution on the fly as your game situation changes.
Ergonomics also means that the designs take into consideration the size of your hand, preferred grip style, and whether you are left-handed or right-handed. It’s all about the best fit here!
The new mouse also comes with a whole range of options from wireless/wired models to basic/fancy ones. If you want the whole nine yards of the latest tech up until the cool RGB lights there’s that, and if you’d rather have the budget-friendly vertical mouse there’s that too.
Below are some of the vertical gaming mouse models we like best, and the features you should look for as you shop for your brand new mouse.
Top 7 Best Vertical Gaming Mouse Comparison Chart
Our Favorite Vertical Gaming Mouse
Three things make this vertical mouse stand out from the crowd:
It’s designed for smaller hands, which is a design feature usually overlooked.
It’s rechargeable, and as I am a big fan of eco-friendly products I especially appreciate this, plus, it means no hassle with flat batteries. You can also continue using your mouse while it’s charging, thanks to the USB cable that’s included in the package.
The third thing is the Bluetooth connection. A wireless mouse is great if only you could find a good USB port. This is becoming more and more in short supply, especially in laptops. If you do have it, there’s still an alternative way to connect through the usual USB.
The DPI comes in four settings: 800,1200,1600, and 2400. This offers maximum flexibility, and together with the specifications of your monitor and software, you can adjust your gaming setup for optimal performance.
Things We Like
Things We Don’t
This is an impressive looking vertical mouse. The ergonomic design is its best feature, but the other parameters aren’t any less admirable.
The DPI is adjustable from 800 to 4000 to suit the sensitivity of your game or desktop task. It can be adjusted on the fly, so within the same game, you could easily switch between sniper shooting and combat, or face any other gaming challenges you might get!
The NPET V20 has a very high polling rate of 1000 Hz, considering the usual rate is around 500 Hz, so this is a very precise mouse, but that usually comes with more demand on your CPU. You can change this rate to the level that suits you.
Gaming and RGB lighting go hand in hand, and this mouse delivers very nicely in that area! It’s also programmable, with seven buttons ready to be customized to your games, and a profile memory so you can attach your mouse to other devices and keep your preferred settings with you.
There’s however room for improvement even for this amazing mouse. It doesn’t offer a model suitable for lefties and needs software adjustments to work with Mac systems. It’s also a bit pricey compared to other models.
Things We Like
Things We Don’t
This is a budget-friendly vertical gaming mouse with a different grip from the previous models. In addition to providing a good way to position your arm and wrist comfortably, this mouse also takes care of giving your fingers good spots to rest on and to move around the different buttons.
It has an adjustable DPI from mid to high range 1200 - 3200, this is not the common range we often see, but it’s efficient and makes sense.
Its polling rate is not too high, only 125 Hz, but that would also mean less demand on your CPU. It works well with windows but needs some adjustments with Mac. It also doesn’t have the glamorous RGB lights of other gaming mice, but let’s keep mind that it’s a budget purchase, and as far as that’s concerned, it’s not bad at all!
Things We Like
Things We Don’t
The Anker is a very basic but very efficient vertical mouse. It’s simple and does exactly what is needed at a very good price.
The smooth comfortable design is its best feature. Its resolution comes in three levels: 800, 1200, and 1600 DPI. It uses optical tracking and runs smoothly on various surfaces.
The power saving mode is a good option to keep your batteries alive as long as possible. It needs two AAA batteries, and if you are a moderate gamer, they will last for a good while, especially if you pick good quality batteries.
Things We Like
Things We Don’t
The TRELEC vertical gaming mouse has a good design; it has a joystick-like feel to it, which is such a relief from the standard mice.
It’s wireless and free to move around without worrying about what the cable crosses. But the nicest thing about this basic model is that it doesn’t need battery changing! This mouse is fully rechargeable and that’s both practical and eco-friendly.
It has a decent DPI range of 1000-2400, nothing fancy here, but it’s the usable range for most gamers.
