4 ms·

> Shoveling in expensive ergonomic equipment is little different from shoes or bags or guns or radios or funko pops. It is and it isn't. It depends if/when you

> Shoveling in expensive ergonomic equipment is little different from shoes or bags or guns or radios or funko pops. It is and it isn't. It depends if/when you stop. I just got $250 keyboard. My last one was also in that range. Though it lasted me around 10 years. I don't think its evil wanting to have nice things. Its problem when 'you life to buy things, not buy things to live.'

tetris11 6y ago
I have never spent more than 30 € on a keyboard and mouse combo, and that's over the span of the last 10 years... I have never peeked over the price wall into the higher end stuff because it genuinely has never occurred to me that my current keyboard+mouse were hindering my productivity. High contrast screen? Sure, squinting hurts. Office-cancelling headphones? Sure, loud noises ruin my concentration But keyboard and mouse have never been am issue... When did you start to suspect that you needed to get a better keyboard?
- zadjii 6y ago
  For me, it was about 2 weeks ago. My left wrist is just a _little_ sore, but constantly. I've noticed that if I rotate my keyboard towards my left hand, the pain gets better, so now I'm starting to think that it's something that I'll need to actually get better hardware to prevent getting worse. I've indulged in a nicer keyboard once before, but only because I was intrigued by the novelty of mechanical keycaps. Now I'm thinking that I'll need to take the plunge and get something more ergonomic, because I've still got a lot of career left.
- DennisP 6y ago
  If you don't have repetitive stress problems already, then ergonomic keyboards aren't necessarily about improving your productivity right now. They're about preventing a serious reduction in your productivity years from now. (However, after buying a mech keyboard to deal with finger joint pain, and training myself to type without bottoming out much, I discovered I was typing faster.)
- ahelwer 6y ago
  The three most impactful things you can do to avoid wrist injuries are: (1) Ensuring your chair, desk, and keyboard are set up so your wrists are straight when typing (2) Using a split/tilted keyboard so your wrists do not need to rotate as much when you type (3) Using a vertical mouse so your wrist does not need to rotate as much when mousing You can accomplish all of this for very cheap. A bit more than you're spending, but not an order of magnitude more (unless your desk or chair are very bad). Once you get into mechanical keyswitches or exotic keyboard layouts you're just messing around imo. Membrane keyboards are fine. They're fine! And very quiet.
  - jchook 6y ago
    Which cheap split keyboard do you use?
    - ahelwer 6y ago
      Currently I use the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000, an enormous dinosaur which can reliably be bought for $20 used. I had the Microsoft Sculpt keyboard for a few years before that, which I liked, but the build quality was very bad and I had two break on me. I'm going to switch to either a goldtouch or kinesis freestyle soon, since I don't like the number pad. Those are $80-$120 but I hope the build quality will pay off in the long run.
      - jchook 6y ago
        Thanks! I'll check those out. I have the Kenesis Freestyle2 and I find it unusable without retraining much of my muscle memory. 1. The extra 2 columns of keys on the left edge somehow reliably disorients me. 2. the lack of an extra (potentially redundant) row of keys on the inner edges throws me off b/c I tend to reach across the middle from either side, e.g. press B with my right hand.
  - rickyc091 6y ago
    While I have an ergodox, I completely agree with this. I'm still suffering from some RSI, but following this has helped me tremendously. I also want to add, just as you're suppose to turn away from the monitor every once in a while, make sure you stretch out your hands/arms and return it into the neutral position. For those looking for a cheap split keyboard, a used microsoft sculpt can be found around $40 on eBay.
- tnorthcutt 6y ago
  I bought a keyboard.io model 01 recently, because I was desperate (and I'd been intrigued by its programmability for a while). I bought a vertical mouse (cheap Anker) at the same time. I've had RSI issues in the past, but this spring (when I bought those two), I was in intense pain for days at a time, even when not at my desk. Otherwise good ergonomic setup: external monitor, adjustable desk and good chair, etc. I'd suggest you at least take small steps to improve/optimize your ergonomics before you have a problem. It really does suck to be in pain like that, especially when doing your work, which you have to do to pay the bills, makes it worse. I was looking forward to weekends just for some relief. For what it's worth, having a programmable keyboard is super cool even without the ergonomic benefits. It's just fun to tinker and optimize your layout, macros, etc.
- victoriasun 6y ago
  When I couldn’t sleep at night because of how much pain my wrists were in :( I wish I cared more earlier. The injury in my left thumb may never go away fully, and it’s taken me a really long time to come to peace with that.

