Best Palm Grip Mouse 2015

A comfortable mouse with a reliable sensor can greatly improve your results in competitive or cooperative online games. Give these a try.

Top 10 Palm Grip Gaming Mice

Find out about the best palm grip mice on the market with these quick reviews. I have created a list of ten mouse models best suited for palm grip style, which involves resting your entire palm on the body of the mouse.

It is a classic way of holding your mouse, widely used by professional FPS gamers. People who prefer this grip style often like bigger mice with a shape that can support your fingers. A good example is Razer Deathadder, which, incidentally, is my top pick.

Browse the list of the top palm grip mice below, and leave a comment if you think I have missed a great gaming mouse that absolutely deserves to be mentioned. You are also welcome to vote in the poll about the best sensor type (optical or laser), a common debate amongst gamers.

#1. Razer Deathadder

It's one of the best gaming mice in the world with a solid sensor and great shape.

Most PC gamers have at least heard about Razer, and many use their gaming gear themselves. Razer Deathadder is one of the most popular products from this company, and possibly the best gaming mouse ever created.

The latest incarnation of the mouse uses a reliable optical sensor (Razer calls it 4G, but it's actually a PixArt PMW3389) and features an ergonomic design for your right hand (the left-hand version is also available), two side buttons, a long braided cable, and 1,000 Hz USB polling for fastest response. It also includes slick PTFE (Teflon) feet for a smooth glide and adds to rubber side grips as compared to the earlier versions of Deathadder.

#2. Logitech G402 Hyperion Fury

The successor to the popular MX518 and G400 optical gaming mice.

Some people might disagree with giving this mouse the second place, but personally I've found Logitech MX518 and both of its successors to be highly reliable, accurate, and comfortable to use. The G402 works best with palm grip, but you might be able to use it with a hybrid fingertip grip as well. As opposed to MX518 and G400, the G402 offers more DPI (the sensor itself is very similar though), adjustable polling rate, and a different coating and color. The rest (size, shape, button placement) are exactly the same.

Unlike its predecessor, the optical sensor of this mouse has no prediction / angle snapping, and it can't be enabled through software. It's worth mentioning because while most people will consider this a pro, others might be used to angle snapping present on the older G400 (and even older MX518).

#3. ROCCAT Kone AIMO

It's a large and comfortable palm grip mouse with an 12,000 DPI optical sensor.

When it comes to palm grip, larger is usually better for comfort, and here Roccat's flagship gaming mouse doesn't disappoint. It offers the most features from all their products, as well as one of the top optical sensors available on the market (modified PixArt 3361, which they call "Owl-Eye"). The sensor behaves very well and offers optimum tracking on most mousepad surfaces, whether hard plastic or cloth.

Roccat Kone AIMO offers on-board profiles and macros, adjustable USB polling rate, spectacular RGB LED rails along the sides, and 8 programmable buttons as well as a 4D mouse wheel. If you don't mind the higher price tag, this palm grip mouse should serve you well in FPS, RTS, and other games.

One feature that did not make the cut from its predecessors, however, is adjustable weights—the mouse is rather hefty at 130g and that's what you're stuck with.

#4. SteelSeries Rival

It's a classic ergonomic shape with the reliable Avago ADNS-3310 sensor.

Along with Razer, SteelSeries is one of the most popular gaming gear makers. Their newest offering is SteelSeries Rival, a mouse which goes back to the basics with its shape inspired by classics like the Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer 3.0, and an optical sensor, which is often preferred to laser by gamers. It features switches designed by SteelSeries themselves, and added rubber grips on the sides for tighter control. SteelSeries Engine 3 allows the user to customize the usual settings, such as DPI, acceleration, polling rate, programmable buttons, and so on.

Of course, SteelSeries wouldn't be themselves if they didn't add some eye-candy. RIval features two separate 16.8 million color illumination zones, as well as switchable nameplates. The manufacturer suggests you print your own custom ones if you have a 3D printer.

