Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Mouse (L6V-00001)

I am a firm believer in an ergonomic keyboard and mouse---specifically the ones made by Microsoft. Like many people these days, I spend far too much time sitting at a computer desk. A few years ago, I started to get sharp pains in my wrist...and I am fairly young so I knew this was a very bad sign. To circumvent carpal tunnel problems later in life, I became a little obsessed with testing out anything that might alleviate the pain. I tried a variety of options like raised gel pads in front the mouse and keyboard, raised keyboards, different chair and desk heights, a mouse with a trackball, etc. Sometimes they brought a little comfort but nothing really solved the trick completely. Well, that is nothing until I tried out Microsoft! The ergonomic keyboard and mouse took away the pains better than I had expected (I dont have them anymore). A few weeks later, I bought another set for my office and threw out my fathers stuff for a replacement at his house and office, too. My mouse of choice was the Microsoft Natural Wireless Laser Mouse 6000 until my second one went downhill. I was not willing to pay $220 for a replacement (what the heck?!). Instead, I took a risk on the Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Mouse (L6V-00001) . I am quite happy with its out of the box performance. It took me all of about 15-30 seconds to get it running. WHY A RISK? FEAR #1: Review quality. Most of the reviews are from people on Vine. I like the idea of Vine (wouldnt mind being on it myself!) but I wasnt sure if the company was trying to drum up reviews by sending out freebies. RESPONSE: The reviews are legit and detailed. I dont think theyre exaggerations. FEAR #2: Size. Some reviewers touched on the different sizes of the mice. I was perfectly happy with my other model and didnt want an upgrade to send my good luck into a tailspin. RESPONSE: This mouse actually feels smaller in my hand. For people not used to the siderest (like on the Natural Wireless Laser Mouse 6000), I see how the size could feel awkward or terribly large. Actually, I wish it was slightly larger to fill out my hand a little more. Oh well! FEAR #3: The new laser. I am enchanted by Logitechs darkfield technology and enjoy its products. I wanted to get such a mouse for my desktop (already have one for travel with my laptop and it is awesome) but I was fearful of not having a tried-and-true ergonomic mouse. Microsofts laser claimed it wouldnt work on glass tables when I looked around. My desk is glass but has a tinted shade. RESPONSE: Indeed, it does not work well on the glass. There is a jittery movement. No getting rid of my mousepad for now. Nothing changed here. Id take away 1/2 a star if I could but this was my own risky decision so I cant fault the mouse all the way. FEAR #4: New buttons on the side. I love my zoom and back buttons on the other mouse. RESPONSE: Eh, I think Ill adjust. I am still not completely used to it even after a month of heavy usage. The back button is located a little too far toward the front of the mouse given how I used my old Microsoft ergonomic mouse (maybe it wasnt perfect for use but it was comfortable). The Windows button is kinda weird, too. I miss my old zoom button because I sometimes work with graphics where zooming in fast is pretty nice. The scroll wheel seems a little more "clicky" but has less friction than my other mouse. This mouse loses points for getting rid of my zoom. I bet I could reprogram the Windows button but that takes a few seconds of effort and I dont want to be constantly reminded of the Windows logo (I do use Unix and Mac systems sometimes). Im docking a star without hesitation because of the poor placement of the back button and the useless Windows button. FEAR #5: Ease of movement. The other mouse I have glides fairly well as I move back and forth. Ive gotten used to a lack of friction. RESPONSE: This mouse is actually a little better in its movement. Out of the box, it felt slightly lighter (indeed the product page says 10.4 ounces vs 1 lb but its nothing to write home about). I dont care about whether these ergonomic mice are a lot heavier than most mice because I use them for desktop computers---not travel---and I dont plan to pick it up much. If you have a laptop, this may not be the ideal mouse to be lugging around! Sitting next to the older Microsoft ergonomic mouse, the new one reminds me of a smaller yet cool oval rock you might find in a mountain stream while the older one looks like something out of Area 51. This sculpt mouse has a sleeker and lower profile. OVERALL Im happy. I still like the fit and buttons a little better with its predecessor but the new design is cool and equally as useful. I can get rid of the wireless receiver now. The USB one does stick out a little farther than other competitors products but I put it in the back of my computer. Would I choose this mouse or the older 6000? Probably the 6000 for comfort but this one for looks. Usability (in its glide and basic clicking) seems slightly better with this one. Well see how the battery power holds up... *** UPDATE after 2 months: Still works fine and without any complaints. I tossed the v6000. I have gotten a little more used to the new button on the side for clicking "back". Seems like I hold it a little higher and that gives me a better grip as well as an ability to touch the button. I continue to believe the Windows button is rather worthless. Id rather have something cool (like a transparent window or a glowing light) rather than that button. Scrolling is great with this mouse (both by moving the mouse and with the scroll wheel). Im happy. When the v6000 goes dead in my office, Ill upgrade to another one or see if Microsoft has another innovation on the market. I dont see a point in trying out other companies any more. No, Im not getting paid or endorsed by them...I like good products and dont mind raving about them when they improve my life :-) UPDATE after 5 months: Review holds. A solid product. I believe I have replaced the batteries only once and I usually spend a few hours on my CPU on a daily basis. One thing that has impressed me has been the range of movement of the mouse to the scroll icon on the screen (not sure about a range distance from the CPU ). On the older model, I would have to pick it up and move it some to go back and forth across my widescreen dual monitors. This one can almost always go back and forth and, when I do have to pick it up, its not as heavy to move around.

