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Show HN: Split Keyboards Gallery

249 points by Symbiote 6y ago

eimrine 6y ago
So sad all of those are qwerty.
- Symbiote 6y ago
  Most of them can be reconfigured completely, to any layout you choose. I think people take pictures with Qwerty to make them more approachable.
- ashtonkem 6y ago
  Not all. My Ergodox is in Dvorak (blank key caps though), and I happen to know that Kinesis Advantage can also be configured as such.
- minieggs 6y ago
  Another blank keycapper chiming in. Colemak is working great on my Helix! QMK is a wonderful piece of software.
- throw14082020 6y ago
  I believe its recommended (on Colemak guide) to avoid moving keycaps. You will move the F and J key bumps and find it harder to localize your hand to the keyboard. It also prevents your brain from cheating (reading the keys) instead of training muscle memory.
  - eimrine 6y ago
    I understand that but disagree. Moving keycapses may be useful to adapt if you will going to make your job with the new layout immediately, without an option to switch back. Especially when you are living qwerty. Let your friends to type on your kbd to share the good idea about existing of non-qwerties. Let your eyes to love a new layout. BTW Colemak is not so non-qwerty so my opinion it is OK not to move capses for Colemak.
  - opan 6y ago
    Agreed about the bumps, but with mechanical keyboards it's easy to change keycaps. You can get blank caps with a bump or "deep dish", and also many of the high end sets have a "homing kit" addon that throws in U, D, T, and N homing keys. This covers dvorak, colemak, and workman layouts. Here's a set with a homing kit. https://novelkeys.xyz/products/kam-superuser-gb?variant=37890035155111 https://novelkeys.xyz/products/kam-superuser-gb?variant=3789... https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/3099/8088/products/homing_1080x.png?v=1612533436 https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/3099/8088/products/homing_... It has even more keycaps than usual!
- CTDOCodebases 6y ago
  Not necessarily. It’s amusing to watch people get confused when the keys don’t do what the legends indicate.
  - eimrine 6y ago
    Way more amusing to watch when they see the non-qwerty and CAN use it.
- gedy 6y ago
  I use Colemak with my DIY split design: https://ibb.co/ZGmbFyp https://ibb.co/ZGmbFyp
- icedchocolate 6y ago
  They are (almost?) all configurable using QMK, custom firmware or even Via :)
corysama 6y ago
Missing the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fingerworks_Touchstream_keyboard.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fingerworks_Touchstream_k... After drooling over the idea of this for years, I finally pulled the trigger and bought one. But, my order was cancelled because Apple had just bought the company to work on gesture tech for the original iPhone.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- rajbot 6y ago
  Touchstream is such a magical device!
avolcano 6y ago
This is a neat gallery! I'm personally thinking of getting a split keyboard soon, but I'm so split on what I want. Currently using a Preonic and find the ortholinear/compact layout fairly pleasant, so I might just want to get something like the Let's Split. Still, I can't decide if I'd prefer a board with thumb clusters and/or staggered rows (like the Ergodox). I'd honestly be fine going back to a more traditional layout on a split keyboard (not ortholinear, punctuation keys in normal places, all that stuff), but I've been really unimpressed by what I've seen of those in terms of features. I really want QMK, and I'd also like boards that are flat/don't have a strong tilt since those tend to be a bad ergonomically (in fact, I'd ideally like optional negative tilting). I also want something that's relatively low profile, which is also tricky to find in my experience.
- sphynxie 6y ago
  I wanted a split keyboard but wasn't ready for ortholinear (yet) so I built one of these last year: https://keeb.io/products/quefrency-60-65-split-staggered-keyboard-1 https://keeb.io/products/quefrency-60-65-split-staggered-key... I love it. I added some tilt but it doesn't come with any, and it can be easily flashed with QMK. I just stuck some bumpers on it for the tilt so you could easily go negative. I don't even have mine in a case, so it is very low profile. Since it does not have a standard function key row, the esc key is not where you would expect it to be (mine is on the extra left bit with the function keys) but otherwise the keys are more or less where you would expect them to be. If you want a dedicated function row there is also this: https://keeb.io/collections/sinc/products/sinc-split-staggered-75-keyboard https://keeb.io/collections/sinc/products/sinc-split-stagger... I love the split layout and especially the split spacebar, as I made the left spacebar the macro key for my first layer. The rotary encoders are fun too.
  - TheCapeGreek 6y ago
    For anyone reading this and not keen on DIYing or the quefrency generally or looking for a "normal" layout: checkout Mistel keyboards. I've seen a few on amazon. It's pretty much a normal keyboard layout cut in two.
mholm 6y ago
Anybody have the moonlander and enjoy it? I currently have an ergodox infinity, and want something I can swap to Kailh Choc White switches. The layout and programming seems perfect for me, though I'm disappointing that it's still wired.
- lewurm 6y ago
  I'm new to mechanical and split keyboards, but so far the moonlander has been great. Well, in the beginning it was a bit of a learning curve, but coming from the ergodox that shouldn't be an issue for you. Not being wireless is the only complaint that I have.
- jrockway 6y ago
