Recommend a mouse for big hands

[keyb_gr]

Yes, yet another recommendation thread.

Generally I'm not that dissatisfied with my current Logitech M-BJ58 (that's your typical 2-button + wheel OEM deal, similar to S-96 or the '85, still available as BT58), however, since it's not the biggest pointing rodent ever, my palm base is sliding around on the desk.

My hands:

Full length ~19..20 cm from base to middle finger tip.
Middle finger length ~ 8 cm, index finger a tad shorter.
Width ~9 cm sans thumb.
More skinny than fat.

Current equipment and how I use it:

Logitech M-BJ58

Right hand, tilted about 30° to the right, fingers curled.
Ring finger on right edge, pinkie on side.
Definitely palm grip.
Office/internet only, no gaming ever.
Scrolling with middle finger, index finger, sometimes even thumb.

Current likes and dislikes

+ low height
+ not picky about surfaces (tracks fine on my desk)
+ low friction
+ medium force levels
+ long, flexible cable (apparently 1.8 m / 5.8')
+ robust plain plastic surface
+ PS/2 and USB (using the former)
+ still works fine
+ didn't cost me an arm and a leg back in the day
+ dims after a while of inactivity, which is nice given the semi-translucent base
- palm support insufficient
- getting the teflon feet glued on permanently cost me some nerves back in the day

Other pointing rodents I've tried

MS Intelli Optical (the older symmetrical one, 1.1?)

+ tracking seems much the same as in the Logi (maybe same 400dpi engine)
+ largely plain plastic
+ button force seems fine, maybe a little softer than Logitech
- too tall and bulbous for me, causing uncomfortable wrist position
- feet are less slippy than I'd like, no match for teflon feet
- seems to yellow quite easily

Cheap "Kensiko" branded Genius NetMouse Pro clone

A 1997 vintage ball mouse design with a rocker instead of a scroll wheel, PS/2 and serial. Does duty on a retro machine.

+ shape - oldfashioned, flatter, with maximum height reached at about 2/3 to 3/4 of total length (vs. about the middle for the MS and a touch behind that for the Logi)
- buttons on the heavier side
- rocker no match for scroll wheel

I never had big problems with oldschool mice like these, classic 3-button Logitech serial jobs included.

Requirements for new mouse

Must replace M-BJ58, retaining the positives (minus the dimming if the case is opaque anyway).
Should give better hand support, but without reducing hand angle (an increase to 45° would still be fine though).
Shouldn't get too expensive, but provide decent quality.
Corded is fine. Keeps the price tag down, too.
I don't need any super duper high resolution, it just needs to track reliably.
2 buttons + scroll wheel is fine. I'd rather have the scroll wheel in some ergonomically sensible place.

Models I've looked at (on the web)

MS Sidewinder X5 - Height profile looks intriguing, but people don't seem to be overly impressed with durability (it's not that cheap at all). Reminds me of the X6 keyboard in that regard - good concept, bad quality.

Logitech G500 - seems tall and bulbous in profile, so not sure

Logitech MX1100 - interesting shape, but still seems tall and bulbous, getting quite spendy

MS Intelli Optical 3.0 - seems to have a slightly friendlier shape than the predecessor, but remains a bit tall, appealing price tag

It can't be that hard to find a decent mouse, can it?!

Any suggestions / input (devices) would be much appreciated.

I have considered a trackball, but anything of half-decent quality (like a Kensington SlimBlade) costs like an arm and a leg over here.

[lootbag]

I have approximately the same hand size as you.

Razer Deathadder gets my vote.
I've been using it for the past year.
Had pretty good results, it's a good mouse for big hands, right hand only though.
Glides and tracks on pretty much anything.
You can turn off the flashy blue lights if they aren't your thing.
Pretty cheap here in North America too, not sure about your location.

I have been using Logitech mice for the longest time too, specifically the MX Revolution for 4 years and G700 recently.
But I have given those up because they were not comfortable anymore.
Too bulbous and small footprint; although they have many convenient features.

Due to some wrist and shoulder pain & with the help of geekhack, I recently bought a CST LaserTrac X trackball and love it.
Too early to say if it has reduced pain but it definitely feels more comfortable.
I am also looking at an Evoluent 4 ergo mouse for portable use in hope it will continue to reduce strain.

[Azuremen]

I found the Mx518 very nice for general use, and my hands are larger than yours by just a touch. My G9x is a bit smaller, but better for gaming with the grip I've been using. The other perk to the Mx518 is it can be found on sale often for a very fair price.

[conley]

I know the G500 is really comfortable for big hands, but it doesn't sound like you particularly need one (the free scroll is really useful for long spreadsheets, though ). Since you don't play games, any of the mice listed would be great.

