Background: For robot-assisted telesurgery, the workstation, in particular the haptic handcontroller itself a robot, is paramount to the performance of surgery. Based on the requirements for microsurgery, a novel haptic handcontroller Excalibur has been developed. Methods: Thirty-two surgeons performed a peg-in-hole task (simulating micromanipulation) with Excalibur and two commercially available handcontrollers (Sigma 7 and PHANToM Premium 3.0). A modified Kuka endeffector with bipolar forceps, and Leica microscope completed the remote robotic site. Comparisons were made based on training time, task completion time and number of errors. All participants completed a questionnaire. Results: Repeated measures ANOVA demonstrated significance for task completion time (p=0.004), training time (p=0.021) and number of errors (p=0.004). Surgeons were faster with Excalibur (72s) than with Sigma (96s,p=0.005) and PHANToM (96s,p=0.036). Training time was shorter with Excalibur than with PHANToM (210s vs 310s,p=0.013), and users made fewer errors (0.7 vs 2.1,p=0.008). Training time required for Sigma (285s) and the number of errors (1.3) were not significant. The surgeons found Excalibur smoother, more comfortable, less tiring and easier to maneuver, with more realistic force feedback and superior movement fidelity. Conclusions: Surgical performance was superior with Excalibur compared to the other handcontrollers. This may reflect the microsurgical requirements and unique design architecture of Excalibur.