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Posted4 months ago
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You will quickly end up researching mechanical split keyboard market and start convincing yourself that 500-1000€ is not that expensive (sic!).
I made an adventure into mechanicals, around half a year on research and getting used to it. Configurability is amazing. Quality great. Noise was not a problem.
Ended up going back to some flat (laptop-like) dell keyboard and a vertical mouse instead. Because my hands started to stiffen up, hurt, the typical stuff. Keyboards were too high (with normal keys) and too expensive+weird (with low profile keys). I tried adding dedicated palm rests, changing habits a bit, changing bindings...
In the end I'm considering buying MS' Sculpt ergonomic keyboard again (it's the one that's actually split, low profile, with optional negative tilt. I think it's only sold with a mouse). It has a lot of flaws, but fatigue was not one of them.
What I'm trying to say: you may spend a lot of time, effort and money and still feel miserable. There are amazing builds out there, but don't forget non mechanical options exist.
Thanks for the advice!
Hacking keyboard I like the most, but it's still a gamble and add-ons almost double my cost. Too much for companies that don't have any distributor locally...
I also went with a minimal split keyboard and quickly started to feel pain. When I however looked at my desk/chair/screen, I found that they don't promote the correct posture. Once these were corrected, I got no pain at all.
I think the right lesson is that this is a journey, rather than a problem you can throw some money at once and have it solved.
You can spend insane money on hardware and still sit incorrectly.
I think I've narrowed down to the following:
- Glove80
- Microsoft Ergonomic Desktop
- Perixx : PERIDUO-505
- Mobility Lab : Clavier Sans Fil Ergo K30W
- Kinesis MWave (It's QWERTY and I need an AZERTY but I believe I can move the keys around).
I stopped using it as I could not get used to it.
I use a wired MS split ergonomic keyboard for daily work and seem happy with it. I use a simple logitech trackball as a pointing device.
I don't have any issues with this keyboard ..
I agree that the best thing would be to buy all the various keyboard I hesitate, use them for a while, and finally decide which one is best ... but it's costly :p
Once they discontinued it, InCase picked it back up: https://www.incase.com/collections/productivity-accessories/...
Along with maybe what looks like a replacement for your old one? https://www.incase.com/collections/productivity-accessories/...
There are also copycats (of the Sculpt). Two that I've tried and liked:
HP 960: https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp/hp-960-ergonomic-wireless-...
Matias Sculpted Ergonomic Rechargeable Keyboard: https://matias.store/products/fk413d (small Canadian company, but they make an amazingly tiny USB-C dongle compatible with many of their products)
I ended up using the HP more than the others, preferring its keyfeel over the Matias. But both are well-built.
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If you don't want the mass-market stuff, there are also many companies making more hardcore ergo keyboards (two-part splits, vertical orientations, customizable keycaps, more natural/curved arrangements, etc.). But those typically cost multiple hundreds of dollars, rather than the $100-$120 or so for the off-the-shelf kind I listed above. And they just feel a bit too extreme for my tastes...
One thing that makes me hesitant to buy one of these, is that I'm hoping that with one such as the Moonlander or the Glove80, I can replace the used part easily, which should cost less in the long run (but maybe I'm wrong here).
I'm not sure there. Keyboards are naturally consumables with moving and friction parts that will eventually need replacement. I'd be worried about whether those companies will still be around in a few years and still offer parts for older keyboards. I'm also not sure if replacing parts makes sense if the original one is 3x or 4x more expensive to begin with.
Personally, I'd just go with what feels most comfortable, and maybe buy two or three of them and store the extras. Paying a hundred or two for something you'll use every day for years isn't a big deal (hopefully), but comfort is!
Beware: Deep rabbit hole with hardly any escape... I built myself a non-ergo modded Logitech G515 with mill maxed Lofree Kailh Ghost switches (I eventually change this to Hades in the future), which was a ton of work, but I'm so happy everytime I use it.
If I had to buy one I would also have gone non-ergo with Wobkey Crush 80 or EvoWorks Evo 80.
The corne v4 is pretty popular and having Jlc3dp as a 3D print service all you need is time and patience. I recommend to also look for QMK / VIA Firmware as well as ZMK. They have lists of supported hardware.
Repairing mine is not possible, it's the wrist support that is worn out and it's glued to the keyboard...
Despite expensive, I think the purchase was definitely worth it. I use it every day for 6-8 hours (I have a very keyboard centric workflow) and I have not a single regret.
Even one new in box is unlikely to cost more than a current alternative if you are a little patient.
Since you mention "wired" there are boatloads of 4000's on the market all the time. Good luck.
I'm on my second Kinesis. Something about the function key connection (they're on separate boards internally) made them start failing intermittently after 3-4 years. After the third failure Kinesis had discontinued the replacement parts and I replaced the whole keyboard with a newer revision that has redesigned function keys which are going strong so far.
Kinesis supports key remapping if that's a thing you need.
Still a bit more expensive, but most similar with your MS Natural Keyboard, is the Kinesis mWave.
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