I'd try them out in a store, though, just to be sure they fit your hand how you want them.

[keyb_gr]

I'd try them out in a store, though, just to be sure they fit your hand how you want them.

That's what I was thinking. I'll go to our local electronics store and try a few out. Hopefully the selection of mice is not quite as pedestrian as that of keyboards (the usual consumer crap and that's it).

I'm not in a hurry - the present mouse has been working fine for more than 5 years. Not a heavy user by any means.

What I might still need to mention is that my desk is relatively high (a few cm above elbow height), and I tend to keep the mouse near the front edge.
Unfortunately the desk, while in principle height adjustable, is a big corner affair that has to be all one height. Requirements for reading/writing and keyboard/mouse height are quite obviously clashing. There is neither a keyboard tray nor a "beer belly cutout", and the desk already is rather deep as-is, with DVI and VGA cables being rather tight.

Ergonomics... what fun. One of those fields that absolutely require a holistic approach.

[Arcanius]

I have larger hands than you do, and my G500 is pretty good with them. My pinky does tend to drag beside the mouse, but it's nothing that bad for me. I do have a weird fingertip grip however.

[mattlach]

I have larger hands than you do, and my G500 is pretty good with them. My pinky does tend to drag beside the mouse, but it's nothing that bad for me. I do have a weird fingertip grip however.

I always drag three finders on the mouse pad with any mouse I use.

Pinky, ring finger and thumb.

This doesn't bother me in the slightest.   If the mouse were big enough that my entire hand rested on it, and didn't touch the table, I think it would feel weird...

[keyb_gr]

Was at the store today. Pretty good lineup of pointing rodents actually (at least for gaming), though at the usual inflated retail prices. G500, G9X, R.A.T. 7 and 9, a few Razers (no DeathAdder though), even a lone Trackman Marble (above suggested retail).

Unfortunately the shelf didn't exactly lend itself to trying out mice as I'd use them on my desk, so I could only make a few observations:

Razer: With these you automatically apply a claw grip. As such, good design, but my desk height would require a pretty uncomfortable arm position to maintain one, I think.

Generally I preferred asymmetric designs that allowed tilting my hand to the right. The G500 didn't feel too bad, maybe a touch bulbous, but honestly I wouldn't want to have a lacquered surface. G9X seemed OK. Too bad I didn't have much time to play with the adjustments on the R.A.T. series mice, seemed like a nice construction. They're supposed to be fussy about dust and dirt, hmm, that wouldn't be good.

Finally, the Trackman Marble. While the surface seemed painted and the button feel reminded me of the Intellimouse Optical side buttons, playing with the ball was quite fun. That little thing is pretty heavy (so the name was aptly chosen) and quite easy to move. I could see myself using one of those - no more collisions with the keyboard or running out of cable.

Something wacky:
The US Logitech site gives a retail price of USD 29.99 and says a PS/2 adapter is included.
The German Logitech site says € 39.99 and does not list the PS/2 adapter (nor PS/2 operation).
Huh?

I also got to play with some 10" eeePCs, and noticed that "mouse" (touchpad) speed with what I presume is a stock Windows installation was pretty low. Had to crank that almost to maximum until it seemed usable. (I'd still prefer a trackpoint then.) The keyboard seemed a bit cramped, and chiclet keys didn't help matters.

[BababooeyHTJ]

Razer: With these you automatically apply a claw grip. As such, good design, but my desk height would require a pretty uncomfortable arm position to maintain one, I think.

I have some rather large hands too and I love my Deathadder but like you said I just automatically apply a claw grip. I actually never even noticed that I was doing it.

A Microsoft sidewinder is a pretty decent option for a large mouse to palm.

[hfcobra]

my hand is about 21cm from base to middle finger tip and i like the G500.  I do use my fingertips to grip, but when i palm it is very comfy as well.

EDIT: nvm, doesnt seem like you will be getting that one     it is a good one though

[manfaux]

I found the Mx518 very nice for general use, and my hands are larger than yours by just a touch. My G9x is a bit smaller, but better for gaming with the grip I've been using. The other perk to the Mx518 is it can be found on sale often for a very fair price.

+1 for the deathadder

it's not quite as big dimension wise, but during the brief period when I owned it I really felt like it was designed by someone who has chimpanzee hands.

[feng]

my hand is about 19-20cm from base to middle finger tip and I pretty much like DA and G500 mice. I feel comfy with them.

BTW, recently I got a Steelseries World of Warcraft MMO mouse which is kind of too big to me. It fit my hand very well though.

