# Kensington Expert Trackball

5 Hacker News commenters recommended Kensington Expert Trackball and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended as a non-keyboard pointing device, with reports of long-term daily use, including on Linux. One critic objects that its buttons remap only in software.

## Why people recommend it

- Good non-keyboard pointing device (1 comments): "the earlier Expert Mouse trackball have been pretty good for folks wanting an HID besides the keyboard" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46275166))
- Long-term daily use (1 comments): "my trusty Kensington Expert" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49307911))
- Regular use on Linux (1 comments): "see regular usage on Linux" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48196588))

## What people warn about

- Buttons remap only in software (1 comments): "The Expert doesn't have hardware remappable buttons, only software which IMO makes it no good." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49311020))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Ploopy A+ Trackball](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ploopy-a-plus-trackball.md): 6 recommend
- [Ploopy Adept trackball](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ploopy-adept-trackball.md): 6 recommend
- [Keychron Nape Pro](https://hackerapproved.com/p/keychron-nape-pro.md): 6 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Kensington+Expert+Trackball+Mouse&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Official site](https://www.kensington.com/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Kensington Expert Trackball", https://hackerapproved.com/p/kensington-expert-trackball/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).