VAXEE NP-01 Ergo Wireless (8K) mouse thoughts

VAXEE sent over another mouse to take a look at with the VAXEE NP-01 Ergo Wireless (8K), so I've been using it for a few weeks to see what I think.

They previously sent over the wired VAXEE Outset AX back in 2021, and that is still going strong with constant usage today. Their build quality is definitely good. I have absolutely no issues with how it all fits together and stands against the test of time, and kids with sticky sweaty fingers. They probably do some of the best-built mice around. This time, they wanted me to check out their wireless offerings with the VAXEE NP-01 Ergo Wireless (8K).

Unlike certain other wireless mice, it doesn't use a tiny USB receiver or Bluetooth. Instead, you get a small base station that sits on your desk, acting as both the wireless receiver and a configuration tool, with buttons to swap between different modes.

Starting with the actual mouse buttons - they're impressive. The left and right clicks feel exactly how a mouse should. In my weeks of testing I've not had even one miss-click due to the great feel when resting on the buttons. They have the perfect amount of pressure needed for work and play. They have a satisfying but not too loud click to them. As for the side buttons, they are silent and still need some pressure to push down, but again - exactly how I would want them to be with what feels like the perfect balance.

The scroll wheel is easily one of the best I've used, which really was a highlight with how much I scroll around things day-in day-out. It has exactly the right amount of feedback between each point on the wheel, and exactly the amount of force I feel should be needed to click in the button while preventing miss-clicks without being annoying to press. Great stuff there. Seriously, this might be my absolute favourite wheel of any mouse I've ever used.

Specifications:

It's available in multiple colours:

Personally, I love the Purple model they sent. It looks supremely smart.

In actual use, the tracking has been completely flawless. I've had no issues with wireless drop-outs, wake-up delays or strange sensor behaviour.

What about the shape and weight? I hold my mouse quite firm against my palm with a claw, slightly tilted to the left (mainly due to a permanent hand injury). The weight and shape feel close enough to perfection that I can comfortably use it all day without issue. The skates / pads on the bottom are a delight too, allowing it to glide very easily over my mouse pad without feeling too slippery.

Tip: you can use the eloshapes website to compare the exact shape to others.

A disappointing area is the battery life. With the default of Competitive Mode (2,000 Hz) being turned on, you get somewhere around 26-30 hours before it needs to be charged. You get a lot more hours if you put it into the standard modes though, about 100 or so hours on Standard Mode as you can see in the table above. I always have a USB hub and cables on my desktop, so charging is not an issue for me, but I would have liked it to be longer. And yes, you can use it while it's charging just to be clear.

The one thing I couldn't get to work on Fedora KDE 44 is their web-based configuration tool. It seems to need a Chrome browser, and Chrome is able to detect it and allow me to authorize it - but even then when connected it didn't seem to detect it properly to be able to adjust anything. Not really a problem for me, since I haven't needed to adjust anything at all - but it's a real sticking point if you're all-in on Linux. Hopefully they'll improve on that.

Outside of configuration, the mouse itself has worked perfectly on Linux. Just connect the receiver and it's essentially plug-and-play.

My main gripe with it though? My gosh the casing is just too smooth. I tend to prefer my mice now to have some sort of minor texture to them to prevent slippage. Don't get me wrong, the shape is incredibly comfortable but just a slight texture where you grip it would have been a big improvement to it and make it nearly perfect with the shape of it.

Overall, it's a very well-built and exceptionally comfortable mouse with excellent tracking, great buttons and what might be my favourite scroll wheel I've used. If competitive gaming and fast response times are your thing, and you don't mind the regular charging in Competitive Mode, it's a top-class mouse. It's certainly not cheap though - priced usually about USD $149.99 / EU €169.99.

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