Disappointed with Mantis

You could check out humanwares stuff, their braille is soft.

Also, i'd highly recommend going to a place and checking out a display before buying it.

Depending on where you live, that should be possible.

There's no point spending thousands if you don't have to.

First Humanware makes Mantis, so if you don't like Mantis Braille you won't like Humanware Braille. In my opinion Humanware's Braille is good and fairly soft. Possibly the Focus displays can be considered a little softer as they have adjustable firmness, I like to set it to 0.
The Brailliant and Mantis share most of the same software. So again if you don't like how the Mantis works in stand alone mode such as its menus and file viewer, you won't like the Brailliant.
I've not checked if the QBraille XL has had a firmware update in the past couple years. The last I used it I found it buggy and a bit frustrating. It is an interesting concept, I was intrigued with mixing function keys and Braille. But it doesn't work as well in practice as in theory. Part of it is the bugs I was encountering. And part of it just the limitations of trying to combine Perkins style keyboard and Windows shortcuts. As for the Braille itself, again subjective but I found QBraille XL to be sharper.
I am a fan of soft Braille and this is not really a refreshable display's strong suite. So if it is bothering your hands, I'd say to try the Focus series and be sure to turn firmness down. And then if possible try the Helptech (formerly HandyTech) concave Braille cells. They keep changing their name but I think it is currently HelpTech. Look for something like the Actilino (16 cells) to get a sense for their Braille. They have other ideas too with 40-cell options. They are not cheap though at least here in the U.S. Maybe the euro makes them more competitive, depending on where you are located.
That brings me to Orbit Research such as the Orbit Reader 40. But if you find Humanware Braille too sharp I don't see you liking Orbit Braille which is extreme firm.

The QBraille XL is no longer being manufactured. It has been superseded by the Braille eMotion.

This is why I shouldn't right about things like this.

The braille displays i had were the braille note, I got it in school and hardly used the thing, and much later on, the orbit braille device, I forget what its full name was now but it was the new, for the time, cheep one.

That braille was sharp, some people like that but I just found it a bit to much.

Anyway, I'll leave this topic alone and hope you find something you like.

Hi,

I haven't used a braille display in so long. the last braille display I had was a focus 40 blue, but that was when I had a windows laptop. Still, I'd prefer speech feedback rather than braille output. That's just my opinion.

One difference between Mantis and Brailliant is that you can get Brailliant in different sizes. I have the brailliant BI20X and it is perfect. It would certainly obviate the slipping off your lap problem. It has a Perkins keyboard so you need to be comfortable with that. Interesting what you say about not liking the Braille, though - I think you would be hard pushed to find something softer than the Humanware Braille cells out there, to be honest.

In my workflow, speech output has its place. so does Braille output. I am a massive Braille fan. I do hope you will find something you like. Don't worry about reading, say, a novel on a 20-cell display. It's absolutely fine.

Try Helptechs displays. They have everything you describedyou want. Website is helptech.de

I also think it might be worth looking into your reading technique. I know paper is softer, but maybe you could try using a lighter touch on the braille on your Mantis. Since it’s quite sharp compared to printed braille, we can probably skim it more.

Honestly, there won’t be a better alternative in the future. Pins are pins, and for the sake of readability and longevity, they’re made from a hard plastic. I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

As I said, maybe some practice skimming the pins instead of putting any weight on them might help. Good luck! Keep going too, braille is great, and I know there are barriers to it that no one seems to notice, like Kindle access for one, but it’s nice to read in silence in a world that, if you’re anything like me, is usually pretty noisy with speech.

The Q Braille is my favorite display for productivity. It's bulkier than your Brailliant or Focus but should fit on your lap no problem. There is a bit of a learning curve with their hybrid keyboard and it thoes sometimes require weird finger gymnastics. The Braille in Motion might also be worth looking at, I don't like it as much but it is significantly smaller.