#5. BenQ ZOWIE EC2-B

This is a popular palm grip gaming mouse with an optical sensor.

EC1 eVo is a solid ergonomic gaming mouse for palming. It uses an improved optical sensor which offers flawless tracking even at high speeds, and has no prediction. BenQ, who purchased Zowie Gear, also managed to reduce the lift-off distance to as low as 1.5 mm, and boost the USB report rate to 1,000 Hz, resulting in a 1 ms response time. The mouse features rubber coating for a stable grip even if you get sweaty palms during those long gaming sessions.

This is an improved version of the discontinued EC1 model, developed in cooperation with the legendary Counter Strike player HeatoN.

#6. Mionix Naos 8200

This is a great laser gaming mouse from Mionix.

Naos 8200 is the latest palm grip mouse from Mionix. It features an ergonomic design which supports all five fingers, rubber coating, 128 kb built-in memory for on-board profiles, 7 programmable buttons, and large PTFE skates. The mouse uses a powerful Avago ADNS-9800 laser sensor (same as in several other high-end gaming mice), which sadly has minor built-in positive acceleration that can't be turned off via drivers. All-in-all, it's a properly-shaped, large mouse that should delight palm grippers around the world.

Putting the hardware aside, Mionix has a useful and unique bit of software titled S.Q.A.T (Surface Quality Analyzer Tool), which will help you determine if your mouse pad is suited for the sensor of Naos 8200.

#7. CM Storm Sentinel III

This is a large palm grip gaming mouse with weight tuning.

The shape of CM Storm Sentinel III is well-suited for palm grip. This ergonomic mouse features a pretty unique and cool-looking design which incorporates plastic, metal, and a back-lighted mesh. Sentinel III offers 8 programmable buttons, 512 Kb on-board memory to store your settings and macros, and LED indicators for DPI changes. The device uses a high-end, acceleration-free optical sensor Avago 3988 which is very precise and tracks at up to 3.8 m/s velocity before malfunctioning (which is why several other manufacturers used it for their flagship products as well). Its weight can be fine-tuned using a built-in weight adjustment system which contains five 4.5 g weights.

CM Storm Sentinel III is the latest mouse from Cooler Master aimed specifically at palm grip users.

CM Storm Sentinel III specs page

#8. CM MasterMouse MM531

This is a smaller-sized ergonomic laser mouse.

MasterMouse MM531 from Cooler Master is a worthy successor to the discontinued CM Storm Mizar. It might be called one of those "universal" mice: while its ergonomic, elongated shape is best suited for palm grip, its slightly smaller size opens up new possibilities for claw grippers as well. Thus, if you're looking for the largest mouse you can find, this is not it; on the other hand, people with small hands should be able to grip this new offering comfortably.

The MasterMouse MM531 features the popular Pixart PMW-3360 infrared optical sensor, 7 programmable buttons, rubber grips on the sides, three-zone RGB lighting, and onboard memory for your profiles and button assignments.

With its elongated shape and rubber grips on the sides, the MasterMouse MM531 was designed with a palm grip gamer in mind.

Official MasterMouse MM531 specs page

#9. Corsair Scimitar Pro

This is a MMORPG gaming mouse with 15 programmable buttons.

The older brother of Vengeance M60 (which is more suited for FPS games), the Scimitar Pro is built from the ground-up for MMO players, and is a successor to the company's older M95 model. It comes with a pretty high price tag, but people looking for a mouse with enough buttons to bind every skill for their MMORPG character will love this one.

For increased comfort during long gaming sessions, the Scimitar boasts an ergonomic chassis, textured side button grips, and a rubberized scroll wheel. Parameters like USB response rate and button functions can be adjusted via Corsair's gaming mouse software, and stored in the onboard memory. Since this is an MMORPG gaming mouse, as many as 15 programmable buttons are offered.

It should be noted that it's debatable whether the Corsair Scimitar Pro is better suited for claw or palm gripping. For one, the numerous side buttons might be harder to access if you attempt to fully "palm" the mouse. An alternative for the MMO player would be Razer Naga, which features 3 interchangeable side grips, one of them being large enough to support your palm.

