Why Should You Look for a Gaming Mouse that Fits Your Natural Grip?
Even the world’s best eSport mouse will not help you win a single match online unless it suits your natural gripping style. Note that while it is possible to change the way you grip your mouse with practice, that is not recommended. Changing your natural grip in most cases will hamper your in-game accuracy, reaction time, and overall performance.
There are subtle changes that you can make to improve your performance in competitive games, but they generally do not involve changing one’s natural grip completely. You should never buy a gaming mouse and then change your grip to suit how that model is meant to be gripped.
Instead, you will need to figure out what your natural grip is and then buy a mouse that was designed for that specific gripping technique. There are three primary mouse grips used by most people, although there can be variations.
1. The Palm Grip
The palm grip is a classic gamer’s grip as it allows for a much wider range of movement, as well as better accuracy. Claw grippers may have a slight speed advantage over palm grippers, but the greater accuracy takes precedence in shooters. Check below to see if you have a palm grip.
- All fingers and a major portion of the palm always remain in contact with the mouse.
- The mouse is moved by the entire hand.
Mice designed for the palm grip tend to be longer with a gently sloping, medium humpback. The M300 RGB Lenovo gaming mouse and the Cooler Master MM720 are perfect examples of how a gaming mouse for the palm grip should be designed.
2. The Claw Grip
The range of hand movement needed to use the claw grip is medium, facilitated by very fast reaction times. Accuracy may not instantly be the strongest suit for those that use the claw grip, but it can be developed with coordinated practice. If you have a claw grip, you will be able to relate to the following characteristics.
- Fingers remain clawed over the mouse.
- The mouse is moved around by the thumb and the pinkie finger, while touching only a tiny portion of the palm.
A gaming mouse designed for the claw grip would be short and round with a humpback. The Razer Basilisk and the Lenovo Y Precision are good options worth considering for those that use the claw grip.
3. The Fingertip Grip
The fingertip grip is rare and best suited for tall gamers with long fingers. Do not attempt to adopt the fingertip grip unless it comes to you naturally because it can be painful, ineffective, and even damaging to your wrist in the long run. If it does come to you naturally though, then the potential speed and accuracy is quite an advantage. The fingertip grip is when:
- No part of the palm touches the mouse.
- All movements and clicks are controlled by the thumb and the fingers.
Due to the aforementioned rarity, very few gaming mice are manufactured specifically for the fingertip grip. If a mouse is indeed suited for the fingertip grip style, it will be very small with a very gentle slope or a complete flatback.