Computer peripherals run the gamut from basic to completely decked out, and the Logitech Marathon Mouse M705 sits on an appealing middle ground between the two. It isn’t the fanciest or most robust option on the wireless mice market, but the three-year battery life can’t be beaten for the price and it also comes with five programmable buttons, tilt-scrolling, and two scrolling speeds. This wireless mouse is also compact and comfortable for small-handed folks who struggle with finding a suitable fit from most wired and wireless mice.
Design: Compact and comfortable
The Logitech Marathon Mouse M705 sports a small and squat build that’s neither too long (4.76 inches) or tall (1.65 inches) for smaller hands. While it’s compact, it always felt stable in my hand, thanks to the solid nearly 5-ounce weight. This mouse also bears impressive button flexibility. In addition to two thumb buttons, the scroll wheel includes a button prompt along with two independent right and left functions. The button below the scroll wheel also conveniently allows a shift from notched to hyper-fast scrolling. All five buttons are easy to reach and are very quiet and responsive. Other nice design touches include the shape of the device, which is rounded in a way that allows for enough surface area for the palm. And thanks to a gray matte surface, you won’t be plagued by smudging and fingerprints that are noticeable and on glossy wireless mice. There’s also an easy-access power button on the bottom to help conserve the impressive three-year battery life.
Performance: Responsive and works on most surfaces
The M705 uses what Logitech calls High Precision Optical Tracking, which offers highly tuned cursor control and extended battery performance. This sensor technology also supposedly allows this mouse to function on most surfaces including solid, patterned, textured, and semi-glossy surfaces. This was the case on a range of wood surfaces, on a dark mousepad, and it even worked on a marbled countertop—though it was the most erratic there. Rated at a 1000 DPI sensor resolution, the Logitech M705 isn’t fast like a gaming mouse, but it offers enough sensor and tracking accuracy to consistently complete basic computing tasks. I also noticed more frequent sputtering and jumpiness of the mouse when using a mousepad. Optical mice don’t require a mousepad, but you could find yourself frustrated if you prefer to use one at all times.
Comfort: Scrolling and navigation made easier
As someone with small hands, finding a comfortable mouse can be a challenge. The M705 allowed me to place my hand in a slightly elevated, relaxed position with little strain. The five programmable buttons made use even more comfortable, especially features like the tilt scroll wheel for horizontal scrolling (great for spreadsheets and large photo files) and the thumb buttons that offer fast easy back and forth between tabs or shifting between desktops. I didn’t have to move my fingers much at all to access these buttons near the thumb, which is something I normally have to do. It was also easy to and comfortable to quickly shift from notched to smooth hyper-scrolling for silent and rapid scrolling up and down pages.
Wireless: Benefits from Logitech unifying software
The M705 works with a Logitech Unifying USB receiver, which functions in a very straightforward plug-and-play way. This tool also allows you to pair more devices to it, if you have another Logitech mouse or peripheral like a wireless keyboard. It’s also small enough to leave in your computer at all times or stow in the mouse when traveling. The wireless receiver offered easy and instant pairing every time on both macOS and Windows laptops and I never experienced pairing issues or signal drops even when I tested this mouse from 20 feet away from the receiver. Logitech says it’s good for a range of a little over 30 feet.
Software: Logitech Options makes customization simple
Logitech Options makes it easy to customize the M705’s buttons according to your action preferences as well as change scrolling and pointing speeds. You’ll have to log in or create an account with this software so that your device settings are saved. But it’s worth it since the system also creates device backups and is automatically set to send you an alert when the battery is low. There aren’t more advanced settings available for the device in the software, such as specific, trackable DPI adjustments, but all of the controls you’ll want for the five buttons are easily programmable with a click of the button you’d like to customize. They’re also just as quick to reassign as you please, which means experimentation yields instant results until you find the right fit.
Price: Good value for the long battery life and buttons
The Logitech Marathon Mouse M705 retails for about $50, which makes it a step up from budget models that are $25 and below. There really are no similarly priced rivals that boast the same battery longevity, programmable buttons, and scrolling options. Instead, there are more expensive options like the Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Mouse which doesn’t offer as many of the same features and platform compatibility.
Logitech Marathon Mouse M705 vs. Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic
While the scroll wheel makes four-way scrolling possible, there are no programmable buttons on the Sculpt. There’s a Windows hotkey that will take you to the start menu, though depending on the Windows version you’re working with and if you use a MacBook some users have reported that this button requires finagling to make it effective. In addition to the typical left, right, and scroll wheel buttons, the Sculpt has a hidden thumb button that serves as a handy back button when browsing the web—but no button customization beyond that. Another drawback is that the dongle is quite larger than the Logitech USB wireless receiver and the device is also only compatible with macOS versions 10.10 and older. The Logitech Marathon Mouse M705 is a small, long-lasting, ergonomic wireless mouse that offers convenient options beyond the basics. The notched and hyper-speed scrolling, back and forth buttons, and side-scrolling capability contribute to making this a speedy and reliable computer peripheral that will help you work and browse with ease.
