TL;DR: A vertical mouse that doesn’t suck at gaming. Comfortable, precise, affordable—but just a bit awkward in twitch shooters.

When I first unboxed the Keychron M5, I didn’t get that usual “gamer gear” rush—the one where RGB lights blind you before you’ve even plugged it in. No, the M5 felt different, almost suspiciously mature. It’s like the kid who used to chug Mountain Dew in class suddenly showing up at the reunion in a tailored jacket. This is Keychron’s vertical mouse, but not the clunky, productivity-only kind that belongs next to a corporate-issued Dell keyboard. No, the M5 is an ergonomic oddball that insists on being taken seriously as a gaming mouse.

The Shape That Defies Muscle Memory

Vertical mice are usually relegated to offices, not LAN parties. Yet here I was, wrapping my hand around the M5’s tilted 47-degree shell, and realizing it didn’t feel like torture. Instead, it was like shaking hands with my own setup. My wrist, which normally feels like it’s been put through a Mortal Kombat finisher after long nights of editing and gaming, suddenly chilled out. That handshake posture is weird for the first couple of hours, but it’s the kind of weird that starts to feel right once your brain rewires itself.

At 95 grams, the M5 isn’t featherlight, but it’s shockingly agile for a vertical design. The textured plastic doesn’t scream “premium,” but it does keep the thing from slipping when your palms get sweaty mid-match. And unlike a lot of so-called ergonomic hardware, it doesn’t look like a rejected medical device prototype. No chrome, no RGB. Just clean lines in black or white. Almost boring—but sometimes boring is exactly what works.

The Wolf in Ergonomic Clothing

Underneath its sensible exterior, the M5 hides a monster. A PixArt 3950 sensor with 30,000 DPI—comically unnecessary, but hilariously fun to brag about—and an 8000Hz polling rate that makes every micro-movement feel surgical. I’ve used plenty of high-end mice, but this thing responds like it’s reading my thoughts. The catch? That kind of responsiveness comes at a cost: battery life. At max polling, you’ll burn through its charge in around 40 hours. On Bluetooth, though, it stretches into the triple digits. Keychron has basically given you modes to pick your poison: comfort marathon or sweaty weekend sprint.

And to be clear: the wireless connection is flawless. On both my MacBook Pro and my Windows tower, I didn’t encounter a single hiccup. I almost forgot I wasn’t wired.

Gaming With the Tilted Beast

This is where the M5 plays both hero and villain. Fire up an RPG, a strategy title, or even a slower-paced shooter, and it’s glorious. My wrist stays relaxed, precision is top-notch, and I don’t feel like I’m missing anything. But drop into something twitchy—say, Counter-Strike 2—and that vertical form factor becomes the boss fight. I could feel the insane sensor power doing its job, but my hand just couldn’t snap to targets with the same confidence as on a flat, traditional mouse. It’s like trying to drift a family sedan: yes, technically possible, but not what the designers had in mind.

A Rare Software Win

Keychron’s web-based launcher was the surprise cherry on top. No massive downloads, no resource-hogging bloatware. Just a clean browser interface where I could tweak DPI, remap buttons, and assign macros. Done. For once, the software didn’t feel like the punishment you endure for daring to customize your hardware. The lack of RGB means there’s no light show to fuss over, which honestly fits the M5’s whole vibe: practical performance without the distraction.

My Take

The Keychron M5 isn’t trying to dethrone Razer or Logitech’s competitive darlings. It’s carving out a space for gamers who value comfort without wanting to downgrade to office gear. At £69.99/$69.99, it’s absurdly well-priced for what it packs inside. If your idea of gaming is sweaty ranked matches and esports ambitions, this isn’t your main mouse. But if you split your time between work, casual play, and the occasional competitive fling, this mouse is almost tailor-made for you.

Verdict:

The Keychron M5 feels like an experiment that worked. It’s ergonomic without being patronizing, powerful without being flashy, and priced in a way that makes rivals look greedy. It won’t replace your esports mouse, but for everyone else, it’s a refreshingly practical choice that doesn’t sacrifice soul for specs.