Types of Mouse Grips

Over the years gaming community has developed some mouse-holding techniques that can produce outstanding results when used correctly.

In reality, how you hold the mouse for gaming is a matter of personal preference, which is why there is no perfect grip style. You have to find yourself the right grip for you or invent one. Keep reading to find out how.

How you hold the mouse also depends on what type of game you are playing and how the situation in the game requires you to react with your mouse.

So it becomes your duty to find the most accurate mouse grip to play the game. In this post, you will find everything you need to know about types of mouse grips.

Types of mouse grips

There are mainly three types of mouse grips.

Palm Grip

The palm grip is the most natural grip style among all the mouse grips. Your 60% to 70% of your hand is in contact with the mouse.

The palm grip poses less fatigue to your hand, which is why it is the most hand-friendly and relaxed grip.

With the palm grip, your entire hand rests on the mouse; including all your fingers and most of the palm area.

The palm grip is good for arm aiming.

Claw Grip

With a claw grip, your fingertips are in contact with the mouse, and a small portion of your palm gets in touch with the mouse’s rare arch area.

When you hold the mouse like this, it resembles a claw.

Some of you may be confused and think it’s a variant of palm grip, but it’s not. Claw grip has a different use in the game.

A Claw grip allows you to flick quickly with better control over mouse movements.

The Claw grip is suitable for wrist aimers.

Fingertip Grip

With a fingertip grip, you maintain the least contact with the mouse body; your fingertips touch the mouse. Your palm does not touch the mouse’s body or remains in the air.

Fingertip grip is also known as tip grip; it’s the most challenging grip to master and provides the gamer most swift movement with speed and accuracy. You can shoot multiple targets with precision.

Fingertip grip is suitable for finger aimers. You can use your wrist when required.

What is the difference: Palm vs. Claw vs. Fingertip grip

By looking at the above mouse grip comparison table, you could infer that the claw grip is a combination of a palm grip and a fingertip grip. In fact, it’s not. Claw grippers have different goals which palm and tip finger grips can’t achieve.

The palm and fingertip grip is the complete opposite of each other in how you hold a gaming mouse.

Palm grip uses elbow and arm force to control mouse movement. You can make large gliding motions. It is considered the most ergonomic grip among all the grips because of its relatively low-tension grip style.

Claw and fingertip grip are more strenuous styles of holding the mouse because you have to put more pressure on your fingers and wrist.

Both tip and claw grip styles are best for speedy flicks with accuracy but not good for tracking targets. They both offer different types of agility that you can use depending on the game and situation.

Hybrid Grip Style: Your own mouse grip

A hybrid grip is a mix of the claw, palm, and tip grip styles, or you find your way of holding the mouse based on standard mouse grips.

All three standard grips described above provide the foundation for holding the mouse in different way.

A hybrid grip is unique to you because you invent it. But how? Just read on; you’ll know.

For instance, check the below image of a hybrid grip.

You can see that the palm is resting on the mouse arch, the finger on the mouse M1 button is placed in fingertip grip style, and the finger on the M2 button is curled like claw grip style.

Also, notice that the hand palm is tilted to one side of the mouse. This is a perfect example of a hybrid grip using all the standard styles with your own touch.

Below are some more images of pro gamers who have kind of hybrid mouse grips.

Mouse grip is all about how your hand contacts the mouse. I found an interesting infographic describing the variety of ways to hold the mouse using different parts of the hand. I am attaching here for your interest.

 

Hybrid grip is your way of holding the mouse that suits you and you feel comfirtable with it.

What does poll data say about gaming mouse grip types?

I collected data from Reddit, Quora, and some other credible channels and gaming forums to find the most popular gaming mouse grip type.

Which is the most popular gaming mouse grip overall?

The first poll result that I found is from Reddit; four mouse grip options were given palm grip, claw grip, fingertip grip, and hybrid grip.

Surprisingly, the hybrid grip is the most popular one among all the grips, with 37.6% of the users using the grip.

The most frequently used combination for hybrid grip is palm/fingertip and palm/claw, according to the poll.

On the second number is a claw grip with 27.5% votes, fingertip grip is voted by 22%, and palm grip used by 12.9% of users.

I expected the palm grip to be the most used mouse grip, but my guess was wrong. The poll result showed quite the opposite results.

Reasons to choose mouse grip.

The poll above also asked participants why they choose the mouse grip they voted for. The answers are interesting; I am listing them in top-down order according to frequency of selected answers.

1) The top reason to use their preferred mouse grip is that it feels natural.

2) The second reason to choose their favorite mouse grip is comfortness

3) Thirdly, because its good for aiming

4) The last reason was the shape of the mouse; it influenced them to choose the grip they were using.

Which is the best mouse grip for aiming?

Here is another poll that specifically asked about the best mouse grip for first-person shooter games. This poll narrowed the scope based on the game genre.
A gaming veteran conducted the poll on his channel. Around 3,817 participants voted in the poll.
The question was, which grip is best for aiming?

As per the result, claw grip topped the poll result with 40% votes. I was predicting the same outcome. Followed by palm grip with 29.5%, fingertip grip remained the least mouse grip to be used for first-person shooter games.

There is no specific mouse grip that can be attributed to FPS games that require aiming. Every FPS game has a different pace, and you can pick the mouse grip that suits you and is beneficial in the game.

Which is the most popular mouse grip that professional gamers use for FPS games?

All the above poll results were not from pro gamers. I mean, anyone can vote, even a beginner or nongamer can participate.

So I decided to collect data about the mouse grip that professional gamer use. I selected a hundred pro-level FPS gamers whose mouse grip style is known, and the information is in the public domain.

Below is the result.

As per the collected data, the claw grip remains the favorite mouse grip, with 40% of professional esports players using it.

The second most used mouse grip is the hybrid grip, with 26% of pro players using it, 22% using the palm grip, and the fingertip is the least mouse grip used by professional gamers.

After analyzing all the data and poll, it’s evident that the claw grip is the most popular and suitable mouse grip for fps gamers.

How to select a mouse grip that suits you?

To answer this question I want to quote a well-known gamer, “Pengu” whose original name is Niclas Mouritzen. He is retired and talks about gaming on social media platforms. 

“In my world, the palm grip is nice for lower sens and ergonomic. Use Fingertip/claw for precision, although it will cause more wrist strain in my experience.”

All these mouse grip styles have different specialties and different levels of control on mouse movements. You have to find youself what is best for you.

If you want to choose the mouse grip that suits you, I suggest first you go over the below topics.

How to Palm grip a mouse

How to Claw grip a mouse

How to Fingertip grip a mouse

The following factors also impact on the mouse grip performance for playing games.

1) Gaming mouse

2) Mousepad

3) Mouse skates

4) Mouse size

5) Mouse shape and profile

6) Mouse weight

7) Mouse switches

Conclusion

Each type of mouse grip offers different levels of mouse control, speed, and perception that can be used in different games based on the game tempo and style.

Then there is hybrid grip, your own style. With time, you figure out how you should grip the mouse for maximum comfort and performance.

Choosing a mouse grip is not a matter of choice it’s more like a journey. You develop your mouse grip over time by experimenting and trying different styles.

I suggest you read all the posts I have recommended above to understand each mouse grip and other related factors that can influence the performance in the game.

Frequently asked questions

Which mouse grip is healthiest?

The most ergnomically sound mouse grip is palm grip because most of your hand rest on the mouse body and fingers are placed in relaxed position.