Things We Like
Things We Don’t
The AUTLEY mouse is a lot like the TRELEC, but it has one more design aspect that sets it apart from all the other mice: it’s designed for people with large hands. When it comes to ergonomics size really matters! And this mouse is giving the most comfort to folk with a little more than dainty hands.
It has a decent DPI range of 800, 1200, and1600. This is good for most of your basic requirements. And considering it’s a budget-friendly mouse, we would expect your rig or laptop to have a similar sensitivity.
It’s rechargeable, and you can still use it while it’s charging via the USB cable. This eco-friendly side of this mouse is really nice, and it saves you the hassle of changing batteries.
Things We Like
Things We Don’t
The Evoluent vertical mouse has one step over many other vertical mice: it caters to the lefties as well as the right-handed people, and the other models also contain the option of being wireless.
Its compatibility with Mac systems is also a bit simpler than the other mice presented here. The rest of the features are pretty standard. One more thing stands out: it’s very pricey!
Things We Like
Things We Don’t
What to Look for in a Vertical Gaming Mouse
Comfort and Good Grip
The main reason vertical gaming mice were developed is minimizing the stress that our wrists and fingers usually suffer from in a standard mouse.
The new designs are a bit unusual at first, but after taking them for a spin they soon become familiar, and then we start to feel the difference in performance and comfort levels.
There are several grip types in the vertical gaming mice, so try them out for best fit and ease of operation. We are not identical in our preferences or sizes, so keep looking till you find what really ‘clicks’.
Programmable Buttons
Gaming has other requirements than browsing or other PC work. Usually, a gamer would need several buttons that carry various game-related tasks. The kind of game you’re playing dictates the way the programming would go whether it’s a shooter, MMO, hybrid, etc …
The best mouse would be one with around seven such buttons. The profiles can be saved to memory, so you could move the mouse from device to device, and not need to reprogram it each time.
Proper Size and Orientation
Ergonomics are directly linked to size. So it is normal to see vertical mouse models designed for people with smaller or larger hands. The grip would be easier and more comfortable if the mouse you like also suits your hands snugly.
Left-handed people are used to adjusting to devices designed for right-handed people.
But this doesn’t need to go on. Several manufacturers now pay attention to that and design their products accordingly.
High Polling Rate
This refers to the number of times the CPU checks the position of the mouse. A higher polling rate would mean better precision and less lag time. It’s normal to see 500 Hz rates with a gaming mouse. A 125 Hz is acceptable if you’re not a heavy gamer, and a 1000 Hz rate might be a little over the top. Some say that it will only use up CPU resources without much improvement in the performance.
Wide DPI Range
DPI is the amount the cursor moves on the screen as you make small movements with your mouse. A very high DPI rate would make the cursor fly around the screen, and a very low setting would require you to make large sweeps on your pad to make the cursor move as much across the screen.
DPI is generally viewed as an indicator of precision and resolution, but there’s more to it than that, think about it as a setting related to your game requirements, and that’s why a good gaming mouse has a wide range of DPI values, that can be changed on the fly.
Is it Wireless or Wired?
This is another deciding factor that has to do with your own needs. Most gaming mouse models come in both varieties. The wireless is practical, easy to move around, and perfect when it can be recharged instead of battery operated.
It’s said that the response time is better with wired models, and that’s the main reason they are still in existence. You forget about the hassles or recharging or changing batteries, but you have to control the movement of that wire.
Our Top Picks
The NPET V20 Wired RGB Ergonomic Vertical Mouse tops the lists with ease. It is comfortable to hold, and wouldn’t stress your wrist as after a gaming marathon.
It has a wide sensitivity range from 800-4000 DPI, it also has one of the highest polling rates we’ve come across at 1000 Hz. It has 7 programmable buttons to accommodate your gaming needs and comes with a cool gaming look with its RGB lights. It certainly has a good value for money.
If you would like a more economical solution, the TRELC Ergonomic Mouse would be great as it’s wireless and rechargeable via USB cable. It has a practical DPI range from 1000-2400 and has a very affordable price.
Choosing a Vertical Gaming Mouse has never been easier, right!