Contour SliderMouse Professional evaluate: This bizarre mouse saves your palms

Value When Reviewed

From $259 | Fashion reviewed $274

Very best Costs Lately: Contour SliderMouse Professional

$259.00

For many who endure with RSI, arthritis or basic hand ache, ergonomic equipment generally is a lifesaver. There are many devoted keyboards round, with break up or angled keys, however maximum mice you notice are bizarre shapes that regulate the way you cling and have interaction with the tool. Contour has a special and novel manner.

Its SliderMouse Professional acts as a extremely maneuverable bar around the most sensible of a wrist-rest. So, does this technique assist or obstruct? I put it to the take a look at to determine.  

Additional studying: Our wireless mouse roundup includes ergonomic options

Design & Construct

• Relaxed design
• Attach by means of stressed out or wi-fi
• Risers wanted for low-profile keyboards 

To start with look, you’d be forgiven for pondering that this can be a beautiful usual wrist-rest. The SliderMouse Professional has a large, curved floor for exactly that serve as, with simply the highest space freely giving its exact goal.

The remaining space is roofed in what seems like cloth, however whenever you contact it you are aware of it’s a textured rubber most sensible, which may be padded to make it at ease when typing for lengthy periods. 

Martyn Casserly

There’s an offset phase alongside the higher fringe of the remaining space that’s house to a scroll wheel, just like you’d to find in the course of a mouse (albeit a lot wider). That is surrounded by way of 5 programmable buttons that can be utilized to cause conventional mouse instructions and the wheel itself may also be clicked to open a hyperlink in a brand new tab.

The actual artistry is the row above the wrist relaxation which properties the ‘mouse’ mechanism, no longer simply every other scroll wheel. Right here you’ll to find the Sliderbar phase that may be slid vertically and horizontally to transport the cursor as you may with a normal mouse. It accommodates a couple of horizontal strains to provide some grip and all of it strikes freely.

There’s a little noise the place it feels like the fabric is rather dragging at the Sliderbar from time to time, however this doesn’t translate into anything else you’ll be able to really feel or impact the motion of the cursor. 

Just a little button at the left facet panel allows you to regulate the sensitivity of the cursor and the atmosphere is illustrated by way of a column of 5 lighting fixtures simply above the button. Connecting it on your laptop is completed in one in every of 3 ways: stressed out, USB dongle or Bluetooth.

Martyn Casserly

A cable comes within the field (USB-C to USB-A), plus there’s an integrated USB dongle and a converter that lets you plug in an extended USB cable. Contour states that a completely charged battery gives you 3 months of standard use, so that you gained’t want to carry the facility lead with you for those who’re out and about. 

The corporate additionally throws in a few adjustable plastic keyboard risers that you’ll be able to put beneath your keyboard to raise it up. Those are vital, as the threshold of the SliderMouse Professional sits reasonably top for those who use a low-profile keyboard (such because the Apple keyboard). The risers paintings good enough however don’t really feel that solid except you to find the easiest placement.

In case you’re the usage of a taller keyboard, like a regular mechanical one, then the SliderMouse Professional if truth be told sits at a just right peak already. 

Martyn Casserly

Contour gives the Slidermouse Professional in two colours, gentle gray and darkish gray, and it additionally states that you’ll be able to switch the covers out for others that connect by way of magnets, together with a quite fetching wood one. I’ve to confess I couldn’t to find the covers at the web page, so that they is also recently unavailable. This may have modified by the point you learn this. In case you don’t need the massive wrist relaxation phase, then there’s the Slidermouse Professional Slender, which reduces the distance taken up at the table by way of eliminating the flatter a part of the remaining. Then again, there’s additionally the Slidermouse Professional Prolonged, which provides an additional phase at the appropriate facet of the body to come up with much more room.

Options & Efficiency

• Speedy and correct Sliderbar
• Six programmable buttons
• Most likely higher fitted to right-handed folks

One of the most primary benefits the SliderMouse Professional has for the ones with hand issues is that you just don’t have to place one hand off to the facet as you may with a normal mouse. It acts extra like a computer would, with the controls at once underneath the keyboard.

