Hey everyone, here is a quick review of the latest CST L-Trac-X.
This is the one with 3200CPI and the ability to add two more inputs.
This was my latest purchase, been using it for the past month and I am quite happy with it!
I will not show any photos of the internals because they are readily available on geekhack.
Here are my thoughts:
Initial Arrival:
Package arrived relatively fast.
There isn't much packing for the trackball itself, it is held in place by a piece of cardboard in a strong cardboard box.
When I first took it out of the box, it seemed a little cheap to me.
Construction:
The full plastic construction makes it quite light.
However, the plastic molding is not fully even if one looks carefully enough.
I can tell where the plastic supports are underneath the cover.
Maybe the plastic cover layer is too thin.
This does not really bother me much but for such an expensive item, could be better.
For some reason I was expecting an aluminum scroll wheel but it is plastic. That is fine, my fault.
However, the scroll wheel has some horizontal play in it and can shift from side to side.
Once again, another quality issue.
Sort of bothers me but oh well, I can add a washer or something later.
It is easy to take this trackball apart with the 3 screws and always to maintain and mod it yourself with ease.
Price:
I bought it from Fentek-Ind and it was quite expensive for a pointing device.
I was about to go for the Kensington Slimblade but went with this instead because of the high quality.
Another reason was the customizability of this one compared to the others, I always like to tinker.
Usability:
I use this on a daily basis with no issues.
The main reason I wanted a trackball was to relieve some of the strain on my wrists.
Been using many mice with my right hand since I started using computers and it is starting to take its toll.
I am only 21 gee...
I can comfortably use it for many hours with no wrist pain and have even converted to using my left hand with the CST.
I still have a mouse for my right hand when I am 3D modeling as I still have not adjusted to using the CST with that software yet.
For general browsing and some programs such as photoshop, illustrator and CAD, this is a great trackball.
Very easy to adjust.
My only one gripe is that it only has 3 buttons.
I wish it had 2 more for back and forward like mice usually have these days.
I guess I have to mod it soon and add in those two additional inputs
The Superior X software is great and simple, lets you assign a plethora of functions to the mouse buttons.
Changing the CPI is super easy too and the color indicators clearly display what setting you have.
Side profiles
I am thinking of adding a wedge of some sort to lift the back end of the trackball.
This will make my wrist more level and closer to horizontal which will in turn relieve more strain on my wrist.
Desk shot!
By the way, thanks webwit for the IBM RGB set!
It is very nice!
Sadly, the stems on 1 Alt and 1 Shift were broken in shipment so I am only using a few of the keycaps.
I will try krazy gluing the broken stems back together!
