Review: The Virtually Indestructible Mouse
Thu Jun 18, 2009 6:27:33 am

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I have had this mouse for about a week now. I chose it because it is waterproof and can survive repeated falls from my desk. The case is made from a single piece of silicone which seals out water from the internal electronics. The casing also allows the mouse to bounce nicely off the floor instead of cracking.

The softness and texture of the case makes the mouse very comfortable to hold, but it also creates a serious drawback. I noticed from my first use of it that the buttons require more force to press than on an ordinary mouse. This is a consequence of using a single piece of silicone for the case which covers both the buttons and the body of the mouse. The silicone has to flex to accommodate the motion of a mouse button press. It's not an extreme amount of force, but it's noticeable.

For casual use, this is fine, but I use the computer for many hours every day. I can feel the repetitive stress injury developing. I had to change my finger alignment to avoid injury. It's not really an issue of finger muscle strength. The problem is that I typically press down with my finger parallel to the mouse button. This creates shearing forces on the joint which are negligible on an ordinary mouse, but it's noticeable on this one. I have to adjust to a more perpendicular finger contact position when pressing to avoid injury, but it's less comfortable. I thought the resistance of the mouse would soften a bit after some use, but it seems to have only softened very little after a week.