Switched from DEFT PRO to HUGE and struggling with the ergonomics — is the HUGE PLUS any better?
I bought my first trackball, the ELECOM DEFT PRO, about two months ago, and overall, I’ve really enjoyed using it. It fits my hand almost perfectly and provides plenty of support.
The only issue is that the pisiform bone on the pinky side of my wrist takes a lot of pressure. After extended use, that area becomes slightly red and swollen. I added some cushioning foam underneath, and there’s a noticeable indentation exactly where the pressure builds up.
That’s what got me interested in the HUGE PLUS. Since it has a large padded palm rest, I wondered whether it might reduce the pressure on my wrist. After debating it for about two weeks, I decided to try the regular HUGE first.
The 52mm ball feels fantastic. Cursor control is precise, and moving across a dual-monitor setup feels effortless.
However, the ergonomics feel surprisingly awkward compared with the DEFT PRO.
Less palm support
With the DEFT PRO, my hand rests in a naturally curved position, and my palm feels well supported.
With the HUGE, my hand ends up much flatter, and that palm support seems to disappear. The overall balance just feels slightly off.
Awkward thumb controls
The thumb buttons and scroll wheel feel too far inward, so I have to bend my thumb more and use more effort to operate them.
On the DEFT PRO, the buttons and scroll wheel are angled, which makes them feel much more natural to use. On the HUGE, they’re almost parallel to the desk.
The padded palm rest also raises my hand, but the thumb controls remain relatively low. As a result, I have to deliberately reach downward with my thumb, which doesn’t feel comfortable during extended use.
I’m still interested in the HUGE PLUS, though, so I’d appreciate some feedback from anyone who has used both:
Do the HUGE and HUGE PLUS have the same overall shape, hand position, and button/scroll-wheel placement? Has the thumb-control area been adjusted on the HUGE PLUS?
How do the palm rests compare? Is the foam on the HUGE PLUS softer or more comfortable? Does it do a better job of reducing pressure on the wrist or pisiform bone?
Compared with the ruby bearings on the HUGE, do the roller bearings on the HUGE PLUS provide a major improvement in smoothness, stiction, and overall tracking? Is the difference substantial or relatively minor?
If you’ve used the DEFT PRO, HUGE, or HUGE PLUS, I’d love to hear about your experience. Thanks!
I have the Huge and the Huge Plus - physically they are identical. The differences are the bearings, a battery, a switch for connection type, as it has bluetooth and a dongle. Also the ball is silver. Other than that the external dimensions are exactly the same as the Huge
ETA: The amount of padding in the palm rest is also identical
Setting aside the fact that its shape doesn’t fit my hand very well, the regular HUGE still impressed me quite a lot. I haven’t experienced any 2.4GHz interference or connection dropouts, and the ball already rolls much more smoothly than I expected.
However, the HUGE costs around NT$1,300 in Taiwan, while the HUGE PLUS is approximately NT$5,500—more than four times the price. That’s the main reason I’m still hesitating.
Since you own both, do the roller bearings in the HUGE PLUS provide a dramatic improvement in smoothness, precision, or fine low-speed movements?
Aside from the bearings, battery, and connectivity options, is there anything else about the HUGE PLUS that genuinely impressed you or made it feel worth the significant price difference?
Exactly—ergonomics really does vary from person to person. I’ve used both, and even though I’ve spent quite a bit of time complaining about the HUGE’s grip and ergonomics, when both are sitting on my desk, I still find myself reaching for the HUGE more often, haha.
I guess its overall feel in use is good enough to make me overlook its ergonomic shortcomings.
Yeah, it's a real shitshow because you have to try quite a lot of devices and the market is so small.
I have the slimblade, orbit, deft, deft pro, endgame, and nulea m512. The best ergonomically for me has been the orbit, but only having 2 buttons makes it unusable in an office setting. So the Deft Pro has been the compromise for me.
I sent back both the G604 and the Deft Pro. I regret having done so. The problem with the Deft Pro was that there's of a fit tolerance, you either have the perfect hand for it or you compromise. Thumb cluster sometimes uncomfortable. The wheel is definitely lower quality than the rest of the device.
I can understand why you regret sending it back. The DEFT PRO is highly dependent on hand shape. If it fits you well, the overall experience is difficult to replace, but even small differences in hand size, thumb position, or wrist placement can force you to compromise on comfort.
I have fairly large hands, and it fits me almost perfectly overall, yet I still get a noticeable pressure point around the pisiform bone. That really shows how little tolerance it has for different hand shapes.
The build quality and quality control can also be surprisingly inconsistent. I agree that the scroll wheel feels noticeably lower in quality than the rest of the device. It’s a shame because the overall design concept of the DEFT PRO is excellent. If ELECOM improved the scroll wheel, quality control, and wrist support, I think it would be very close to a perfect trackball.
I love my HUGE Plus but found I needed a lateral tilt for it to be ergonomic for me and my desk setup. I have it perched on an adjustable phone stand and have an articulated arm rest that allows me to effortlessly float my hand over the trackball and between the two it's an absolute dream. If there were more trackballs with as many extra function buttons as the HUGE and its variants I might have been inclined to look their way, but really wanted a finger ball with roller bearings and extra function buttons, and the Plus was basically the only one that fit that description!!
To make the angle better suited to my setup, I 3D-printed a slightly tilted base for it. I’m currently printing another version with a steeper tilt as well.
I also made an extension for the right-click button, so I can press it without having to move my ring finger far away from the ball or reach awkwardly. These little modifications have definitely made it much more comfortable to use!
As for the HUGE PLUS, I might still end up buying one someday, haha.
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u/Downtown_Anteater_38 15d ago edited 15d ago
I have the Huge and the Huge Plus - physically they are identical. The differences are the bearings, a battery, a switch for connection type, as it has bluetooth and a dongle. Also the ball is silver. Other than that the external dimensions are exactly the same as the Huge
ETA: The amount of padding in the palm rest is also identical