Lexip's odd joystick mouse has potential, but fails in far too many ways

The Lexip mouse, aimed both at gamers and 3D creative types, sports ii "joysticks" that can be deeply configured to role in various means. Where your thumb rests (with both left-handed and right-handed options available) is a joystick, similar to those you might expect to notice on an Xbox controller. Additionally, the entire body of the mouse can be tilted forwards and back, from left to right, and also gear up with either keybinds, or other controls.

After dozens of hours of apply, I'grand even so struggling to see the point of this mouse, which not just comes with some harsh trade offs but seems to have been abandoned past the company that fabricated it. I only cannot recommend this mouse at this time, for various reasons.

Lexip 3DM Pro Specs

Analog stick and directional tilt controls
3200 dpi laser
7 programmable buttons
Safety clickable scroll bicycle
Safety sides
Ceramic feet

The adept

As far as mice get, the Lexip 3DM Pro is incredibly comfortable in the paw. It's on the smaller side compared to some other gaming mice out there, with rubberized panels on either side for some extra grip.

I'm quite picky when it comes to joysticks, simply I came abroad quite impressed by the Lexip 3DM Pro's.

The beat out itself is fabricated of black gloss plastics which are smudge-decumbent, simply at least easy to clean, and the click action feels satisfying and responsive. The mouse wheel also has a rubber texture, making it easy to push and pull, and offers a decent level of scrolling feedback.

As an Xbox fan with terrifying memories of the N64 gamepad, I'm quite picky when information technology comes to joysticks, only I came away quite impressed by the Lexip 3DM Pro'due south. Although results will vary hand to mitt, for me, it fits perfectly where I would usually residual my thumb, further towards the end of the mouse. The stick has proficient activeness and has a nice level of resistance, although it's a niggling hard to know how long information technology volition final with repeated use.

The mouse as well sports an boosted push button beneath the gyre bicycle, too configurable, complete with Gamer Certified RBG lighting, in add-on to 2 side buttons higher up the joystick. The buttons on the side perhaps have more travel than might be necessary or efficient, but it's hardly a deal billow.

Lexip managed to nail the basic fundamentals of mouse design, thankfully. But the production begins to unravel every bit you lot dive into its more unique features.

The bad

The Lexip 3DM Pro comes with a shell that tin can exist tilted, activating additional commands. You can configure these per game, so for example, playing Forza, you could configure a tilt left to steer left and a tilt right to steer right. It as well makes flight sims similar Elite Dangerous a piffling more than intuitive to play without the demand for separate peripherals similar a gamepad or flight stick.

Nevertheless, I just personally establish it to be incredibly unnatural feeling, and an attempt to reinvent the wheel.

Credit: Lexip.

Even later on short sessions of betwixt 30 and hour squeezing my manus to grip and so rotating my wrist to activate the tilts, I found my wrist and thumb joints hurting. The frontward tilt action besides makes the middle mouse click harder to achieve, which makes the entire product feel dislocated as different parts of the design are fighting for attention. I have no thought why I would use this over a gamepad, a keyboard and mouse set upwards, or a real flight stick.

It could be that my easily are only screwed up from a couple of decades of guitar play, gaming, and blogging, but no other activities or controllers hurt my hand and wrists like this. It would exist remiss of me to not mention it.

Additionally, in certain games, you merely don't want the tilt. It was pitched to me every bit a mouse for FPS gamers, but I can't imagine why you would e'er want to sacrifice accurateness to jerk the mouse around in that mode. When you tilt, information technology's almost impossible to non nudges the cursor effectually likewise, which just feels unintuitive.

When you tilt, it's almost impossible to non nudges the cursor around too, which just feels unintuitive.

Speaking of the cursor, the light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation Lexip has opted for lacks versatility versus the other mice I currently use, including Razer's Hex mouse and Microsoft's Surface precision mouse, both of which I tin can utilise on my wood desk without whatsoever issues. Lexip's, on the other hand, seems to demand a mouse mat of some sort, which is a piddling abrasive.

The concluding frustration comes in the class of Lexip's configuration panel, which is simply ugly and buggy compared to more polished solutions offered by established gaming companies. Lexip bodacious me that the software would amend over fourth dimension, but it's hard to say whether or not Lexip's control panel will accomplish the level of quality found in Razer Synapse software, for case. That is if y'all tin can even download information technology.

The ugly

Since existence sent this review unit, I switched PC from a Razer Blade to a Surface Book ii, as such, I needed to download the drivers and control console software in one case once again to get fix and continue using the mouse... however, the company's website no longer exists.

The websites listed on the Lexip 3DM Pro mouse itself, and the packaging, now redirect to the house'south Kickstarter page, as the company attempts to fund a new iteration of the very mouse I'm reviewing. I would be incredibly annoyed if I had purchased this, only to find Lexip was irresponsible enough to remove the software packages from the internet entirely. I have been told this is due to a technical error, but to redirect a website requires a deliberate activeness. The lack of support for existing customers reflects poorly on the visitor.

Odd future

PC gamers are ever on the lookout to gain a competitive border when it comes to PC accessories, and that desire for freedom has created a wide array of wacky products over the years. Lexip's tilt-capable joystick mouse seems like a solid concept, heaping on actress controls onto a unmarried device could potentially free up the demand for additional accessories. However, the execution in this particular version is far from commendable, but it doesn't really matter.

Every bit of writing, it is incredibly hard to find a place where y'all can fifty-fifty purchase this product. It seems every bit though Lexip has abandoned information technology entirely, and gone all-in on a Kickstarter for an updated version. A cursory (get information technology? brief? sorry) glance at the Kickstarter page seems to betoken that the but difference betwixt the 3DM Pro and the new one is an upgraded sensor, which goes from 3200 dpi to 8200 dpi. Although I'm sure at that place are other refinements, merely at this time, information technology's hard to know what they are.

Pros:

Comfortable in the paw.

Cons:

Tilt action is straining on the wrist.
Sensor lacks versatility on different surfaces.
Existing input methods are probably ameliorate.
Lexip'south website doesn't be, and then you can't download software.

With other refinements and fine tuning, I tin see this sort of feature set existence actually crawly. Perhaps some of those will be expressed in the updated version, but for now, the 3DM Pro version will doubtless join a long list of forgotten inventions that attempted to solve problems that had either already been solved, or didn't actually need solving.

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