  I switched to a Moonlander from an Ergodox and am liking it. I ended up not liking their built-in tenting mechanism, so 3D printed my own shims that screw to the back, allowing me to tent the keyboard but also tilt the "wings" upwards. Very comfortable! One thing I thought I hated about the Ergodox was how inaccessible the small keys on the thumb cluster were, and I thought I would like 3 big keys better. It turns out not to be the case... those keys are useless, but there are a lot of useless keys that are nice to have around (arrows, delete/insert, home/end, pgup/pgdn). I mostly do everything in Emacs and so don't use those keys, but when I'm using non-Emacs software, I do miss them. (I ultimately decided on Backspace, Alt, Up; Space, Enter, Down as what I use the big thumb keys for. Not sure I love this. This transitioned my backspace key from my right pointer finger to my left thumb, and it broke my muscle memory. I still forget that you can control backspace words to kill them outside of Emacs (where I use C-w for that, which closes your window in every other program).) TL;DR: it's fine! But still not perfect.
  - jrockway 6y ago
    I forgot that I use Twitter sometimes and have pictures of another Moonlander experiment: mounting it to my chair! https://twitter.com/petersergeant/status/1356057651931537408 https://twitter.com/petersergeant/status/1356057651931537408 I did eventually get parts for both sides. One of the flexible arm clamp tripod mount thingies was not stiff enough to hold the keyboard up, but the other one was great. Since they were both the same part from the same order... it's kind of a crapshoot as to whether or not it will work. But I will continue to experiment.
Yabood 6y ago
I’ve been using Kinesis for about ten years now, I highly recommend it.
- frompdx 6y ago
  I picked up a Kinesis Advantage2 this year and so far I am very happy with it. Now I can type much longer without any wrist pain. I'm still struggling to reprogram my brain for some keys, but part of that is due to years of bad habits that I'm trying to undo. It was hard to get used to at first but I really like the layout of the thumb clusters.
salted-fry 6y ago
I like the idea of a split keyboard, but I've never been able to go down that road because I sometimes hit keys with the "wrong" finger - most notably, I need to be able to hit B with my right hand because it's down-left in roguelikes (i.e. Nethack). What I'd love to see is a "106% keyboard", where a couple columns are duplicated on both the left/right side. Does anybody make such a keyboard?
- trufas 6y ago
  The idea isn't entirely new. The TGR Alice is a popular board that has two b keys [0]. The more straightforward approach to get a full extra column would be to just grab a keyboard that already has 7+ columns per side (ie the chimera[1]) and repurpose those to be duplicate keys. [0] https://i.redd.it/9kyeyht1eqy11.jpg https://i.redd.it/9kyeyht1eqy11.jpg [1] https://github.com/GlenPickle/Chimera https://github.com/GlenPickle/Chimera
- CarVac 6y ago
  The answer to that is to make your own and hand-solder wire to the switches.
  - salted-fry 6y ago
    The thought has occurred to me - and I wouldn't mind a thumb-trackball on the right hand, either. Design in the physical world is well outside my wheelhouse though - is a keyboard an approachable project for somebody who hasn't done woodworking/machining before, or would I be better served working on smaller projects first?
    - nickpedersen 6y ago
      Totally doable as a first project, I'm midway through building my first keyboard with a large number of modifications and it's been a really fun project. The Dactyl Manuform is a great starting point https://github.com/abstracthat/dactyl-manuform https://github.com/abstracthat/dactyl-manuform And /r/ErgoMechKeyboards on Reddit is a great community for understanding what you're trying to achieve.
kowlo 6y ago
I was never taught how to type... I'm fast enough, 120-140wpm depending on the keyboard and what I'm typing. I think the speed came from playing online games and needing to communicate quickly before suffering the consequences of not controlling my character. The end result is that I have a strange typing pattern and I use the "wrong" fingers for keys.
- com2kid 6y ago
  I use my left thumb for left shift, and for all other left meta keys. (I also hit 'a' with my left thumb...) My pinkies are completely unused, except for right pinky on enter. No idea how well I'd adapt to 'proper' typing! (After all these years, my left thumb is notably more flexible than my right!)
- least 6y ago
  I share this experience and my typing on a normal keyboard is still only using a few fingers and moving them around all over the place. On a split keyboard even, i still 'misplace' some fingers because my pinky finger is so short i can't hit 'p' key comfortably with it. Still, I think having a split keyboard has overall been a benefit to my typing experience and type faster on it than I could on a normal keyboard.
srcreigh 6y ago
Cool site. I didn't notice this much selection last year. I just ended buying a Kinesis Advantage 2. I'm very happy with the advantage 2. I'm curious about boards with smaller keys, more compact layout, or extra keys in the same space. The advantage 2 gives you easy access to the arrow keys with no loss of access to other keys. Eliminates the whole efficient arrow usage problem, or gives you more keys for commands if you use hjkl. The advantage 2 is not a be all end all fix for hand / wrist pain. Consider starting a hand/wrist exercise regime if you have pain first. It could help enough to not need to buy a board. https://youtu.be/EiRC80FJbHU https://youtu.be/EiRC80FJbHU
- eru 6y ago
  I'm currently migrating from the Kinesis Advantage to the Advantage 2. The old Advantage has served me well, but it's USB implementation seems to interact really badly with some modern laptops.
- leg100 6y ago
  I really persevered with a kinesis but the thumb keys were awkward regardless of the posture of my hands and wrists. I really liked the arrow key placement though. They are badly placed on mainstream keyboards for touch typists.
- gauchojs 6y ago
