The Contour RollerMouse Red Wireless could easily be the best mouse for office workers everywhere. It’s loved by many customers who say they have even repurchased over the years, and it’s not at all hard to see why. It’s comfortable and effectively relieves my aches and pains, all while looking good on my desk.
The premium design and customizable DPI and sensitivity settings make it ideal for most people needing to prioritize productivity. On top of that, the decent battery life also offers months of usage without charging.
But it costs an arm and a leg. Priced at almost $400, I just can’t justify it for anyone other than office workers prepared to invest in a premium, ergonomic setup, or anyone who needs to relieve muscle strain. The adjustment is fiddly, and it’s hard to get precise control for more intricate tasks.
- Contour RollerMouse Red Wireless (Red) at Amazon for $394
Contour RollerMouse Red Wireless: Cheat sheet
- What is it? An ergonomic mouse (of sorts) designed to relieve muscle strain on your hands, wrists, arms, shoulders and neck.
- Who is it for? Anyone who works from a computer or does a lot of typing and suffers from carpal tunnel-like symptoms.
- What does it cost? At its starting price, the Contour RollerMouse Red Wireless is available for $394 at Amazon U.S.
- What’s good? It’s comfortable and effectively relieves aches and pains. The premium design, customizable settings and battery life are great.
- What’s not? It’s very expensive, fiddly to adjust and proves difficult to use for precise control.
Contour RollerMouse Red Wireless: Specs
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Price
$394/£307
Size
17.6 x 5.5 x 1.9 inches
Weight
1.4 pounds
DPI
600 – 2800
Click resistance
5 levels
Number of buttons
7 buttons (6 programmable)
Rollerbar width
11.8 inches
Operating system
macOS & Windows
Connectivity
USB-C wired, Bluetooth 5.2, or 2.4GHz USB receiver
Battery
Lithium rechargeable 2000mAh
Battery life
Up to 3 months per charge
Contour RollerMouse Red Wireless: The ups
The Contour RollerMouse Red Wireless is great at alleviating symptoms from the strain of using a mouse and keyboard all day long. It’s very customizable, making it suitable for any productivity needs, and the premium build makes it comfortable for long use.
Eases aches and pains
As the name suggests, the RollerMouse is contoured in the perfect shape to support your wrists and minimize aches from poor typing posture. Not only can this decrease productivity, but it can also cause serious discomfort in your neck and back.
Since using this mouse, I have noticed a marked decrease in shoulder and neck strain. During work, I only had to make small movements with my hands and arms, which was ideal for minimising strain, and the memory foam wrist rest took the weight off my wrists.
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
However, while some tension in my shoulders was relieved, there are many other ergonomic mouse styles you could try for a fraction of the price, like the Logitech Ergo M575 ($49), which improves wrist pain, or the Anker 2.4G Wireless Vertical Mouse ($25) that can help with hand and arm fatigue.
There is a soft faux leather layer on top, a high-density layer for support, and memory foam for cushioning. When all of these components are together, it makes for bouncy and soft support. The roller is also easy to move and click, and doesn’t require too much pressure.
An option to suit everyone
The mouse can be used wirelessly or wired, but I opted to use it wirelessly to avoid any unnecessary clutter on my desk. There is also the option to purchase a wired-only version of the RollerMouse, which is slightly cheaper at $374 from Amazon U.S., which I would recommend if you don’t mind the clutter of wires.
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
There are also different shape options for the wrist rests, depending on the size of your desk and the level of support you need. You can choose between Slim, which is the smallest, Plus, which is wider and more sloped for wrist support, or Max, which is curved to support your arms.
I tested out the Slim and Plus rests, but I decided to use the original Slim rest as it doesn’t take up too much space on my desk, and still offers me enough support. The Slim version of the Contour RollerMouse is available for $394 at Amazon U.S., while the Plus version is available for $409 at Amazon U.S.
Customizable sensitivity
The mouse is totally customizable, and this was great for me as I’m pretty picky when it comes to cursor speed settings. And thankfully, there are 10 levels of adjustment for this. These adjustments can also be made from your computer settings, including on Windows and macOS.
The DPI of the mouse can be adjusted from 600 to 2800. I did this by clicking the cursor speed button, which is surrounded by five lights. These lights turn blue for the first five speed settings from 600 to 1400 DPI and then green for the five settings from 1600 to 2800 DPI, so I was able to easily see what setting the mouse was on.
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
This range means that the mouse can be super responsive, but nowhere near the 8,000 DPI of the Logitech MX Master 3S ($99). The Logitech mouse would be better suited to anyone who needs a highly responsive and sensitive mouse, such as for gaming or quickly working between multiple displays.
