Comfort
Holding a mouse for extended gaming session or even just browsing means you are going to spend more time interacting and holding your mouse than any other part of your PC. Because of that comfort is extremely important. First I should point out that the TM is designed specifically for people who are right handed, if you are left handed you might as well move on as the TM will not work for you. The design is similar in shape and size to the Razer Deathadder meaning it’s a fairly large “palm” style mouse. You have a total of 6 buttons and a scroll wheel. Two of those buttons are located on the left side of the mouse and the other four are on the top. You have your standard left and right mouse click and then tucked in just to the left front of the scroll wheel you have your third button. The last button is behind the scroll wheel and this is the only button that is clear with an LED backlight.
The scroll wheel is covered in rubbed with small groves in it for traction. Speaking of rubber with groves cut into it, there is a large area on the left side where you place your thumb that has a rubber coating with groves cut into it. The overall design is an OEM design meaning you could see this same mouse from other manufactures, but we can’t really fault Tek Republic too much for that considering what it costs to develop and manufacture a new product from scratch. I do hope as they grow that we do see original designs from them.
Part of comfort can be the weight of a mouse. Although I prefer mine to be as light as possible, other people prefer to have heft to their mouse. Because of that the bottom of the mouse has a hatch that twists off and hides a pack of weights. There aren’t any marking indicating the weight of each weight, but they look similar to the typical 5 gram weights we have seen in the past.
When you combine all of those different attributes, that’s where the overall comfort comes into play. The shape of the mouse is actually really comfortable while still allowing you to pick the mouse up while gaming for those who like me lift. But there are two problems I have with the TM that effect the overall comfort in the end. A good portion of the TM including the entire area that you sit your palm on is made of a hard plastic with a texture to it. When you combine these two the entire mouse has a slightly uncomfortable feel to it that can only be described as almost a sand paper feeling. I know the texture is there to help with grip, but it seems like a rubber finish or something similar would be a better choice.
The second problem I have is with the rubber grip on the left side of the mouse. The idea of the rubber grip is logical, but in practice I also found it uncomfortable. Even more surprising was that the rubber grip actually caused me to have less grip. The grip managed to allow my thumb to sweat, something that I didn’t even know was possible. Most likely, it’s releasing oils from my fingertips making it slicker, but it’s something I have never had a problem with other mice.
