Ploopy Adept Trackball Mouse Review

This trackball is available in several different ball and case color options. The small triangle below the trackball is a Ploopy company logo made of Canadian oak.

Overall, it has a distinct DIY aesthetic. Its case is entirely printed, which means it has a somewhat rougher look and feel compared to most commercially available trackballs. Note that we bought and tested a prebuilt model, but Ploopy also sells DIY kits that require you to 3D-print parts yourself.

The Ploopy Adept's trackball has a diameter of 1.75 inches. You can see that there appear to be multiple white spots on the ball in our 3D scan. However, this is only due to its reflective surface, and these spots aren't visible in reality.

Note that this trackball has a somewhat higher profile than other finger-operated trackballs with a 25° incline angle, which makes it comfortable and easy to reach all buttons. However, it may be fatiguing for some to use for long stretches.

There isn't a wrist rest included, and no official wrist rests are available for sale at the time of writing. However, there are two cutouts on the underside designed to accommodate a 3D-printed wrist rest. Some community members on the Ploopy discord have created compatible 3D-printable wrist rests. See one such example from the Ploopy discord server on GitHub here.

This trackball isn't designed specifically with portability in mind. While it has a fairly small footprint, it's quite bulky. The trackball is also removable, so it can easily pop out and roll around in transit if you don't secure it.

The Ploopy Adept has acceptable build quality. Its case is made of 3D printed parts, which look and feel noticeably rougher compared to smoother plastic pieces found on most commercially available mice. There are some noticeable imperfections in the plastic. However, these are cosmetic issues and don't affect the function of the trackball. The fit and finish of all pieces is very good. There's no unexpected flexibility, only minor creaking if you press the larger buttons forcefully sideways in their housing (video). This creaking isn't present when using the mouse buttons normally. There's also a minor popping sound if you press into the bottom of the ball housing compartment when the ball is removed. However, this doesn't present any issue when the ball is in its housing and you're using the trackball as intended.

The mouse uses ball bearings to help the ball roll. Ball bearing systems are noisier (see the Noise section below section for a sound test), but they provide consistent movement and reduce the risk of static friction or "stiction" issues, more common on trackballs that use static bearings.

Note: On Ploopy's product page and several pieces of documentation, the bearings are referred to as roller bearings. However, their designation (MR63ZZ) identifies that they're ball bearings, which is how we've referred to them throughout this review.

While this mouse is very heavy compared to conventional mice, it's designed to be stationary. Its weight helps keep it in place and doesn't affect how easy it is to move the cursor. The ball weighs 86.9g on its own.

Since you don't use a finger-operated trackball like a conventional mouse, the common grip types in our test aren't fully applicable.

The palm grip position highlights the hand placement we recommend for most people. It's a comfortable position, but it does require you to angle your palm upwards to rest your fingers on the trackball and reach all buttons comfortably, which may be fatiguing over longer periods.

The trackball diameter is fairly small and comfortable to use for all hand sizes. However, you may struggle to reach the full array of buttons without repositioning if you have smaller hands. Conversely, if you have extra large hands, you may have to angle your fingers more sharply to reach each individual button as the total footprint of the device is fairly small.

You can buy this trackball with or without an included USB cable. We chose not to buy a cable and used our own for testing.

This test is unscored because this is a stationary trackball. The weight and flexibility of the cable don't impact usability in the same way that it does for a conventional wired mouse.

Since this is a stationary trackball, this test is unscored. The four cork feet do a good job of keeping the trackball in place on desks.

We bought and tested a fully assembled Ploopy Adept without an included USB cable. However, you can also purchase an assembled kit with an included cable.

The contents of your box will depend on the kit you buy. For more details, see the Differences Between Sizes and Variants section.

You can reference an image of the default control mapping here. Note that the top middle right button is a drag click, which, when held down, allows you to scroll using ball movement.

You can reprogram all buttons on the Ploopy Adept using the VIA configuration software. You can also program gesture controls using QMK firmware. Ploopy's subreddit and public Discord channel provides helpful documents for setting up gestures.

This trackball has excellent click latency performance, providing a responsive feeling experience for casual or competitive gaming.

The Ploopy Adept has outstanding CPI performance. Its sensor delivers extremely good tracking accuracy, so the physical movements you make with your mouse translate closely to cursor movements you see on-screen.

Unfortunately, because this is a stationary trackball, we can't test sensor latency with our current methodology, which is designed primarily with conventional mice in mind. That said, the Ploopy Adept uses a PixArt PMW3360 sensor, a widely used and performant flagship sensor found on previous-generation gaming mice. We're confident the sensor latency performance is more than suitable for casual or competitive gaming, and we expect it's roughly in line with other mice we've tested using this sensor, like the GLORIOUS Model O. For more details about the design of this test, see our test article here.

You can't adjust the polling rate—it's set to its maximum of 1000Hz out of the box. You can change between preset CPI settings of 400, 600, 800, and 1200 CPI using the VIA configuration software by assigning a 'DPI Config' button. You can set your own custom CPI settings between 400 - 12000 CPI by changing the config file with QMK. For more details, see the Configuration Software section below.

The Ploopy Trackball doesn't have a typical scroll wheel like most conventional mice. To scroll up and down, you need to press and hold the scroll toggle button (top middle right button, by default), which allows you to scroll with the trackball itself. Scrolling with the ball is smooth with no step definition, but it feels very precise.

The main buttons on the Ploopy Trackball are fairly quiet. However, the ball bearings make ball tracking noticeably louder than most other trackballs. Ploopy notes in their advertising material that the ball makes a "sort of scratchy grinding noise." This noise has a fairly low frequency but may bother those around you if you're in a particularly noise-sensitive environment.

The Ploopy Adept uses VIA software for configuration and QMK firmware. You can access the web-based client on chromium-based browsers here. You may need to adjust your udev rules to grant device permissions if you're a Linux user.

VIA software is straightforward and well laid out. It allows you to configure expected settings like button assignments, media controls, macros, and drag-scroll options. Note that the CPI adjustments are handled in an unexpected way as you need to assign a 'DPI config' button (found in the CUSTOM tab) which allows you to cycle between preset CPI settings. If you want to set a custom CPI setting, you'll need to modify the config file and flash it to firmware with QMK.

You can reference documentation for using QMK to flash your own firmware on GitHub.

This mouse is fully compatible with both Windows and macOS.