  Do you think a keyboard like that is mainly helpful for people with pain, or it would make typing more comfortable/efficient for the general user ?
  - kadoban 6y ago
    I got one for just comfort and I'm happy with it. Did take a while to get used to the thumb button group placements, but not too bad.
  - srcreigh 6y ago
    I think the general user will be more efficient with the Advantage 2. You basically get ~4-6 more reachable keys per hand depending on hand size. With this extra space there's no problem putting all 4 arrow keys, \|, Delete, `~, and Esc all within home row reach.
xbeta 6y ago
I have been looking for a keyboard, but fails to find one. - ergonomics - wireless (bluetooth or a tiny USB dongle is OK) - mechanical keys - mac cmd-key - below $200 USD I am not sure why it is so difficult to find one like that :-(
- hbosch 6y ago
  If you give up the wireless portion of that, you have a ton of options. I have an ortho keyboard, wired, and don't mind the wire at all... for travel it's easy enough (my Preonic keyboard from Massdrop came with a case) and the standard USB-C cable is easily detachable and stows nicely. Plus, it doesn't require a battery. I have a wireless mouse (G Pro Wireless) that is good enough but charging it is pretty annoying.
- xudongz 6y ago
  I recently developed a high end wireless ErgoDox keyboard [1] though I'm working on a more affordable version that will be announced in March/April. It will be around $200 with all the components (some minor assembly required). If you would like to be notified, please subscribe to my mailing list [2] for "ErgoDox Wireless Lite". If you are interested in details, you can also reach me via email (see profile). [1] https://www.slicemk.com/pages/ergodox-wireless https://www.slicemk.com/pages/ergodox-wireless [2] https://xudongz.us17.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=2e46b2d03470daaae50837934&id=6dcb92d819 https://xudongz.us17.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=2e46b2d0347...
  - chewxy 6y ago
    Do you also offer assembly services? As someone who recently been unable to work on electronic components (small parts, easily swallowable, in a small apartment = danger), I'd highly appreciate it
    - xudongz 6y ago
      Yes, assembly is available. For the current group buy, you can find details for the assembly service here: https://www.slicemk.com/products/ergodox-wireless-assembly https://www.slicemk.com/products/ergodox-wireless-assembly For the planned low end version, assembly will just be installing switches/keycaps (no soldering). A similar assembly service will be available for people who just want to receive a complete keyboard.
Killakwinn 6y ago
I really enjoyed the aesthetics on some of these. Thanks for sharing -- this seriously puts my $19 Amazon Logitech keyboard to shame.
LeoPanthera 6y ago
I'm surprised the original[1] MS Natural Keyboard is not listed in the mass-market page. Maybe it's because it's not made anymore. I still have mine, it's years old, but it still works and I still love it, it seems to be the perfect angle for my hands. Even though it is absolutely enormous. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_ergonomic_keyboards#Natural_Keyboard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_ergonomic_keyboards#...
- martin_a 6y ago
  I think that list is for "cool" split keyboards. The Microsoft Ergonomic keyboard seems to still being manufactured, see here: https://www.amazon.de/Microsoft-LXM-00006-Ergonomic-Keyboard/dp/B07XVRSLQS/ https://www.amazon.de/Microsoft-LXM-00006-Ergonomic-Keyboard...
  - LeoPanthera 6y ago
    Yeah but the current models are quite different from the original one. Mostly in size - they shrunk them down to more acceptable dimensions. The original is notable just for how enormous it is.
    - martin_a 6y ago
      Ah, just had a quick glance and thought they look similar in size.
- Mister_Snuggles 6y ago
  I couldn't touch-type until I got a Microsoft Natural Keyboard (the very first version listed). Eventually I got its successor, the Elite, then the 4000. Interestingly enough, the touch-typing skills that I didn't develop until getting the MS Natural Keyboard translate back just fine to regular keyboards.
  - markmark 6y ago
    I bought a 4000 when I decided it was finally time to learn to touch type properly so that I'd be force to use the right hands for each half (I tended to use my dominant hand far too much). It worked great for that, and now I use a kinesis advantage, which I love.
blhack 6y ago
How on earth do people actually type on some of these? I have a keyboardio model 01(this: https://shop.keyboard.io/collections/model-01-keycaps/products/keycaps-model-01-qwerty https://shop.keyboard.io/collections/model-01-keycaps/produc...) And even this feels like I'm having to function dive into weird chords of keys to get some of the functionality that I want (arrow keys, mostly). Are people just not actually writing code with these ultra minimalist things?
- jhardy54 6y ago
  I use my Ergodox full-time and I love it, but I feel this way about an Atreus I just picked up: there are only a few keys, and some are inaccessible (!) so I'm stuck putting stuff like colons and quotation marks in a layer. Feels bad.
- 1-more 6y ago
  I code full time on an Iris. Hold/tap is huge for me for every kind of bracket or brace, just like the spacecadet keyboard that came before us. I have my layer modifiers under F, D, and S which then flip the right hand to Vim style arrows, a number pad, and a symbol pad. Space cadet hold/tap shifts details here, from a soft remap I used to use: https://stevelosh.com/blog/2012/10/a-modern-space-cadet/#s17-shift-parentheses https://stevelosh.com/blog/2012/10/a-modern-space-cadet/#s17...
- autocorr 6y ago
