A few years ago we reviewed Logitech’s first ergonomic vertical mouse and although we thought it looked strange we found it to be “bloody comfortable”. So when Logitech recently announced their new vertical ergonomic mouse we thought it would be great to check it out.
The new Logitech Lift is designed for “day-long comfort for small to medium sized hands. So what makes a hand small to medium sized? Logitech has a sizing chart on their website for you to check out. In a nutshell, if your hand, when stretched out is approximately the size of 3 credit cards (less than 19cm from the anatomical snuffbox – at the base of your thumb – from what I can decipher from the diagram) then your hand is small to medium. Anything larger then maybe this mouse is not for you – you’d be best to check out their original MX Vertical mouse if you want an ergonomic vertical mouse.
Vertical mouse are designed to require less wrist and hand movement than a traditional mouse, all while keeping the hand in a more ergonomic position. This is designed to alleviate stress on the hand and wrist while using the mouse for long periods of time.
What is it?
Although the Lift is smaller than the MX Vertical, it still incorporates 6 buttons – the left and right click buttons, a DPI button, the scroll wheel which is a button too and forward and back buttons that the thumb operates from the side of the mouse. These buttons can be changed using the Logitech Logi Options+ software but more on that below.
Underneath the mouse are the three device selector buttons to allow you to have your mouse connected to three different devices at a time and easily switch between one and another with the simple tap of a button.
The Lift is powered by a single AA battery which doesn’t sound like much but Logitech state that the single AA battery will last you 24 months. While it is disappointing that the mouse is not rechargeable, I’d argue that a mouse that only needs battery replacement once every two years is a much better option. The battery is easy to get to with a compartment underneath the mouse easily accessible – it is also where the Logi Bolt adapter is kept too.
The mouse is curved so that it fits your right hand perfectly but for those of you who use the mouse with their left hand (and we all know one of those) you can buy a left handed version. Although the marketing material on the Logitech shows a left-handed version I am yet to find it for sale anywhere in Australia.
Features
The Lift is connected either with Bluetooth or the Logi Bolt USB adapter. Personally I connected it with Bluetooth and did not have a single issue with connectivity with the three different devices I connected it to.
The only reason I can see that you’d use the Logi Bolt adapter is if your device/PC did not have Bluetooth or if you had multiple devices side by side on your desk. The Bolt adapter allows you to activate Logitech Flow which in turn allows you to seamlessly switch and move from one device to another with just the movement of the mouse– as if it was an extended desktop. I tested the multi-device out without the Bolt receiver, and it worked great. The ability to seamlessly move the mouse from one device to another along with copying and pasting from one device to another allows for a much smoother multi-tasking experience.
The mouse options can only be accessed using their new Logi Options+ software. The software is a simple download and install where upon it finds your connected compatible devices. From here it gives you a quick tutorial on the things you can do with the software and the Lift mouse. Within the app you can decide what each button does.
Personally, I changed the DPI button to a middle click button as that is what I’m used to doing on my MX Master, along with the side buttons to opening an app for one and a PC folder for another. The clever thing about the software is that you can have buttons do different things for different software. For example, for the side buttons I had them as the app and folder buttons but in Edge I had them be forward and back buttons. This allows for a great amount of customisation of your mouse.
One of the best things about the software is that if you log in or create an account it will sync the settings to your new PC. Eg. I set it up on my PC and then when I opened the software on my laptops once I’d logged in all the button settings and preferences were applied without me having to change anything.
Another thing that should not be overlooked with this mouse is the Quiet Click buttons. No noisy clicks here with Logitech’s now favoured quiet clicks allowing for a soft, almost silent click which I love. It still has the tactile feel of a click, just not the loud sound — it’s more of a quiet thud.
So how does it feel in the hand?
At first, I was not convinced by the vertical mouse concept but after using it for about an hour I got used to all the buttons. It is extremely intuitive, after all the buttons are still in the same place, your hand and wrist are just in a slightly different position. My hands must be slightly longer than medium, so it took me a while to get used to the right click button (reaching back for it) but after that small learning period it was second nature.
One thing I did have to do because of the size of my hands was to change my middle mouse click button to be the scroll wheel as it was too far back to press easily, comfortably and consistently. Not a huge issue but I can see why it is for small to medium hands only.
As for the ergonomical nature of the mouse it surprised me just how comfortable it was. You don’t realise just how good it feels until you jump back to a more traditional mouse. Jumping back showed just how right this hand and wrist position is for mouse use. It does make me wonder why more people don’t use them when this is the case.
Who should buy one?
If you are someone who uses a mouse a lot on a day to day basis then a vertical mouse is something your hand and wrist could benefit from. The stress that is removed from these body areas by an ergonomic mouse is something that should not be understated – those who have had repetitive stress injuries of these areas will back me up on that one. This is a beautifully crafted, well designed and good-looking mouse that will look right at home on your desk.
The Logitech Lift vertical mouse is designed for small to medium hands, so I’d recommend carefully measuring your hands before purchasing one of these. If your mouse hand is less than 19cm (approximately three credit cards in length) then the mouse will fit your hand well but if bigger you may be better off checking out the Logitech MX Vertical.
I’d highly recommend considering purchasing a Logitech Lift if you fit the criteria above. Not only is it comfortable and ergonomically sound it has a great number of features that are easy to set up and use. You can purchase a Logitech Lift Vertical Ergonomic Mouse from all good electronics stores for $129.95 in Graphite, Pale Grey and Rose colours.