Corsair Scimitar Pro RGB is built from the ground-up for the demanding MMO gamer.

Official Corsair Scimitar Pro spec page

#10. A4tech Bloody Series HeavyWeight Ultracor3

This is an FPS gaming mouse with powerful macro capabilities.

A4Tech Bloody v7 gaming mouse provides good value for the price. Its shape supports your fingers and the rubberized top helps keep your grip steady. An unusual, but welcome thing about this mouse is that its sensor is covered by a second lens to prevent accumulation of dust and dirt. The sensor in question is the optical PixArt PAW 3305DK, which is far from worst.

It is a pretty good mouse by itself, but A4Tech is really promoting its use with their Ultra Core3 software, which gives you an unfair advantage in FPS games by suppressing recoil and allowing you to adjust the shooting rate. Of course, many would consider this to be cheating. Another important point is that the aforementioned software isn't included with the mouse and has to be purchased at A4Tech's online store. Then again, the mouse will work fine without it, and is fairly inexpensive compared to similar Razer or Logitech products.

A4Tech may not have the same brand recognition as Razer or Logitech, but this Chinese company offers good products at affordable prices.

Official A4Tech Bloody Ultra Core 3 specs page

How to Choose the Best Mouse Mat Depending on Your Sensor Type

For everyday tasks, you can pick up any cheap mouse pad, or even forgo it altogether. You will find, however, that almost all pro gamers use a high-quality mouse pad to achieve the best tracking quality and smooth glide. Generally you should go with a soft (cloth) mouse pad—such as SteelSeries QcK—for an optical sensor, and a hard (plastic) pad - Razer Sphex, for example, if you're using laser. There are always exceptions to this rule, but in most cases you will get the best results this way.

anon on March 03, 2015:

G400s doesn't have angle snapping, MX518 and earlier version of G400 do.

anonymous on May 07, 2013:

All of these are to small for me...

OnlinePurchaseAdvisor on March 20, 2013:

that was a great list of awesome gaming mouses.... i would love to have it.

anonymous on December 18, 2012:

How could you forget "Steelseries Ikari" mouse it is one of the best palm grip/ergonomic mice there is.

JoshK47 on November 23, 2012:

Very good selections here - thanks so much for sharing!

Lorelei Cohen from Canada on November 22, 2012:

I think you give wonderful reviews of palm grip mice and know oh so much more than I do on the subject.

anonymous on July 10, 2012:

lol so many times to have said this butwhat is an optical mouse? and a laser mouse? optical is the one that has the ball in it?

anonymous on July 10, 2012:

what is the difference between laser and optical gaming mouses?

anonymous on May 28, 2012:

@anonymous: Even Mionix 5000 and Kone+? Mionix in particular is very wide, supporting all fingers (although it's not very tall, e.g. it is low-profile). These are all considered large as far as gaming mice go.

Although if you have huge hands perhaps none of the so-called popular "gaming mice" will work. Sharkoon Fireglider (silly name, I know) is pretty large as far as I know. Or you might look into A4Tech (cheap but good Chinese brand) mice, although I believe they're hard to get in the US.

biggking lm on May 28, 2012:

i prefer the r.a.t. 7!

anonymous on May 13, 2012:

I went to amazon and read every single review for every single one of these mice. In every single review, at least one person mentions the mice will not work for a large-hand palm-grip. I'm sick of trying to find a mouse big enough to fit my hand for a palm grip, I have spent months looking. I have a death adder and a G500 and they are way too tiny. I'm only 6'2, and can barely palm a basketball. Here's what I did, I took my G500 and slapped some steel bonded epoxy on the back of it. It looks like a piece of trash and added a ton of weight, but after 15 years of gaming mice not satisfying a huge industry deficit, I finally have something that fits.

WriterJanis2 on December 31, 2011:

Very well done.