  From browsing r/ErgoMechKeyboards and GeekHack, I think the main group of people making these custom keyboards are devs actually. Consider how foot pedals are a long-standing emacs thing :) I use a 40% layout on a custom board with palm keys for coding and writing in LaTeX mainly (like the Model 01 with 3x6 alphas 3 thumbs 1 palm on each side). It took some effort to re-train, but I'll never go back to a keyboard without palm keys now, I love the setup. They palm keys are perfect for activating the layers for arrows/navigation or numpad. But typing style plays a role too, it's definitely probably not everyone!
- Agingcoder 6y ago
  Agreed! I tried all kinds of keyboards, and intensely dislike all these smaller ones, which I find absolutely unusable for anything more complex than typing email. Some people quite visibly disagree with me I eventually settled on a kinesis ergo edge, which I really like.
nielsbot 6y ago
Don't forget about this classic: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Adjustable_Keyboard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Adjustable_Keyboard
alpb 6y ago
I know this is super off-topic but I’ve needed to design this web experience myself over the past few years (and ended up making visitors use Google Sheets with filters they adjust). It seems you've got some property/binary/numeric filters already in there and if you could load the data from a js/json file, this UI could be entirely open source and customizable. I’d just fork and put my own data, set my own sliders and good to go. Just a thought if you ever wanted to open source it. It would be a superb experience for many developers.
kemitchell 6y ago
I own or have owned several of these. The Kinesis Advantage 2 is the only one I regularly recommend. It's very expensive, but also refined, thoroughly tested, and highly customizable. It did not take me long to adjust. I'm now as fast on the Advantage as on any mechanical standard.
- pimlottc 6y ago
  I’ve got one as well but I haven’t quite managed to make the switch. The normal keys are no problem, but what keeps me from using it full time is all the special keys, i.e navigation (arrows/home/end/etc) and shortcuts (command/option/ctrl). I’m used to flying through editors by muscle memory so it feels quite painful to stumble on the new keyboard. Half the time I have to look at the old keyboard just to figure out what the actual keys I wanted are. Any suggestions to get over the hump? I’ve tried some typing games like Epistory but they normally focus on normal keys. I haven’t see one for these special keys.
  - kemitchell 6y ago
    I use a lot of keyboard shortcuts. I can share what worked for me. Remap CapsLock to Windows/Super. Mirror Ctrl and Alt from the left thumb cluster onto the right thumb cluster, so you have Ctrl and Alt in reach of each thumb. Don't be afraid to customize special keys and punctuation. Especially that big Delete key under your left thumb. That's prime real estate. If you have larger hands, buy some of the stick-on palm rest pads. They'll help bring your wrists to the right angles.
castillar76 6y ago
I've used split keyboards for ages, and until recently had a Kinesis Gaming Edge that I really liked and still highly recommend. But what I found was that I was "freezing" while typing: instead of typing smoothly, it felt like every other sentence I'd pause for a sec and then keep going. After watching Thomas/chyrosran22's keyboard reviews on YouTube and his discussions of why ergo doesn't work for him, I realized why the 'freezing' was occurring: my brain was getting hooked when the key it wanted to hit was on the 'wrong' hand. I switched recently to a Keychron K4 (with about half the switches swapped out) and am now just being more conscientious about keeping my wrists at a natural angle than I am about hitting keys with the right fingers. The result: no more freezing, my wrists are happier than ever, and I feel like my typing has gained 10wpm. I do miss the extra macro keys, though—might have to get a macro pad at some point...
- dr_kiszonka 6y ago
  That keychron looks so nice! I quite like the color scheme. Have you seen any keyboard with a similar layout to Kinesis Edge but with attachments similar to those that UHK has (https://ultimatehackingkeyboard.com/product/keycluster https://ultimatehackingkeyboard.com/product/keycluster). Those more fancy, niche keyboards like Moonlander and UHK seem to offer great configurability, but simply have too few keys for me. My wrists like separate arrows, home, end, page up & down keys and not needing to change layers or press and hold four-key combinations :)
  - firstSpeaker 6y ago
    I use UHK. Note that it does not have the modules yet and the reason I switched to this when my previous vessel died was the modules. As far as it goes they are postponing tease of the modules on every release date. I am looking forward to the trackball and the key luster. Although now I am considering waiting for a bunch of reviews to come out before paying for those two modules.
  - UHK2 6y ago
    You can change layers with one keypress too. You can configure what will activate the layers: hold or double-click or a simple click.
regus 6y ago
I switched to using a Kinesis Freestyle 2 with the tenting kit. It has made a big difference for me, a lot of the pain I was feeling when using other keyboards has gone away. I am so intrigued by some of these minimalist keyboards. I tried to use a 60% keyboard but I found using the extra layers to be difficult to adjust to. On paper it sounds good, move your fingers less, just use a layer. But in practice it got old fast. I never realized how often I needed to press the ` key until I started using a 60% keyboard.
urmish 6y ago
I have the ez ergodox but it is slightly big for my hands. I end up making typos once in a while. What is a good keyset for tiny hands? Or a smaller split keyboard.
mewse-hn 6y ago
This is super cool! I definitely could have used this when I found a photo of a split keyboard on aliexpress and it turned out to be the redox manuform. Relatedly, this site is missing the redox manuform
- Symbiote 6y ago
  Thanks; I've added the Redox Manuform. I'm not sure how I missed it!
treeman79 6y ago
