Current testing methodology is v1.2
August 23, 2017
$84.60
910-005177
5.8 oz
3.92 x 5.21 x 2.02 in
The mouse that saved my hands from pain and discomfort
This story starts many, many years ago when I was working for a bank and running a team in a call center.
I wanted to do spreadsheets to track the successful nature of the calls and the call outcomes. As in those days, there was some pretty primitive software available. In my enthusiasm, I overcooked it a little bit and ended up with really bad tendonitis.
Logitech MX ERGO Trackball Mouse – M-R0065
An excellent solution for those with tendonitis or RSI complaints
TL:DR;
The Logitech MX ERGO mouse was one of the best things I’ve ever purchased that has helped me reduce my tendonitis and RSI symptoms. The fixed position and comfortable thumb ergonomics is a gift. I highly recommend it to anyone struggling with tendonitis.
The Specs
- Connectivity Technology: Wireless, Bluetooth, USB
- Hardware Interface: Bluetooth
- Item Dimensions: 3.92 x 5.21 x 2.02 inches
- Item Weight: 5.76 ounces
- Sensor Technology: Trackball
- Operating System: Mac & PC
- Model #: Logitech M-R0065
What’s in the Box?
- Trackball
- Cable
- Receiver
- Quick start guide
Stuff I like
- Comfortable
- Little to no hand strain
- No moving the mouse around
- Long battery ife
Stuff I like less
- Has a heavy metal plate on the bottom
Product Files
Where to get it
Comparable products to consider
RGB Wireless Trackball Mouse, ProtoArc EM01 2.4G Bluetooth Ergonomic Rechargeable Rollerball Mice with 3 Adjustable DPI, 3 Device Connection&Thumb Control, Compatible for PC, iPad, Mac, Windows-Black
Is you’re needing something more affordable and still effective then the Logitech M575 is a great alternative. It’s lighter and still has good action. Not as nice or feature-rich as the MX ERGO but a solid performer as the M570 was before it.
If you combine my tendonitis from keyboard work, with the addition of playing guitar, my hands were pretty shot for a lot of my early 20s.
I’ve managed it on and off over the years with different attempts, including hand braces and ice buckets and rest and splints and all sorts.
One of the main protagonists of my pain and suffering was the use of a mouse.
My first effort to alleviate this situation was to buy a small Wacom tablet and use the pen in my opposite hand as a mouse and just use my other hand, my right hand, to click the mouse when the Wacom pen was where I wanted it to be.
This is actually an incredibly effective way of reducing the amount of hand strain and tendon strain that occurs from computer usage.
Unfortunately, having a Wacom tablet to hand wasn’t always completely practical. There are a lot of small affordable Wacom tablets that you can buy for this purpose, but you don’t want them to be too small, else it’s very hard to get accuracy when you move the pen around.
I would recommend an average-sized tablet and one similar to the two that I have owned for this purpose is linked below. It doesn’t have to be fancy or too large.
Recommended Tablet | Wacom Intuos Tablet for Drawing and Mouse UseSo, I went on a quest to find a computer mouse that was going to be ergonomic.
This was about 10 years ago when even then there were very few ergonomic options available. I settled on a very early version of the Logitech M570 Trackball mouse and immediately was impressed with how little hand strain it caused for me.
There was no moving the mouse around. It was simply resting my hand on the mouse and using my thumb to control the trackball.
Eventually, my wife also needed a new mouse and I figured it was a good time to upgrade. So, I passed her my old one and upgraded to the latest model, which is the current model, the Logitech MX ERGO.
This was even better, even more comfortable, and had a tilt function. The one downside is that it has a heavy metal plate on the bottom, which can make it a little bit heavier for portability and traveling, but the comfort factor is really quite remarkable.
I’ve noticed nothing but great improvements in my tendonitis since using the Logitech mouse.
Even if I’m taking my laptop into a boardroom for a meeting or any other short-term use, I still take the mouse with me as I find it just so brilliant compared to struggling with a trackpad/touchpad.
There were other ergonomic mice available also in the Logitech range and others, but they seemed to be the upright hand models, which is possibly more natural, but you still have to move the mouse around, which requires arm movement.
Personally, I really love the fact that the MX ERGO mouse stays fixed on the desk and your thumb does all the work. Surprisingly, I’ve never found my thumb to become problematic or to suffer from any inflammation or tendonitis.
Fast forward again till slightly more recently, we’re on a rather overly ambitious effort to clean my Logitech MX ERGO mouse, I stuffed up the positioning of the laser, and it gave up the ghost.
My immediate reaction was obviously to buy a new one straight away.
I tried struggling with a typical mouse and I’ve also tried the Apple Bluetooth mouse, but that thing is so flat and so ergonomically uncomfortable. I just couldn’t do it.
In addition to the trackball, there are also obviously two main mouse buttons and a scroll wheel, which I use for scrolling up and down web pages.
There’s also a nice slow button, which you can use just above your thumb if you want to go a little bit slower and be a bit more accurate over elements of a page.
And there are some other programmable options with other buttons, which I typically don’t tend to bother using at all, but they are there if you need them.
I’m sure that you could use these more intelligently, not just for gaming, but for maybe other business purposes if you wanted to program them for those.
But for me, I just need to get the mouse around the page, click and scroll as fast as possible and as comfortably as possible.
The Bluetooth charge lasts for a long time, and because of the Bluetooth, it’s incredibly accurate. It also comes with an RF USB plug dongle and a charging cable. So, if you don’t want to use Bluetooth, you can still use radio frequency with the little Bluetooth connector.
Actually, it might be WiFi, not RF, but either way, there is an adapter if your computer’s a little bit older.
I love the portability and the lightness of other mice like the Apple Bluetooth mouse, but the Logitech ERGO MX is just unbeatable for comfort, for reducing my tendonitis, and RSI hand strain.
I can’t recommend it enough.
Read the reviews, I think you’ll find the same. There’s a link below for you to check it out on Amazon and other places where you can buy it.
For me, a double thumbs up. See what I did there?
Endless hours of experimentation, professional work, and personal investment in Home Theatre, Hi-Fi, Smart Home Automation and Headphones have come to this.
Former owner of Headphones Canada, a high-end headphone specialty retailer.
This post was last updated on 2024-10-31 / Some images from Amazon Product API & some links may be affiliate links which may earn us a commission from purchases.