Anker AK-UBA Wireless Vertical Ergonomic Mouse Review

Two years ago, I was in a minor motorcycle accident. I was going a bit too fast on a road that was probably only meant for bikes. In retrospect, I’m just glad no one ended up getting injured. No one besides me that is. Other than ripping open my skin on several parts of my body I nearly broke my right wrist. The doctor told me I was incredibly lucky, had I not been quick to get into a “safe crash position” (thank you driving school) and hit my wrist in any other angle I wouldn’t only have broken it, I’d probably never be able to use it correctly again. Phew. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean my wrist got out unscathed. For months I couldn’t even hold a pencil without intense pain, let alone use a mouse.

Since then my wrist has healed and I can, for the most part, go about my day without pain. But there are some days when I get reminded of my regretful mistake though: the days when I use my mouse too much. You see, I spend a lot of time on my computer; whether it be for school, work, or just wasting time at home. In short intervals this is fine but for longer periods this kills my wrist. Let’s not even talk about the pain after one or two competitive FPS games. One day I had finally had enough, and I began researching ergonomics to see if this could help my situation.

Ergonomic mice are designed to be more comfortable and alleviate tension in your wrist and forearm. Stand up and let your arm rest. Notice how your hand is naturally oriented with your palm facing inwards. This is the ideal, rested position for your hand. Now, sit back down, put your arm forward and pretend you’re grabbing a mouse (or grab your mouse if you’re at a computer). Notice how you need to rotate your arm 90 degrees and tense your muscles a bit to properly grip the mouse? That’s bad.

It’s not life-threatening, and it won’t cut 10 years off your life span like many “health & fitness gurus” want you to believe but it isn’t ideal. If you spend more than two hours a day on your computer, which I’m willing to bet you do if you work with computers in any capacity, then you’re running an increased risk of developing issues like RSI and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. If you’ve already hurt your wrist, like I have, then using your mouse is just a recipe for disaster. To prevent this unnatural position and release the tension in your arm ergonomic mice are vertical to the table rather than horizontal. This way your arm can be in that natural, relaxed, handshake position. Hopefully, I’ve managed to make you interested in ergonomic mice by now. Great, then we can get on with the review. When looking for an ergonomic mouse I couldn’t find one that looked good enough, both aesthetically and functionally, that wouldn’t break the bank. Until I found the Anker AK-UBA Wireless Vertical Ergonomic Mouse.

Unlike other ergonomic mice, the Anker AK-UBA has a sleek, aesthetically pleasing design while not sacrificing any functionality. As far as mice go it’s solid. It has your standard six buttons: the left- and right-click, scroll wheel, back/forward buttons, and DPI switcher. They all work flawlessly as expected for a non-gaming mouse. My only real complaint about these buttons is that I think the scroll wheel is too smooth. It’s not “click-less” but I’ve grown used to the firm “clicks” on the Logitech G502 HERO mouse although I quickly got used to the smooth scrolling of the Anker.

But you’re not buying this mouse for the standard functions like the buttons, you’re buying it because you care about your ergonomics. So, let’s talk about that. I was honestly surprised at just how much more comfortable the Anker AK-UBA was compared to any other mouse I’ve tried (and I’ve tried many). The first day of using was weird, I’m not going to lie. I accidentally kept tipping over the mouse when trying to go back to the “standard” mouse position. My precision when trying to select anything on the screen was a bit off. But after a day of use, I got used to it and man was it worth it. I’ve had days when I’ve used my mouse for 6 hours straight and not felt any pain in my wrist whatsoever. When it comes to wireless mice there’s always a risk of bad connectivity. In my 6 months of using this mouse I’ve never lost connection or had the way too common “Bluetooth freeze frame”. Some people have reported losing connection but most of them have done so when the device has been running low on battery. Speaking of the battery, it’s great. Anker boasts a 3-month battery life and while I can’t confirm this myself (I charge mine overnight usually because, why not?) reviews on Amazon and other marketplaces seem to corroborate the claim.

The Anker AK-UBA Wireless Vertical Ergonomic Mouse is a solid wireless mouse on its own, add to that the sleek-looking ergonomic design that will save you a lot of future pain and you have a no brainer. To top it all off, it’s ONLY $20! That’s way cheaper than other alternatives of this quality. I wholeheartedly recommend this mouse for anyone who spends more than one or two hours a day at their computer. But don’t just take my word for it! The mouse has stellar reviews on Amazon. The only real complaint is that it’s not a great mouse for gaming and that’s true. I wouldn’t recommend gaming with this mouse but that’s not it’s intended purpose. It’s an everyday mouse meant for work and casual browsing. Sure, you can do casual gaming with it just fine (I played through Outer Wilds entirely with this mouse) but for competitive games, I recommend using a gaming mouse. Personally, I use the Logitech G502 HERO for competitive gaming and the Anker AK-UBA for everything else.

I’m incredibly satisfied with my Anker and I’m sure you’ll be too if you decide to pick one up. Now it’s time to look into those fancy ergonomic keyboards…