I have the Kinesis Freestyle Edge RGB with brown switches. Use for programming and occasional game. Amazing help for my inner shoulder pain. Highly recommend. Keys are squishy and I loath them. Error rate is much higher. Regret brown keys. Arrow keys are oddly mashed in and unpleasant to use. VIM reduces need, but still. Going back to non split makes my shoulders tense up again. Took about about a week to get used to keyboard. Absolutely recommend split keyboard if you have broad shoulders. I will try a different model on the next one.
kylepdm 6y ago
No love for the Alice and it's loving clones?
- Symbiote 6y ago
  I've added it. Is there somewhere to buy it, or is it discontinued / one off group buy? I've linked it to here for the moment: https://www.taehatypes.com/alice https://www.taehatypes.com/alice
workingonmyback 6y ago
I wonder if anyone shares my setup. I lie horizontally with a monitor suspended 3ft directly above. I use a logitech trackball on my right hand at my side. I find this position comfortable for long hours and don't experience the backpain that I did for years. One wrinkle is the keyboard - it rests on my upper thighs, and I find I'm rolling my shoulders forward to type which is less than ideal. I experimented with split keyboards but haven't found an ideal solution yet. A major problem is switching from the trackball back to the keyboard. Also needing to keep the trackball out wide to allow space for the split keyboard on my right side.
- eru 6y ago
  A friend of mine cut up her Kinesis Advantage to put a big trackball right in the middle. (There's enough space in the housing, especially if you are not afraid to cut and move the circuit board.) A similar position might work for you? I use a standing desk to be in a similar (but upright) position, because sitting is also bad for me.
  - maximilianroos 6y ago
    I have a trackpad in the middle of mine, it works great. Here's a photo from a few years back: https://twitter.com/max_sixty/status/1144236070369988609/photo/1 https://twitter.com/max_sixty/status/1144236070369988609/pho...
    - eru 6y ago
      Nice! Hers was a rather more professional looking job. The trackball was about 8 cm in diameter and sunk right in. (She also hacked up the kernel driver to make horizontal rotation be interpreted as the scroll wheel.)
jugg1es 6y ago
I mean, if you want to make something useful - you can't go wrong by adding drawers to it.
roldie 6y ago
I have the X-Bows. It's my first ergo keyboard, and I really like it so far. I even use it for gaming. They just released one with a Mac layout, so I might be picking up a second one.
thex10 6y ago
Awesome! I wish I'd seen this last year when I was in the market. Nonetheless I'm happy with my Dygma Raise (I mostly wanted split, RGB lights, with not too few keys). I wasn't ready for an ortholinear layout but hope to venture in that direction for my next purchase.
nine_k 6y ago
I wonder why people obsess so much with colorful keycaps and RGB lights. I suspect it's for aesthetic pleasure, not for enhanced ergonomics. I got me a split keyboard so that I would never have to look at it. For me this is achieved by not moving the wrist, only moving the fingers. Then my hands do not slip and do not need vision-guided repositioning. (My current keyboard is an Ergodox EZ, all black, no lights. It's fine enough, and thr ortholinear layout is very helpful, but the thumb cluster is clumsy, and the pinky columns are not staggered enough, so typing P or Q needs a wrist shift. I have 60g switches in the home row, so that fingers can rest on them without clicking, and 30g switches everywhere else. My plan is to build a Kyria which has a better geometry / ergonomics, so I made a Kyria-compatible layout to get used to it.)
- nickburlett 6y ago
  I have my Ergodox EZ configured so that each layer has a different backlight color, helping me notice if I've inadvertently switched layers. I agree on the pinky column not being staggered enough.
sequoia 6y ago
I am up past my bedtime typing on hacker news just to mega-disagree about the goldtouch keyboard, of which I own multiple and have used exclusively for over 10 years to manage serious RSI which has left me debilitated at times and will probably never resolve fully. The goldtouch is a fantastic ergonomic keyboard. I’m sure others are just as good or better and didn’t object to the authors criticisms until s/he suggested a better alternative to the goldtouch is the Kenesis freestyle which does not tent, the main reason I use the goldtouch. This makes me wonder if the author is concerned about ergonomics and functionality or just quirkiness. The fact that he dumps all “mass market” keyboards (ie the majority of those people actually use) into one bucket in order to highlight a half dozen impractical lookalikes where someone basically just took a keyboard and cut it in half was the first thing that had me scratching my head. An interesting collection of oddities but not a sound product guide IMO.
- stevekemp 6y ago
  I had the same feeling; I've been using the Microsoft Ergonomic keyboards for what feels like the past 10-15 years now: http://xahlee.info/kbd/microsoft_ergonomic_keyboard.html http://xahlee.info/kbd/microsoft_ergonomic_keyboard.html Every time I change job I bring my own with me, or persuade the company to buy me one. I did experiment with an actually-split keyboard back in the late 90s; two pieces joined by a short cable, but it was really difficult to use and so I gave up on it almost immediately. My memory was that there was only a short/stubby space-bar on the left-half of the keyboard too. (I'm a touch typist, and I definitely use both thumbs for pressing the space bar. Albeit I use my dominant hand most of the time.)
  - noir_lord 6y ago