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I get pretty bad RSI with traditional mice. I tried swapping between a standard mouse, a Wacom tablet and an Apple Magic Trackpad for a while and that helped a lot but each one would eventually wear on me. I used a no-name vertical mouse for a while too and was really pleased with the results but the hardware really sucked – the tracking would cut in and out and eventually it stopped working altogether. I didnt want to go all-in on one of the more expensive vertical models and I really like my Microsoft ergo keyboard so I thought I would give this mouse a try. I really like it – the tracking is great and the shape of the mouse and angle of the buttons promotes a much better wrist position than most mice but doesnt feel as weird as using a vertical mouse. The mouse is a little tall off the desk so I use a small wrist-rest with it to keep my arm from getting tired. Two complaints: + Its not bluetooth. Say goodbye to yet another USB port for the wireless dongle. + The blue "Windows" button isnt mapped as a mouse button. This means that on my Mac pressing the button registers as hitting "ctrl" on my keyboard. Microsoft doesnt offer software to change this so youre just stuck with it. I really wish it was mapped as "Mouse4" instead so I could use it to trigger something else.

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I bought this mouse to replace my Anker Ergonomic Mouse (http://www.amazon.com/Anker-Wireless-Vertical-Ergonomic-Optical/dp/B00BIFNTMC?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage). The comfort is spot on for me. I like the thumb rest that it has verses other economics which dont. I use this mouse with my Macbook Pro and it works flawlessly. Im a web/graphic designer and the tracking on this mouse is superb. I bought BetterTouchTool ([...]) and was able to program all the buttons except for the blue windows button. And yes, the side scrolling via the scroll wheel works out of the box, albeit, its not super smooth; its functional. I wish this mouse was bluetooth. That would be a killer feature and 5+ stars in my book. And I wish the usb receiver wasnt so long (which of course wouldnt be needed if it were bluetooth). Overall, I highly recommend this mouse.

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For the most part, this moue is ALMOST perfect. This is a hard thing to rate as a lot of it comes to personal preference. Pros: - Super comfortable, this design and shape really relieves wrist pain, no gimmick, and it kind of sits between vertical mice and traditional flat mice. Without going into an extreme either way. - The scroll wheel is awesome, the best Ive used, very predictable, quiet ratchet, and just plain buttery smooth. - The rubber materials in the thumb grip are great, especially for a fingertip user like me. - The cover on the bottom is magnetic, as is the slot for stowing away your USB receiver. But the USB receiver leads me to my list of cons: Cons: - The USB receiver is large. Maybe three times the length of the Logitech Unifying receivers. You wont want to keep this in when putting your computer in the bag, for fear it might snap off. So that requires you to take it out and stow it away in the mouse everytime you pack up. That gets annoying. I wish that there was a tiny Logitech sized USB receiver I could keep in the computer, or that this model was updated to BT. - On the Mac, you can configure all buttons except for the blue Windows button. I use Bettertouchtool to configure the other buttons (left, right, scroll tilt, and back button). I do wish that I could configure that blue start button on Mac, and I do wish the back button area had a forward/backwards combo. - The glossy plastic gets sticky after a while, and the buttons get this residue from your skin after a while, you and requires a quick wipe down with my shirt every now and then. And I dont get sticky hands. I wish they went for a smooth matte plastic. In the end, the most important feature for me is comfort, followed by programmability. And this is definitely a wrist pain relieving mouse. It could use probably 1 or 2 more programmable buttons, and the build quality could be a little nicer. But I ended up sticking with this (had tried a Logitech MX Master previously and returned it).