The Sliderbar sits well beneath the thumbs and has little or no friction, making it simple to govern. It does take a short while to get used to it, however whenever you’ve adjusted to the ergonomic design it’s a pleasant option to keep watch over the cursor. I feel, being left-handed, that it’s higher fitted to right-handed folks, because the offset place of the Sliderbar implies that the suitable thumb has much more room to transport. 

Martyn Casserly

The Sliderbar may be clickable, so you’ll be able to make alternatives with out shifting your typing place. Something you’ll be able to’t simply do with the bar is drag a web page up or down or do the similar for record choices. Those are easiest treated by means of the scroll wheel as an alternative. Once more, this takes a little bit of having your head round, however because of the reachable location of the wheel it quickly turns into 2nd nature.

You’ll be able to additionally avail your self of the buttons across the wheel whilst you’re there, providing you with just about all of the controls you’d get with a normal mouse. Downloading the accompanying drivers (for macOS or Home windows) lets you configure the buttons to do what you wish to have, which is useful. You do fail to see the gestures that you’ll be very hooked up to for those who’re a normal macOS consumer. This does take some adjustment, however there are key combos that may reach lots of the fast navigation controls that you just lose.

Having reproduction and paste on devoted buttons is a pleasant shortcut which is able to scale back the selection of button presses you want to do, which once more is advisable for preventing palms from getting fatigued. 

Martyn Casserly

I did see some inconsistencies with the buttons, in that the reproduction/paste serve as labored thankfully in Microsoft Phrase however no longer Google Medical doctors, so with a bit of luck Contour will be capable to repair this with an replace. Differently, it’s a in point of fact forged and bold method of navigating your desktop. 

Value & Availability

As with maximum ergonomic equipment, the costs are upper than a normal, heavily produced fashion. Contour sells the SliderMouse Professional (stressed out) for $259/£274 whilst the wi-fi model bumps that to $274/£289. You’ll be able to additionally purchase it from Amazon UK.

That is pricey when in comparison to ergonomic mice just like the Logitech MX Vertical (which prices $99/£109.00) or the funds Anker 2.4G Ergonomic mouse ($25/£30), however they nonetheless have the similar drawback of putting your hand and wrist to the facet of the keyboard and requiring you to stay converting your place.

The SliderMouse Professional is a special class of tool, bringing with it the price of that exclusivity and luxury. See our chart of the best wireless keyboards for extra choices. 

Verdict

I’ve to confess I used to be somewhat sceptical of the design once I first noticed it, however after only some hours it all started to in point of fact develop on me.

I’ve lengthy suffered with arthritis and RSI this means that I haven’t been ready to make use of a normal mouse for over a decade. The SliderMouse Professional makes a at ease exchange from trackpads that may go away my palms aching after some time.

The ergonomic format, combined with the responsive Sliderbar and multitude of buttons, allowed me to tailor the instructions to these I exploit maximum, lessening the affect on my palms and joints that will most often happen. 

You don’t essentially need to already be afflicted by pains to your palms to make use of the SliderMouse Professional, both. In truth, it would if truth be told assist save you the ones prerequisites from ever showing. Sure, it’s a dear quantity to spend on a mouse, however for those who use a pc on a regular basis, then it would neatly pay for itself again and again over if it assists in keeping your palms wholesome.

Specifications

• Multi-directional Sliderbar
• 10 ranges (600-2800 DPI) of sensitivity
• 5 ranges of click on resistance
• 6 programmable buttons
• Scroll wheel
• Curved wrist-rest
• Stressed or Wi-fi connection (relying on fashion)
• Driving force app for customisation options (Home windows and macOS)
• 3-month battery existence
• 38.3 cm x 16.5 cm x 2.3 cm/ 15 in x 6.4 in x 0.9 in
• 2 yr ensure

Editor’s observe: This evaluate firstly gave the impression on TechAdvisor.com.