    I did the same at every job for the last decade - either work buys an Ergo 4000 or I buy an Ergo 4000 and clear it with IT (honestly that was one place, I did it out of courtesy, I just took the new sealed in box to where IT sat and asked "ok if I use this?" and they said sure). These days I'm WFH forever and can use whatever the hell I want (work issues a stipend for hardware). The Ergo 4000 is such a large part of my computing experience that I have a stockpile of new in box units as a hedge against their eventual discontinuation. I've yet to have one die though, I wear the letters off fairly quickly but otherwise they are tough little beasts and easy enough to take apart and clean.
dukeofdoom 6y ago
Costco was selling selling a cheaper version of logitech ergo keyboard. The ergo line of logitech keyboards feel great to type on.
GreaterFool 6y ago
I wish DataHand was still made. The 3d printed keyboard based on DataHand looks very interesting but right now I don't have time to invest into making custom hardware. I wish I could just buy something similar!
- wejn 6y ago
  You can sometimes snatch it off of eBay for $800-$1500. Of course making a lalboard from scratch might end up being cheaper in the end.
mech422 6y ago
This is sweet! I'm trying to find time to work on my 'trackdyl' (like the 'oddball' or 'beast' in the photos) I wouldn't mind a split with a thumb cluster mounted 'electric eraser' either.. It would be so nice not to have to reach for a mouse/trackball all the time...
airhead969 6y ago
The DataHand was the ultimate split keyboard innovation advancement short of implanting electrodes in your skull. It failed because of poor marketing and a ridiculous price (likely due to cost-inefficient engineering/manufacturing).
Tepix 6y ago
Nice gallery. I sold my Keyboardio Atreus. I think it was too radical for me and i didn't want to invest the time to adapt to it when in the end there was an aspect i didn't like (tiny space and enter keys, no numbers etc). The Dactyl looks tempting now...
alexvoda 6y ago
This is a fork of this gallery on github: https://github.com/diimdeep/awesome-split-keyboards https://github.com/diimdeep/awesome-split-keyboards It was also featured in HN here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25922698 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25922698 It appears to have extra keyboards. However several are not properly tagged because they were missing when I used the filters. This initially made me think the gallery was incomplete before I realized it is a fork of the other gallery.
5tefan 6y ago
All would be fine for me if MS would fully integrate key rebindings. No chance in my business environment to install extra software. I could balance the use of both hands better if I can have the return key also on the left side or rebind R shift as left mouse click or whatever... I need the full keyboard. All of it and accessibility of (some) keys to both hands would be great. Most split keyboard and minimal keyboards make no sense anyway outside English environments.
- frostburg 6y ago
  You can do that (mouse keys included) with any keyboard that supports QMK. No software needed on the local machine.
- Kaze404 6y ago
  > Most split keyboard and minimal keyboards make no sense anyway outside English environments. Not sure what you mean by this. I've been using an Ergodox EZ for almost 2 years and I don't live in an English-speaking country. It's no different from using the US-INTL layout in any other keyboard.
stunt 6y ago
Those that aren't curved/concave miss a major comfort factor in my opinion. My personal must-haves for a split keyboard: - Concave/curved design. - Thumb clusters. - Vertical arranged key columns. - Palm support. - Fully customizable layout. - Mechanical switches or anything similar with proper feedback for better typing, and also decent travel distance so it doesn't feel that you're knocking your fingertips on hard plastic all the time.
still_grokking 6y ago
I would love to have an ergonomic split keyboard. But they are (almost) only available with those bulky, loud, (imho) hard to use, "clicky" mechanical keys. It's a pity nobody is building such a thing like https://github.com/JesusFreke/lalboard https://github.com/JesusFreke/lalboard with keys like https://www.r-go-tools.com/products/ergonomic-keyboards/r-go-split/qwerty-us-black-wired/ https://www.r-go-tools.com/products/ergonomic-keyboards/r-go...
- gwenzek 6y ago
  If you build your own keyboard you can put whatever switches on them. Kailh Choc Blue for instance are ultra light linear switches (20g actuation)
bmn__ 6y ago
Indicate the state of a filter with a check mark, not with red/green background. https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/#use-of-color https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/#use-of-color
ScottBurson 6y ago
Though it's been out of production for 15 or 20 years, the Kinesis Evolution belongs in here. I have a chair-mount model that still works.
checkyoursudo 6y ago
I realize I'm a little late to this party, but I thought I would try to ask anyway. As someone who has used what is probably considered a mass market ergo split keyboard for a long time (10+ years), what would be a reasonable new one to try? This is definitely better than a straight, standard keyboard for me, but it is not really good. The keys require too much activation force. I still have to bend my wrists a lot. Some keys are hard to reach. What else can I try? I do not have RSI that I know of. I don't have pain. It is just not very good. Anyway, I don't know if this is enough info for a recommendation.
- aknosis 6y ago
  I'm on my second Mistel Barocco split mechanical keyboard. First with a MD600 and now the MD770. I only upgraded because I liked the 770 has a full row of function keys and arrows keys making me less reliant on function keys for those extra key presses. If the keys are too hard to press, you need to get switches that have lower actuation force (I use MX Browns), if you are having issue bending wrists I think you need to find a keyboard that tents well.
  - checkyoursudo 6y ago
    Thanks for your response. I'll take a look at tenting keyboards. I think that might be what I should pursue next.