There are also five levels of click resistance for the bar. To change this, I held the cursor sensor button down and cycled through with the left click button. But if you don’t like being able to click with the roller bar, you can turn this setting off, too. I found it pretty easy to get used to, but opted for a resistance that wasn’t too sensitive to avoid any misclicks.
Durable build
As you’d expect for a $400 product, the Contour RollerMouse is very well built. It feels totally premium and durable. The base of the mouse is metal and is resistant to scratches and scrapes. It isn’t heavy, though, and is very easy to move around my desk to get the perfect position every day.
Good battery life
The mouse has a good battery life. The 200mAh battery can give you up to three months of use with the mouse, but if you use it all day, every day, you may get closer to a month and a half of use from it. That being said, I have been using the mouse for a month, and it isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. You can view the remaining battery life in the Bluetooth connection centre on your computer, so you know when it needs charging.
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
But most mice have a battery life that seems infinite. I have been using the 3Dconnexion CadMouse Pro Wireless ($119) for 8 months, three days a week at the office, and have only charged it once, although it had a rated battery life of two months. The Logitech M650 is also an ideal option for long battery life. Senior Writer Erin Bashford has been using it for over a year without ever needing to charge it. So you should get better than the rated battery life with whatever option you choose.
When the RollerMouse does eventually run out of juice, it’ll take 6 hours to fully charge again. As it’s a static mouse, it can be used while charging and wired to your computer, which is very useful. Just be sure to keep a USB-C cable handy at your desk.
Contour RollerMouse Red Wireless: The downs
While I like using the Contour RollerMouse Red Wireless, getting precise control for intricate tasks is pretty difficult, even with the DPI adjustment. There are components to adjust keyboard height to suit the mouse, but this is only good for slim keyboards, and it is also super expensive.
Precise control is difficult
While the Contour RolloverMouse is a great option for office workers, it’s very difficult to get precise control. When I was using it (or attempting to) for work in Adobe Photoshop, it was hard to keep control of my cursor for more intricate work.
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
This is largely because clicks and holds are more challenging. I often found myself reverting to my handheld mouse or the built-in mouse pad on my laptop. Using the RollerMouse requires practice.
Keyboard adjustment
The RollerMouse’s height adjustment is quite finicky. The mouse comes with two short and two long keyboard risers, which can lift your usual keyboard to the correct height for the RollerMouse. The adjusters will help bring slimmer keyboards higher to avoid any wrist strain while reaching over the roller portion of the device.
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
A mechanical keyboard will automatically sit higher, so in some cases, the RollerMouse could be too low to work effectively. But when using the Keychron C1 Pro 8K, which has a depth of 1.13 inches, it was the perfect height. I also tried it out using the adjusters and a slimmer keyboard, and this was also very comfortable.
Expensive
While I like this keyboard for streamlining productivity tasks, the price tag leaves a sour taste in the mouth. At $394 for the regular wireless version and $409 for the Plus version, it is clearly a huge investment, and not one I’m sure I’d make.
For the sake of nearly $400, I’m not sure I could justify the purchase of a computing peripheral, let alone a mouse. That said, for some people, this mouse will be a non-negotiable office addition. I think this is a totally justifiable investment for remote workers who care about taking care of their posture to reduce strain and carpal tunnel symptoms. It’s also ideal for office workers who spend all day sitting at their desks. Even so, you can achieve similar results with far cheaper office products.
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
For example, vertical mice are an ideal option for making sure your wrist is in the right position for all day long comfort. The Seenda MOU-302 Vertical Wireless Mouse is only $27 and effectively reduces muscle strain thanks to the hand positioning. The Logitech Ergo M575 is also a good option to relieve wrist strain and only costs $49. To me, $400 for a mouse is pure lunacy.
Maybe if I made six figures… but I don’t. So this is a pass for me. But if you want to invest in your comfort, then the RollerMouse ticks all your boxes.
Contour RollerMouse Red Wireless: Verdict
I like the Contour RollerMouse Red Wireless. Heck, I even started to love it. But then I quickly came crashing down to earth when I remembered the price tag. $394. It’s a lot.
But there’s a lot to love. It very effectively relieves shoulder and neck pain, all while looking good, thanks to the design. The customizable DPI and click sensitivity are also great for getting settings that suit you, and the decent battery life means it’s good for a couple of months without charging.
Admittedly, the keyboard adjustment is fiddly, and it’s hard to get precise control with the roller control. If you’re massively concerned about keeping your hand, wrist and arm in the most strain-free position, I would look towards a more affordable vertical or ergonomic mouse design first, like the Logitech Ergo M575. Almost $400 for a mouse is crazy — but I have to admit, it’s a worthwhile investment if you’re serious about your ergonomic setup.
Contour RollerMouse Red Wireless: Price Comparison