tetris11 6y ago

I have never spent more than 30 € on a keyboard and mouse combo, and that's over the span of the last 10 years... I have never peeked over the price wall into the higher end stuff because it genuinely has never occurred to me that my current keyboard+mouse were hindering my productivity. High contrast screen? Sure, squinting hurts. Office-cancelling headphones? Sure, loud noises ruin my concentration But keyboard and mouse have never been am issue... When did you start to suspect that you needed to get a better keyboard?

zadjii 6y ago
For me, it was about 2 weeks ago. My left wrist is just a _little_ sore, but constantly. I've noticed that if I rotate my keyboard towards my left hand, the pain gets better, so now I'm starting to think that it's something that I'll need to actually get better hardware to prevent getting worse. I've indulged in a nicer keyboard once before, but only because I was intrigued by the novelty of mechanical keycaps. Now I'm thinking that I'll need to take the plunge and get something more ergonomic, because I've still got a lot of career left.
DennisP 6y ago
If you don't have repetitive stress problems already, then ergonomic keyboards aren't necessarily about improving your productivity right now. They're about preventing a serious reduction in your productivity years from now. (However, after buying a mech keyboard to deal with finger joint pain, and training myself to type without bottoming out much, I discovered I was typing faster.)
ahelwer 6y ago
The three most impactful things you can do to avoid wrist injuries are: (1) Ensuring your chair, desk, and keyboard are set up so your wrists are straight when typing (2) Using a split/tilted keyboard so your wrists do not need to rotate as much when you type (3) Using a vertical mouse so your wrist does not need to rotate as much when mousing You can accomplish all of this for very cheap. A bit more than you're spending, but not an order of magnitude more (unless your desk or chair are very bad). Once you get into mechanical keyswitches or exotic keyboard layouts you're just messing around imo. Membrane keyboards are fine. They're fine! And very quiet.
- jchook 6y ago
  Which cheap split keyboard do you use?
  - ahelwer 6y ago
    Currently I use the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000, an enormous dinosaur which can reliably be bought for $20 used. I had the Microsoft Sculpt keyboard for a few years before that, which I liked, but the build quality was very bad and I had two break on me. I'm going to switch to either a goldtouch or kinesis freestyle soon, since I don't like the number pad. Those are $80-$120 but I hope the build quality will pay off in the long run.
    - jchook 6y ago
      Thanks! I'll check those out. I have the Kenesis Freestyle2 and I find it unusable without retraining much of my muscle memory. 1. The extra 2 columns of keys on the left edge somehow reliably disorients me. 2. the lack of an extra (potentially redundant) row of keys on the inner edges throws me off b/c I tend to reach across the middle from either side, e.g. press B with my right hand.
- rickyc091 6y ago
  While I have an ergodox, I completely agree with this. I'm still suffering from some RSI, but following this has helped me tremendously. I also want to add, just as you're suppose to turn away from the monitor every once in a while, make sure you stretch out your hands/arms and return it into the neutral position. For those looking for a cheap split keyboard, a used microsoft sculpt can be found around $40 on eBay.
tnorthcutt 6y ago
I bought a keyboard.io model 01 recently, because I was desperate (and I'd been intrigued by its programmability for a while). I bought a vertical mouse (cheap Anker) at the same time. I've had RSI issues in the past, but this spring (when I bought those two), I was in intense pain for days at a time, even when not at my desk. Otherwise good ergonomic setup: external monitor, adjustable desk and good chair, etc. I'd suggest you at least take small steps to improve/optimize your ergonomics before you have a problem. It really does suck to be in pain like that, especially when doing your work, which you have to do to pay the bills, makes it worse. I was looking forward to weekends just for some relief. For what it's worth, having a programmable keyboard is super cool even without the ergonomic benefits. It's just fun to tinker and optimize your layout, macros, etc.
victoriasun 6y ago
When I couldn’t sleep at night because of how much pain my wrists were in :( I wish I cared more earlier. The injury in my left thumb may never go away fully, and it’s taken me a really long time to come to peace with that.