249 points by Symbiote 6y ago

eimrine 6y ago

So sad all of those are qwerty.

Symbiote 6y ago
Most of them can be reconfigured completely, to any layout you choose. I think people take pictures with Qwerty to make them more approachable.
ashtonkem 6y ago
Not all. My Ergodox is in Dvorak (blank key caps though), and I happen to know that Kinesis Advantage can also be configured as such.
minieggs 6y ago
Another blank keycapper chiming in. Colemak is working great on my Helix! QMK is a wonderful piece of software.
throw14082020 6y ago
I believe its recommended (on Colemak guide) to avoid moving keycaps. You will move the F and J key bumps and find it harder to localize your hand to the keyboard. It also prevents your brain from cheating (reading the keys) instead of training muscle memory.
- eimrine 6y ago
  I understand that but disagree. Moving keycapses may be useful to adapt if you will going to make your job with the new layout immediately, without an option to switch back. Especially when you are living qwerty. Let your friends to type on your kbd to share the good idea about existing of non-qwerties. Let your eyes to love a new layout. BTW Colemak is not so non-qwerty so my opinion it is OK not to move capses for Colemak.
- opan 6y ago
  Agreed about the bumps, but with mechanical keyboards it's easy to change keycaps. You can get blank caps with a bump or "deep dish", and also many of the high end sets have a "homing kit" addon that throws in U, D, T, and N homing keys. This covers dvorak, colemak, and workman layouts. Here's a set with a homing kit. https://novelkeys.xyz/products/kam-superuser-gb?variant=37890035155111 https://novelkeys.xyz/products/kam-superuser-gb?variant=3789... https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/3099/8088/products/homing_1080x.png?v=1612533436 https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/3099/8088/products/homing_... It has even more keycaps than usual!
CTDOCodebases 6y ago
Not necessarily. It’s amusing to watch people get confused when the keys don’t do what the legends indicate.
- eimrine 6y ago
  Way more amusing to watch when they see the non-qwerty and CAN use it.
gedy 6y ago
I use Colemak with my DIY split design: https://ibb.co/ZGmbFyp https://ibb.co/ZGmbFyp
icedchocolate 6y ago
They are (almost?) all configurable using QMK, custom firmware or even Via :)

corysama 6y ago

Missing the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fingerworks_Touchstream_keyboard.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fingerworks_Touchstream_k... After drooling over the idea of this for years, I finally pulled the trigger and bought one. But, my order was cancelled because Apple had just bought the company to work on gesture tech for the original iPhone.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
rajbot 6y ago
Touchstream is such a magical device!

avolcano 6y ago

This is a neat gallery! I'm personally thinking of getting a split keyboard soon, but I'm so split on what I want. Currently using a Preonic and find the ortholinear/compact layout fairly pleasant, so I might just want to get something like the Let's Split. Still, I can't decide if I'd prefer a board with thumb clusters and/or staggered rows (like the Ergodox). I'd honestly be fine going back to a more traditional layout on a split keyboard (not ortholinear, punctuation keys in normal places, all that stuff), but I've been really unimpressed by what I've seen of those in terms of features. I really want QMK, and I'd also like boards that are flat/don't have a strong tilt since those tend to be a bad ergonomically (in fact, I'd ideally like optional negative tilting). I also want something that's relatively low profile, which is also tricky to find in my experience.

sphynxie 6y ago
I wanted a split keyboard but wasn't ready for ortholinear (yet) so I built one of these last year: https://keeb.io/products/quefrency-60-65-split-staggered-keyboard-1 https://keeb.io/products/quefrency-60-65-split-staggered-key... I love it. I added some tilt but it doesn't come with any, and it can be easily flashed with QMK. I just stuck some bumpers on it for the tilt so you could easily go negative. I don't even have mine in a case, so it is very low profile. Since it does not have a standard function key row, the esc key is not where you would expect it to be (mine is on the extra left bit with the function keys) but otherwise the keys are more or less where you would expect them to be. If you want a dedicated function row there is also this: https://keeb.io/collections/sinc/products/sinc-split-staggered-75-keyboard https://keeb.io/collections/sinc/products/sinc-split-stagger... I love the split layout and especially the split spacebar, as I made the left spacebar the macro key for my first layer. The rotary encoders are fun too.
- TheCapeGreek 6y ago
  For anyone reading this and not keen on DIYing or the quefrency generally or looking for a "normal" layout: checkout Mistel keyboards. I've seen a few on amazon. It's pretty much a normal keyboard layout cut in two.

mholm 6y ago

Anybody have the moonlander and enjoy it? I currently have an ergodox infinity, and want something I can swap to Kailh Choc White switches. The layout and programming seems perfect for me, though I'm disappointing that it's still wired.

