The Lefty Experience of Choosing the Best Gaming Mouse
Finding the perfect gaming mouse as a lefty is a whole new battle, and discovering that all the lefties I knew used the mouse on their right was news to me.
From right-handed armchairs to can openers, being left-handed in a righty’s world can be a hassle.
Finding the perfect mouse for myself is a whole new battle.
I know that it’s superficial, but discovering that all the lefties I knew used the mouse on their right was news to me. No one I knew floundered to use gaming mice for righties, nor had to painstakingly remap all of their controls when trying a new game out.
Suddenly, I couldn’t ask anyone for mouse recommendations. They didn’t share the same struggle.
With a single google search, I discovered that the amount of lefties that mouse on their right was more common than I thought. Kensington conducted a LinkedIn poll with the question, “What is your dominant hand, and what hand do you mouse with?”
This line told me enough:
Only 23% of respondents were left-handed. Of those total respondents to the Kensington poll, 19% of left-handed people mouse right, while only 4% mouse left.
It was time for me to do a lot of research.
I know that I could just get your typical mouse and be done with it, but I wanted something that I could use in the long term. I’ve had enough of the rickety mice I used before. I wanted something better for myself.
Primarily, I wanted a wireless mouse with a shape that fit my hand well. Additional features I’d look out for would be side buttons, a lighter weight, and maybe something that was… affordable.
Okay, that seems like a lot to ask for a single mouse.
But I’m someone who spends more than half of my day on a computer because of my work as a game developer and my hobbies — which unsurprisingly — involved video games. Buying a mouse that’s well worth the cost would be a good investment for someone like myself.
Besides that, a lot of the old mice I had lasted for some time, but they weren’t comfortable.
The best I had owned was the Razer Ouroboros. It’s heavy, clunky, and expensive. Yet it fit my hand grip well, as long as I ignored the occasional pinch I’d get if I hit its pointy sides.
My time with it was cut short since the mouse developed a double-click problem.
Clearly, the Razer Ouroboros is far from the perfect lefty mouse.
So the next step to my search for the one would be to snoop around the internet. I went around various social media and websites to see what other lefties thought was the best mouse for them. From there, it was evident that I’d be limited in my selection.
The only peripherals designed with lefties in mind are from Razer’s line of left-handed mice.
With that, I narrowed down my search to mice with an ambidextrous shape.
It didn’t take long for me to find yet another first-world problem.
There were a variety of mice, but most of them only had side buttons on the left. At first, I didn’t see it as much of an issue. Devices like the Logitech G304 and the Glorious Model O Wireless looked like great and affordable options.
They truly were, but I felt like I would be paying additional for features that I wouldn’t be able to use. The one-sided buttons were inaccessible to me as a lefty.
That prompted me to double down my search. I wanted a device with features that I could fully take advantage of.
With that, I decided to look into measuring my hand size. I also identified what type of mouse grip I regularly use to ensure that everything would be perfect for me.
I was planning to buy a mouse during the height of the pandemic, so going out to test my options in store was a no-go. I’d just have to trust that I did my research well enough.
After a long period of reading and binge watching videos of reviews, I had found my possible contenders. Fortunately, there were definitely options that managed to better fit the criteria.
Unfortunately, they were all pricey.
But I wanted a good mouse for myself, and I did have the means to shell out some money for it. Ultimately, I decided to look deeper into these candidates for my next mouse.
Presenting the contenders:
1. Logitech G Pro Wireless
2. Razer Viper Ultimate
3. Asus ROG Pugio II
The candidates were unsurprising, except for the Asus Pugio II that I had found out of nowhere.
Reviews on it were few and far between, unlike the first two mice that have loads of coverage given their popularity. This is especially true for the Razer Viper Ultimate since it was, at the time, an unparalleled light and wireless gaming mouse.
As I went through each contender, I decided to create a little spreadsheet to give myself a cursory glance of what each mouse had to offer.
With the information alone, you’d think that the Asus ROG Pugio II would be an easy pick given its extra features while being the cheapest among the three. But this isn’t the case. It is the heaviest mouse, has the worst sensor, lowest battery life, and the most latency in the lineup.
On the other hand the Logitech G Pro Wireless does have good specs, but an underwhelming feature set.
It is also the most dated model among the mice. Knowing that, I was expecting it to be cheaper now. However, it’s still priced similarly to the more recent Razer Viper Ultimate. But with comparable specs, I guess that’s a bit understandable.
Despite the Logitech G Pro Wireless being a close match to the Razer Viper Ultimate, I found myself going back and forth between the Asus ROG Pugio II and the Razer Viper Ultimate instead.
The extra bells and whistles that the Asus ROG Pugio II offered for its price sounded great. However, the Razer Viper Ultimate’s light weight and impressive shape weren’t something I wanted to pass out on either. I was tired of holding heavier mice, and I felt like the lightweight mouse would make a huge difference for me.
In the end, I chose the Razer Viper Ultimate despite its steep price point.
My decision was solidified because the device’s specs fell closest to my personal preferences. Its slightly flatter shape complimented my usual claw grip, the size seemed to be a good fit for my hand, and my inclination to lighter mice heavily influenced me to pick it up. Not to mention, it also had the longest battery life among them.
If not for the pandemic closing up stores, I would’ve loved to test the Asus ROG Pugio II to see how I’d fare with it. But now that the Razer Viper Ultimate is in my hands, I don’t think I could go back to a heavier device at all.
My key takeaway: get to know your own preferences before making your purchase.
It took me a while to be able to come to a decision, and I don’t regret it. Jumping on the next bandwagon because of the fear of missing out on the “next best thing” might not be worth your while if you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into.
Another thing that kept coming back to me was the uphill battle of being a lefty in a world built for the majority.
Everything would’ve been cheaper and more convenient if I didn’t have to put my left-handedness in the equation of things to consider before buying a mouse.
You may not agree with my final decision, but in the end everything boils down to your own personal preferences. Despite everything I had fun discovering new gaming mice on the market, and finding out which one suited me best.
I hope that my experience can give some of my fellow lefties some insights on their next purchase as well.
