Why I love the Logitech MX Vertical wireless mouse

Victoria Song is a senior reviewer at The Verge who mostly focuses on health tech and wearables and who, she says, occasionally has “existential crises over silly gadgets I bought on TikTok against my better judgment.” One of her favorite gadgets is the Logitech MX Vertical wireless mouse.

When did you get the Logitech MX Vertical?

I got this mouse in March 2022, so just about three years ago now. But I’ve been a vertical mouse enthusiast since I reviewed the Evoluent VerticalMouse C for PCMag in 2016.

I’d been using Anker’s wireless vertical mouse for about three and a half years. It finally crapped out on me after my cat batted it from my desk. RIP. I didn’t love that it required a USB dongle for connectivity, and I had only heard good things about Logitech’s version from other vertical mouse fans, so I opted to shell out a bit more.

What do you like about it?

You can use it wired or wirelessly, and the battery lasts months on a single charge. Switching cursor speed is easy, and it’s got two customizable buttons right over the thumb. I mostly use it for forward and back, but it’s super convenient. I used to get wrist pain from using regular mice, and now I have zero wrist pain.

Is there anything about it that you wish were different or that would improve it?

This is kinda gross, but it’s a dead skin magnet. Every once in a while, you have to take a cleaning wipe and really scrub that textured grippy area down, or you’ll have crusty, dusty imprints of your hand, bordered by dead skin. And I do mean a cleaning wipe. At first, I was wiping this thing down with a teeny bit of soap and a damp paper towel — nope. That same area also gets worn down by finger oil, so even if you regularly clean it, it can end up looking a bit greasy after a few weeks. The bottom is also a dust and cat hair magnet. Basically, I clean this mouse more than I should have to.

Otherwise, I wish it came in more colors like the cheaper Logitech Lift, which comes in white and pink. I was tempted to switch, but unfortunately, I have piano fingers and the Lift’s smaller size doesn’t work for me. Even on the MX Vertical, my index and middle fingers extend beyond the mouse’s edge.

Who would you recommend it to?

Anyone who has hobbies that depend on a healthy, pain-free wrist. Before switching to vertical mice, I had a lot of wrist and hand cramping from using trackpads, regular mice, and all my handwriting. I’ve been working on all of that, but it was so much harder for me to adjust my natural pen grip than it was to adopt a vertical mouse. And I’m not kidding when I said my wrist pain disappeared almost overnight — and comes back whenever I have to use my laptop’s trackpad on a work trip.

I’ve been using vertical mice for close to a decade now, but I distinctly remember that it took a few days before I felt really comfortable.

Also, the MX Vertical doesn’t have a left-handed version. So if you’re a southpaw, you might want to look for a vertical mouse model that has both versions. (It’s baffling, but the Logitech Lift has both left- and right-handed versions, even if the MX Vertical doesn’t…)

What else are you doing these days?

These days, I’ve been exploring gadgets that aren’t smartwatches — smart glasses, smart rings, AI wearables, CGMs, and even an NFC nail chip. I’m also trying to get back into another training block after I got derailed by a cold and some bad weather. (Training blocks are periods of structured workouts where you focus on a specific goal. My next one is going to be a 12-week block where I try to improve my 5K running speed.) Lately, I’ve also been trying to get back into my non-work hobbies, like calligraphy and scrapbooking.