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As I tested the Kinesis Savant Elite2 Triple Pedal, a set of foot pedals that connects to your computer via USB to control mouse actions, the idea of changing from finger clicks to foot taps seemed like it would be hard to master. But it was just the opposite.

This product has a much easier learning curve than I’d expected. Within a day, I was remembering to use my feet to click most of the time!

I also like that this product doesn’t replace or turn off other functionality. You can still use your mouse buttons like you always have, this just gives another option, which reduces frustration while you’re learning.

Ergonomic Benefits of Foot Pedals

Some of my work tasks have extended periods of mouse-intensive activity, to the point where I will take breaks specifically because of finger fatigue (particularly, click-and-drag activities like resizing or cropping images). Foot pedals work well for replacing this motion, taking stress away from the fingers and wrists.

This product is also unobtrusive. Some of us love new gadgets, but other people want to avoid anything that draws attention to their work area. This provides an ergonomics improvement that many people won’t even notice is being used.

Final Thoughts

If I had one wish for this product, it would be to have the ability to use a foot pedal to scroll, with the speed of the cursor adjusted based on the pressure put on a pedal. There may have been good workarounds to get closer to this, but the product manual didn’t make those options clear enough to try.

I would recommend this product as an option to offload work from the hands. It’s a great alternative for mouse-intensive tasks, and it’s easy to get used to.

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