I spend a lot of time typing on a keyboard and clicking away on a mouse. As a result, I go out of my way to make sure I have exactly what works for me. That’s made me quite picky. For keyboards, I often build my own from kits with customized firmware for what I work on. For my mice, unfortunately, I’m beholden to other companies. I’d love a 13-button vertical mouse, but it’s just not on the market. Instead, I just try to get by with a slightly tilted grip on a gaming mouse. I had been using a Steelseries 500, but I was getting hand cramps using it. These were especially in my ring and pinky fingers from how I was gripping the mouse. I shopped around and found the Swiftpoint Tracer, which actually has a little ledge for my ring finger. Perfect!
The Swiftpoint Tracer is a slightly less over-the-top version of their Z mouse. It lacks the motion controls, but has plenty of multi-function buttons, customizable buttons, and even pressure sensitivity. It has become my favorite mouse, and I don’t know how I’d replace it. But it isn’t with a few strange flaws.
It is a weird mouse, after all.
In This Article:
What is the Swiftpoint Tracer?
via Swiftpoint
Swiftpoint is a company that makes some interesting mice… or “pointing devices.” They have many mice that use a pen grip, providing the features of a mouse on a small device you hold with a grip very similar to holding a pen. I haven’t tried one of those yet, but they certainly look interesting. Instead, I went for the button-loaded Tracer. This mouse has 13 buttons, with two of them being pressure sensitive. It’s extremely versatile. It began on Kickstarter, as a follow-up to their successful ‘Z’ mouse, a mouse with 13-buttons, 5 pressure sensitive buttons, haptic feedback, an OLED display, and gyroscopic features. It’s basically a computer in a mouse. I went for the slightly more simple Tracer as I mostly wanted the mouse for productivity. Interestingly, Swiftpoint now makes a “Creator” model, which is somewhere between the Z and the Tracer, to fill the role of a mouse for work.
The Tracer is a large mouse, with buttons so customizable you can even swap some of them out for other shapes and sizes. It seemed the perfect fit for someone looking to use their mouse for work and gaming.
Customization
On the surface, Swiftpoint’s customization software looks like any other company’s, only with many more buttons to set. However, dig in, and you’ll find you can easily set it up to change its configuration depending on what application or game is running and go deep into the customization of each button, including button combinations. I’ve got different control schemes for Control, Hades, Affinity Photo and Designer, and a general one for everything else.
Swiftpoint also gives users more customization options in an “Expert” mode. This lets you set different commands for mouse down and up, record your button presses, and define precise button presses and even the pressure you use for particular actions. The mouse was made for extreme customization, and the software really backs that up. Plus, you can write your configurations to on-board memory on your mouse, so when you plug it into another device, it’ll function just as you set it up to function. Still, you’ll need to install their software to use customization and auto switching features on all of your devices.
Comfort
I was a bit suspicious about this mouse when I first saw it. There are three buttons under your index finger, and another three under your middle finger. On top of that, two of those buttons respond to both being pressed and being pulled. The mouse also is flat, unlike vertical mice, which are known to be better for your wrist. Despite this, it’s quite comfortable and easy to use. I found I can even use it with my wrist in a relaxed position, as though I am using a vertical mouse. It’s surprisingly comfortable, and the buttons all eventually become muscle memory.
Still, it’s a flat mouse. I’m a software engineer, I write, and I sometimes even play games on my computer. I’m using my mouse often. As a result, I often have to give my wrist a break and use an ergonomic split keyboard and vertical mouse. I wish this was a bit more vertical. I wish there were highly customizable vertical mice. But it seems like the market just isn’t there yet.
Durability
The tape keeps the sticky goop in place until I finally decide to start scrubbing it off.
This is the worst aspect of the mouse. For some reason it’s falling apart. The plastic body itself is fine, the buttons are still responsive as well. However, the rubber grips begun sliding off shortly after I began using it. Under there, there’s a stretchy sort of glue that is difficult to clean, and gets all over the mouse quickly. I found alcohol and acetone (separately, of course) helped to remove the glue. It definitely took some time. The mouse is still easy to use without the rubber pads. I wish Swiftpoint had either affixed these better or simply built grips into the plastic mold.
Overall 7/10
I would have a hard time leaving this mouse behind. Though I had to clean it up when the rubber grips slid around, and it just doesn’t have the vertical shape I’d like to see in a productivity mouse, it works quite well for me. It’s large enough for a few grips, including palm and a claw grip, as well as even a sort of relaxed sideways claw grip. It’s my go-to everyday mouse, and I would likely buy a second one for the office… if I still had to go to the office. Swiftpoint isn’t a household name like Logitech, but I really think gaming mice like this are better for productivity and professionals than mice made specifically for office work. The customization options make it so useful for whatever you’re working on. Whether its macros in your IDE or quickly switching tools in your design app, this mouse has exactly what you need. I just wish it didn’t become a mess after a few months of use.