Great Ergonomics You Can Afford – Review Geek

The best way to describe using a vertical mouse is to imagine you’re shaking hands. That’s basically the position you’ll hold your hand in while using the Logitech Lift. In theory, that relieves pressure on your wrist since you aren’t unnaturally bending the rest backward.

The downside to most vertical computer mice is that they’re formatted for right-handers only. That’s almost a problem even with the standard setup, but often you can reformat buttons and such to make left-handed operation work. But with a vertical shape, that’s an impossible task as the entire mouse curves to fit your thumb and fingers. Thankfully, the Logitech Lift comes in both right-hand and left-hand formats. But you’ll get fewer color options in the latter— right-hand Lift comes in graphite, off-white, and rose, while left-hand only comes in graphite.

Beyond the new colors and left-hand option, the Lift differentiates itself in several notable ways. It uses the new Logitech Bolt receiver (along with Bluetooth), which the company says is more secure and stable than the previous Unifying dongle. But that also means it can’t be paired with the Unifying dongle, so if you’re using an older Logitech Keyboard, you may need two dongles if Bluetooth isn’t an option.

The Lift is also noticeably smaller than the MX Vertical. This is mostly a good thing, I think. The MX Vertical is so large you almost need extra space on your desk to accommodate it. That extra heft also means more time to grow used to its strange shape. And if you have smaller hands, forget about using it.

The Lift’s smaller size fixes all that. It still calls for more room than the average mouse, perhaps, but you won’t feel like you need a new desk just for your mouse. And that also means it should be easier to adapt to the new position. The Lift probably also fits more hands than the MX Vertical as well. But if you have hands that are on the larger size of medium, you may need to adjust. I have “medium” sized hands and long fingers. I’ve noticed that with the Lift, I curl my fingers slightly to properly use the scroll wheel and clicky buttons. If I didn’t, they’d stretch beyond the edges of the mouse, and my middle finger would hit the scroll wheel at about the halfway point.

But despite that fact, the mouse is very comfortable to use. I didn’t even realize I was curling my fingers until I started trying the Life and the MX Vertical side by side.

If you’ve considered buying a vertical mouse in the past, you probably experience sticker shock when you saw the $100 to $150 price many of them command. The Lift manages to shave that price down to a more affordable $69. And while that’s still not the cheapest mouse on the market, it is more palatable compared to its ergonomic brethren.

Logitech managed to shrink the price point by literally shrinking the device and changing out the materials and specs some. The Lift feels less premium in the hand than the MX Vertical, for instance. But if you’ve never held the more expensive mouse, you won’t know what you’re missing. And in an isolated world, the “Zen Surface” (as Logitech likes to call it) feels fine to me. Odd, as I’m not used to rubber-feel on a mouse, but fine. One downside to all rubber is dust, which this mouse attracts like a magnet. You’ll see dust in all the pictures, despite efforts to clean up the device. The good news is that dust is far less visible to the naked eye than you see in photos.

The buttons are very quiet but tactile enough, which is probably a boon for anyone working in an office where noise pollution is a bad thing. And the scroll wheel also feels a lot gentler, for lack of a better word, with fewer click points. But again, though it’s maybe “not as good” as the MX Vertical, the scroll wheel is fine, and you won’t know what you’re missing.

When you get down to it, I can only think of two reasons not to buy the Logitech Lift. Either you don’t like the vertical mouse form factor, or you have large hands. And if you fit into the latter category, I’d point you to the MX Vertical.

Beyond that, the Lift is a stellar ergonomic mouse. It’s comfortable, reliable, and while the AA battery is annoying, I don’t actually see the extra $30 to get the MX Veritical’s rechargeable battery as a justified cost. And it’s very likely the AA battery issue will only come up every year or two, which you can’t actually say about the MX Vertical. That mouse needs charging every few months. You can find less expensive vertical mouse options out there, of course. But they cut far more corners in materials and function. They’re cheaper because they’re “cheaper.” This feels like the right middle ground.

If you’re thinking about a vertical mouse and $100 (or more) is too steep for you, get the Logitech Lift. It’s a great all-around ergonomic mouse.