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After 3 months of use Im ready to review it. Overall this is a high quality mouse which Im happy I bought, I would recommend it to others, and I would buy it again. Over the years Ive gone back and forth between MS and Logitech mice. I feel like Logitech quality has become inconsistent and Ive had too many problems with their mice. One thing that brings me back to MS mice are the ergonomics, they just fit my hand better and always have. That may not be true for everyone but its true for me. This mouse in particular feels somewhat awkward in the beginning, its so bulbous. But my hand has become accustomed and it feels comfortable and natural. My kids like it too and their hands are much smaller than mine. The clicks are authoritative and maybe slightly louder than your average Logitech mouse. I never use the Windows button. The wheel scrolls nicely up and down but I find it very awkward in scrolling left and right. The one thing I dislike about this mouse and the reason it lost one star, is the thumb back button. The button is flush with a small raised part but its awkward to find and use, Id prefer it to be more of a true button slightly raised. My previous mouse was a Logitech Performance MX which is also nicely ergonomic but they have a known hardware fault in the left click button that affects many, if not all of them at some point. update: 7 months later and still loving it.

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I have used this mouse for a couple days. I was looking for something to help with wrist/arm pain (RSI type symptoms) but did not want to spend > $100 for the more widely known brand. The shape is certainly different and was a little hard to get used to. After a couple hours however, it feels just fine. Having the "Windows" button was great...but really just a novelty. Afterall if you need to find something on the start menu, one has to track towards the lower/left portion of the screen anyway. Turns out I dont use that at all. Tracking with the mouse seems very accurate. Ive never really had an issue with any Microsoft device in this area. Usage is easy; plug in the dongle (which by the way is a little large compared to say the Microsoft 4000 which this is replacing) and everything auto configures. Interestingly, the auto-configuration installs the "Microsoft Mouse and Keyboard Center"; but when launching that in Windows 7 it shows that there are not any supported devices? (see screen shot). I dont generally remap buttons and such; but that may be an issue if you desire to change button functions; not sure. I purchased this as well as an Anker ergonomic (not the vertical version, but the newer ergonomic with a little less angle). I like them both; and choose to use different devices to change/alter angle of my arm/wrist to prevent further RSI issues. If I had to use just one; I would probably not choose this one primarily due to the weight (it is heavier than normal). But time will tell with that. For now I keep the primary (Anker) at work and this one at home; using both for many hours a week.

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I know this mouse looks exceptionally odd, and whenever I recommend it to anyone they typically recoil because it looks so bulky. I first purchased this mouse to use at work, and when I would go home and use my regular desktop mouse Id start to notice that my hand would ache--this ergonomic mouse really does hold my hand in such a better position. This mouse is by far the most comfortable Ive ever had. Is it wireless, so the upside is no wires to tangle up--and the downside is that youll start to lose responsiveness when the batteries are failing. My batteries tend to last months, but I often dont think about batteries and start to get frustrated that the mouse doesnt seem to work until I remember--duh--the batteries need to be replaced. The bottom is magnetic which is fantastic when you need to replace your batteries--its simple and you cant do it wrong. The downside is if you drop the mouse...the bottom and batteries are going to pop out. (I know, I know, but Im clumsy...). Additionally however, Ive dropped my mouse more times than anyone should and its never broken or stopped working. Microsoft nailed it with this one. I wouldnt recommend the keyboard that goes with the set however--stick with their old line of ergonomic keyboards. The keyboard that matches this mouse is okay, but the number pad is a separate piece. Literally separate--you could walk off with it in your purse and forget its not a calculator.

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