Contour SliderMouse Pro review

Greatest Costs Immediately: Contour SliderMouse Professional

For many who undergo with RSI, arthritis or normal hand ache, ergonomic equipment is usually a lifesaver. There are many devoted keyboards round, with cut up or angled keys, however most mice you see are bizarre shapes that alter the way you maintain and work together with the gadget. Contour has a special and novel method.

Its SliderMouse Professional acts as a extremely maneuverable bar throughout the highest of a wrist-rest. So, does this methodology assist or hinder? I put it to the check to seek out out.  

Design & Construct

• Snug design
• Join by way of wired or wi-fi
• Risers wanted for low-profile keyboards 

At first look, you’d be forgiven for considering that this can be a fairly customary wrist-rest. The SliderMouse Professional has a large, curved floor for exactly that perform, with simply the highest space making a gift of its precise goal.

The remainder space is roofed in what seems to be like cloth, however when you contact it you realise it’s a textured rubber prime, which can also be padded to make it comfy when typing for lengthy classes. 

Martyn Casserly

There’s an offset part alongside the higher fringe of the remainder space that’s residence to a scroll wheel, very like you’d discover in the course of a mouse (albeit a lot wider). That is surrounded by 5 programmable buttons that can be utilized to set off typical mouse instructions and the wheel itself will be clicked to open a hyperlink in a brand new tab.

The true artistry is the row above the wrist relaxation which homes the ‘mouse’ mechanism, not simply one other scroll wheel. Right here you’ll discover the Sliderbar part that may be slid vertically and horizontally to maneuver the cursor as you’ll with a typical mouse. It incorporates a number of horizontal traces to present some grip and all of it strikes freely.

There’s a little noise the place it appears like the fabric is barely dragging on the Sliderbar at instances, however this doesn’t translate into something you possibly can really feel or have an effect on the motion of the cursor. 

Somewhat button on the left facet panel enables you to modify the sensitivity of the cursor and the setting is illustrated by a column of 5 lights simply above the button. Connecting it to your pc is completed in one in all 3 ways – wired, USB dongle or Bluetooth.

Martyn Casserly

A cable comes within the field (USB-C to USB-A), plus there’s an included USB dongle and a converter that means that you can plug in an extended USB cable. Contour states {that a} absolutely charged battery offers you three months of regular use, so that you gained’t must convey the ability lead with you in the event you’re out and about. 

The corporate additionally throws in a few adjustable plastic keyboard risers that you would be able to put beneath your keyboard to raise it up. These are vital, as the sting of the SliderMouse Professional sits fairly excessive in the event you use a low-profile keyboard (such because the Apple keyboard). The risers work okay however don’t really feel that secure except you discover the proper placement.

When you’re utilizing a taller keyboard, like a typical mechanical one, then the SliderMouse Professional truly sits at a superb top already. 

Martyn Casserly

Contour provides the Slidermouse Professional in two colours, mild gray and darkish gray, and it additionally states that you would be able to swap the covers out for others that connect by magnets, together with a slightly fetching wood one. I’ve to confess I couldn’t discover the covers on the web site, so they could be presently unavailable. This might have modified by the point you learn this. When you don’t need the massive wrist relaxation part, then there’s the Slidermouse Professional Slim, which reduces the house taken up on the desk by eliminating the flatter a part of the remainder. Alternatively, there’s additionally the Slidermouse Professional Prolonged, which provides an additional part on the best facet of the body to present you much more room.

Options & Efficiency

• Quick and correct Sliderbar
• Six programmable buttons
• In all probability higher suited to right-handed folks

One of many fundamental benefits the SliderMouse Professional has for these with hand issues is that you simply don’t should place one hand off to the facet as you’ll with a typical mouse. It acts extra like a laptop computer would, with the controls instantly beneath the keyboard.

The Sliderbar sits properly beneath the thumbs and has little or no friction, making it simple to control. It does take a short time to get used to it, however when you’ve adjusted to the ergonomic design it’s a pleasant technique to management the cursor. I feel, being left-handed, that it’s higher suited to right-handed folks, because the offset place of the Sliderbar signifies that the best thumb has much more room to maneuver. 

Martyn Casserly

The Sliderbar can also be clickable, so you can also make selections with out transferring your typing place. One factor you possibly can’t simply do with the bar is drag a web page up or down or do the identical for checklist choices. These are finest dealt with by way of the scroll wheel as a substitute. Once more, this takes a little bit of getting your head round, however as a result of reachable location of the wheel it quickly turns into second nature.

You may as well avail your self of the buttons across the wheel when you’re there, providing you with just about all of the controls you’d get with a typical mouse. Downloading the accompanying drivers (for macOS or Home windows) means that you can configure the buttons to do what you need, which is useful. You do miss out on the gestures that you could be be very connected to in the event you’re a daily macOS person. This does take some adjustment, however there are key mixtures that may obtain a lot of the fast navigation controls that you simply lose.

Having copy and paste on devoted buttons is a pleasant shortcut which may cut back the variety of button presses it’s essential to do, which once more is useful for stopping palms from getting fatigued. 

Martyn Casserly

I did see some inconsistencies with the buttons, in that the copy/paste perform labored fortunately in Microsoft Phrase however not Google Docs, so hopefully Contour will have the ability to repair this with an replace. In any other case, it’s a very strong and spectacular manner of navigating your desktop. 

Worth & Availability

As with most ergonomic equipment, the costs are greater than a typical, mass-produced mannequin. Contour sells the SliderMouse Professional (wired) for $259/£274 whereas the wi-fi model bumps that to $274/£289. You may as well purchase it from Amazon UK.

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

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

Verdict

I’ve to confess I used to be just a little sceptical of the design after I first noticed it, however after just a few hours it started to essentially develop on me.

I’ve lengthy suffered with arthritis and RSI which implies I haven’t been ready to make use of a daily mouse for over a decade. The SliderMouse Professional makes a cushty change from trackpads that may depart my palms aching after some time.

The ergonomic structure, blended with the responsive Sliderbar and multitude of buttons, allowed me to tailor the instructions to these I take advantage of most, lessening the impression on my palms and joints that will usually happen. 

You don’t essentially should already undergo from pains in your palms to make use of the SliderMouse Professional, both. In reality, it would truly assist forestall these situations from ever showing. Sure, it’s an costly quantity to spend on a mouse, however in the event you use a pc on a regular basis, then it may effectively pay for itself many instances over if it retains your palms wholesome.

Specs

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