"Press space to highlight current word nnoremap <silent><space> \ :let @/='\<<C-R>=expand("<cword>")<CR>\>'<CR>:set hls<CR>
Ooooh that is great! I use *# every time and am then annoyed when the n key goes backwards instead of forwards and then I try to remember to do #* instead and pff... ^^ This will solve those issues!
Edit: also because I try and keep my keybinds as close to default as I can, and <space> is oddly underused.