Travel Mice

A travel mouse is designed to be small and flat enough to disappear into a laptop bag, which is a different goal from being comfortable for eight hours.

Be honest with yourself about the trade. A compact mouse is less comfortable for long sessions than a full-size one, because your hand cannot rest on it properly. The right answer for many people is a travel mouse in the bag and a larger one on the desk at home.

For travel specifically, Bluetooth is the better connection. There is no receiver to lose, and no USB port occupied on a laptop that may only have two. Where a mouse uses a 2.4GHz dongle, check whether the dongle stows inside the mouse — several do, and it is the difference between keeping it and losing it in a hotel room.

Other things worth having: silent clicks for use on a train or in a shared office, and a retractable cable on wired models.

The range covers Targus, Logitech, Dell and Evo Labs. See also Bluetooth mice.