[jon]

Has anyone tried a Kensington Pro Fit Full Size? I'm not after a gaming mouse, just general use and it seems to have the size thing really going for it compared to most other mice. My hand runs 20.5cm middle finger tip to palm and 9.5cm across the palm. My M-BJ58 needs a semi claw grip where I can rest the base of my fingers on the backside of the hump. I'm hoping the Pro Fit would let me go for an actual palm grip.

Failing that it's an IMO I guess for us big handers. Sadly I warped the case of my 1.1a just enought o make it not clickable in a RIT dye job went wrong. :-/

[Keylamity]

I think you should take a look at the Logitech M570 trackball mouse....seems to wrap the same way, plus it creates some decent real estate with it's curve without forcing a large hand to be moving around all day.

[awry]

Hi, i have the same problem as you. I'm asian but 6 feet tall and hands the size of what a 6.6 guy would have.

Mice I would recommend are the Roccat Kone or Kone +, though ironically the kone is more ergonomic even though its' not as new as the Kone+. You can reach the supposedly "useless front button" alot easily. I usually program it to be "enter". Just be careful coz some of them have problems with the cursor disappearing for awhile though i've never had problems with either of mine but i know people who have.

The other mice I would recommend would be the DeathAdder but only the black addition. The normal ones with their sticky sides are very irritating unless you plan to put something over the sides and you want the "Bling". The DA and Copperhead (which is too damn small) along with their marketing are the only good things that have come from Razer to me.

Last mouse I would recommend would be the Logitech Dark laser wireless one. Can't remember the model. The huge one. Pretty new. Only problem is that it can be quite expensive. But that mouse is the most comfy of the lot for me. I haven't gotten one for myself but am considering.

The xai is good as well but still just a little too small at the front.

Price range wise, The Adder is the cheapest, followed by the Roccats and then the Logi.

Hope this helps. Go give the Logi a try. You'll be surpised. Good luck.

[vun]

The Razer Lachesis seems nice for people with big hands; I've got a friend with rather large hands and he loves it and after trying it out for a bit I would say that it seems perfect for people with larger hands as I found my own hands to be a bit small for it.

[IanM]

My hands:

Full length ~19..20 cm from base to middle finger tip.

I think you may have nobbled your own thread here. If you measure your hands as I think you're describing, it's the correct way, but your hands are small or small-medium. See here: http://www.glove.org/glovemeasure.php

If I'm right, the thread title should be recommend a mouse for small-medium hands :smile:

Mice I would recommend are the Roccat Kone or Kone +

I hate to seem like a **** by criticising other people choices, but I'm annoyed every time I see Roccat recommended. Many of the new wave of gaming peripheral brands are just cheap OEM Chinese products rebranded, given some pretty marketing and sold for an unjustified mark up. Roccat isn't a new company, it's just a separate Speedlink brand for marketing, and the mice appear to be mostly (if not all) from the same OEM. Save yourself some pennies and look at these:

• A4Tech
• X7 (this is A4Tech's own alternate brand)
• Speedlink
• Trust
• Cherry
• Gigabyte

See how the same few designs are used over and over again. What's the point in paying Roccat prices for a Kone when you can just get a Speedlink Kudos or a Gigabyte M8000X for less than half the price? You can even buy the Trust version with an optical sensor for less than £9 ($15) in the UK (and that includes 20% sales tax)

[awry]

@IanM No worries. I just wanted to give him some suggestions based on my own experience with mice because I have the exact same problems that he does. And if you bother to search, You can get pretty good prices for "branded" gaming peripherals. I got my Kone at ard 55/56usd? Going by the rate of 1 usd is 1.27 sgd. And at the end of the day, comfort is what really matters whether the company is a spinoff from some other company etc. The Kones do not feel cheap and they've been serving me pretty well. As I've said, the only problem is getting a good piece that you do not have to RMA.

And it's not really fair to not consider an item just because of the reasons you stated. Personally I hate Razer but even I have to admit the Death Adder Black Edition (Only the Black one) is a really good mouse comfort wise. For people with big hands and it seems people with smaller sized hands as well. Probably the only good thing along with the Copperhead (From what i've heard. Never tried it before, too small.) and their marketing staff that came out of them.

[Enzyme]

I found the copperhead to be way too small (modded it to fit with the pads from my old mtb gloves), although i hear the mamba is larger, not checked the specs).

the g500 although bulbous as you say, fits very well, its the only reason im still using it.
it's what id describe as perfectly ergonomic for my hand, with the exeption of needing a few more mills in height near the back on the right hand side, but then ive lost a lot of muscle this past few years and a bit more manual work would soon sort that out.

if you want large large then the micosoft sidewinder is a good bet, i have large hands and it still feels huge to hold.
but i just dont like the tracking on them.