The FD V8 Ultrathin Silent Travel Mouse is an understated option in the diverse market of wireless mice. Some products from the heavy-hitters such as Logitech or gaming-specific manufacturers like Razer and Corsair develop products that are jam-packed with bells and whistles including numerous programmable buttons, lightning-fast return rates, and DPI sensitivity settings. If you don’t need any or all of that and prefer simplicity in your computer peripherals—and maximum portability—the FD V8 mouse stacks up on both fronts.
Design: Simple and streamlined
While simply designed, the FV V8 Ultrathin Silent Travel Mouse has a nice sheen on the top of the device and is available in alternate colors that highlight this marbled and shiny design touch. The black model I tested was more reflective than sparkly and accumulated smudges within seconds of handling it out of the box. At just 1.26 inches thick, it’s slightly bulkier than the Apple Magic Mouse and features a scroll wheel in addition to the typical right- and left-click main body functions. The scrolling mechanism offers good grip and control but also, unfortunately, picks up sticky lint with abandon. There are no thumb buttons, which means this is an ambidextrous mouse. Plus, its slim build makes it easily stowable in a small bag and the whisper-quiet scrolling won’t bother others at the office or wherever you’re working. And since it’s wireless, the lack of a cord and the dongle port inside the mouse decreases the chance that you’ll misplace the relatively small nano USB.
Performance: What you see is what you get
The FD V8 performs the way you’d expect a straightforward optical mouse to work. It did well on both light and darker surfaces with and without a basic mouse pad. I didn’t see any lagging or jumpiness from the mouse, but I also used it only for basic computing tasks such as web browsing and navigating documents. According to the user manual, this wireless mouse has a 500Hz polling rate, which is a popular starting point for gaming and head and shoulders above the default baseline of 125Hz on most non-gaming mice. This translates to the mouse sending an update to your computer every 2 milliseconds and relates to how quickly the pointer responds to your prompts. It also boasts a 1500 DPI resolution, which is also above average for your general-use wireless mouse that sits somewhere within the 800 DPI range. These stats for general use will not be incredibly meaningful since this is just a point-and-click kind of device. But it does back up the speedy and lag-free performance I witnessed. The manufacturer claims up to 36 months of use on a single AA battery and use for more than 3 million clicks. This mouse is also built with an automated sleep function that kicks in after five minutes of idling, which helps increase the battery life. But there’s no on/off button, so there’s little control over battery use.
Comfort: Quiet, but not great for long-term use
Clicks produced by this device are actually virtually silent, so FD’s claim that this mouse reduces the clicking sound you’ll find on most mice by 90 percent seems to hold up. The scroll wheel is also on the quieter side. While the hushed clicking experience was pleasant, the lack of buttons and customization diminished the overall comfort level where productivity is concerned. On a MacBook Pro, it adopted the default settings for natural scrolling (scrolling in reverse), which was simple enough to change through the macOS mouse settings. I could also make small tweaks to tracking and scrolling speed. But this mouse really wasn’t up for the job of switching between apps, desktops, and displays. I expected this relatively small device to be a good ergonomic mouse for my small hand. Even though it’s not ultra-thick, it’s a bit too wide so my ring and pinky fingers felt cramped as they often do with larger mice.
Wireless: Speedy and steady
Getting the FD V8 up and running is very simple. Just remove the 2.4Ghz USB dongle from the battery compartment and plug it into your machine. While this is a system-agnostic computer peripheral, setup was just a touch faster on Windows machines and on a Chromebook than on a MacBook—which took about 15 seconds. Once I established the wireless connection, it remained steady across devices and platforms. The V8 mouse is also supposed to be able to function within 30 meters from the wireless receiver. I couldn’t test this maximum transmission capacity, but I used it across the room at a distance of nearly 20 feet and experienced no issues. If you’re looking for a mouse you can stow in your bag for your next work trip presentation in a large conference room, this wireless mouse is a safe bet.
Software: Not available
The most significant drawback of how simple this mouse is is the lack of software. You can use your machine’s mouse settings to apply a bit of customization to the main clicking functions and scrolling speed, but that’s all.
Price: An appealing choice for bargain-hunters
The FD V8 is a bargain mouse at just around $17. If you don’t have a mousepad, you could easily grab one and this device for under $25. You can find similar budget-friendly models from the VicTsing brand for a few dollars less which may appeal to shoppers who aren’t demanding a lot from their wireless mouse. Of course, if you pay even less for a competing model, you’re not necessarily guaranteed the same conveniences or reliability.
FD V8 Ultrathin Silent Travel Mouse vs. Logitech Wireless Ultra Portable M187
The FD V8 Ultra Silent Travel Mouse is a no-frills wireless mouse that offers affordability and wide compatibility in a portable and plug-and-play package. The silent mouse clicks are a nice touch and if you don’t desire extra buttons or an ergonomic fit, this mouse will do just fine.