lewurm 6y ago
I'm new to mechanical and split keyboards, but so far the moonlander has been great. Well, in the beginning it was a bit of a learning curve, but coming from the ergodox that shouldn't be an issue for you. Not being wireless is the only complaint that I have.
jrockway 6y ago
I switched to a Moonlander from an Ergodox and am liking it. I ended up not liking their built-in tenting mechanism, so 3D printed my own shims that screw to the back, allowing me to tent the keyboard but also tilt the "wings" upwards. Very comfortable! One thing I thought I hated about the Ergodox was how inaccessible the small keys on the thumb cluster were, and I thought I would like 3 big keys better. It turns out not to be the case... those keys are useless, but there are a lot of useless keys that are nice to have around (arrows, delete/insert, home/end, pgup/pgdn). I mostly do everything in Emacs and so don't use those keys, but when I'm using non-Emacs software, I do miss them. (I ultimately decided on Backspace, Alt, Up; Space, Enter, Down as what I use the big thumb keys for. Not sure I love this. This transitioned my backspace key from my right pointer finger to my left thumb, and it broke my muscle memory. I still forget that you can control backspace words to kill them outside of Emacs (where I use C-w for that, which closes your window in every other program).) TL;DR: it's fine! But still not perfect.
- jrockway 6y ago
  I forgot that I use Twitter sometimes and have pictures of another Moonlander experiment: mounting it to my chair! https://twitter.com/petersergeant/status/1356057651931537408 https://twitter.com/petersergeant/status/1356057651931537408 I did eventually get parts for both sides. One of the flexible arm clamp tripod mount thingies was not stiff enough to hold the keyboard up, but the other one was great. Since they were both the same part from the same order... it's kind of a crapshoot as to whether or not it will work. But I will continue to experiment.

Yabood 6y ago

I’ve been using Kinesis for about ten years now, I highly recommend it.

frompdx 6y ago
I picked up a Kinesis Advantage2 this year and so far I am very happy with it. Now I can type much longer without any wrist pain. I'm still struggling to reprogram my brain for some keys, but part of that is due to years of bad habits that I'm trying to undo. It was hard to get used to at first but I really like the layout of the thumb clusters.

salted-fry 6y ago

I like the idea of a split keyboard, but I've never been able to go down that road because I sometimes hit keys with the "wrong" finger - most notably, I need to be able to hit B with my right hand because it's down-left in roguelikes (i.e. Nethack). What I'd love to see is a "106% keyboard", where a couple columns are duplicated on both the left/right side. Does anybody make such a keyboard?

trufas 6y ago
The idea isn't entirely new. The TGR Alice is a popular board that has two b keys [0]. The more straightforward approach to get a full extra column would be to just grab a keyboard that already has 7+ columns per side (ie the chimera[1]) and repurpose those to be duplicate keys. [0] https://i.redd.it/9kyeyht1eqy11.jpg https://i.redd.it/9kyeyht1eqy11.jpg [1] https://github.com/GlenPickle/Chimera https://github.com/GlenPickle/Chimera
CarVac 6y ago
The answer to that is to make your own and hand-solder wire to the switches.
- salted-fry 6y ago
  The thought has occurred to me - and I wouldn't mind a thumb-trackball on the right hand, either. Design in the physical world is well outside my wheelhouse though - is a keyboard an approachable project for somebody who hasn't done woodworking/machining before, or would I be better served working on smaller projects first?
  - nickpedersen 6y ago
    Totally doable as a first project, I'm midway through building my first keyboard with a large number of modifications and it's been a really fun project. The Dactyl Manuform is a great starting point https://github.com/abstracthat/dactyl-manuform https://github.com/abstracthat/dactyl-manuform And /r/ErgoMechKeyboards on Reddit is a great community for understanding what you're trying to achieve.

kowlo 6y ago

I was never taught how to type... I'm fast enough, 120-140wpm depending on the keyboard and what I'm typing. I think the speed came from playing online games and needing to communicate quickly before suffering the consequences of not controlling my character. The end result is that I have a strange typing pattern and I use the "wrong" fingers for keys.

com2kid 6y ago
I use my left thumb for left shift, and for all other left meta keys. (I also hit 'a' with my left thumb...) My pinkies are completely unused, except for right pinky on enter. No idea how well I'd adapt to 'proper' typing! (After all these years, my left thumb is notably more flexible than my right!)
least 6y ago
I share this experience and my typing on a normal keyboard is still only using a few fingers and moving them around all over the place. On a split keyboard even, i still 'misplace' some fingers because my pinky finger is so short i can't hit 'p' key comfortably with it. Still, I think having a split keyboard has overall been a benefit to my typing experience and type faster on it than I could on a normal keyboard.

srcreigh 6y ago

Cool site. I didn't notice this much selection last year. I just ended buying a Kinesis Advantage 2. I'm very happy with the advantage 2. I'm curious about boards with smaller keys, more compact layout, or extra keys in the same space. The advantage 2 gives you easy access to the arrow keys with no loss of access to other keys. Eliminates the whole efficient arrow usage problem, or gives you more keys for commands if you use hjkl. The advantage 2 is not a be all end all fix for hand / wrist pain. Consider starting a hand/wrist exercise regime if you have pain first. It could help enough to not need to buy a board. https://youtu.be/EiRC80FJbHU https://youtu.be/EiRC80FJbHU

eru 6y ago
I'm currently migrating from the Kinesis Advantage to the Advantage 2. The old Advantage has served me well, but it's USB implementation seems to interact really badly with some modern laptops.
leg100 6y ago
I really persevered with a kinesis but the thumb keys were awkward regardless of the posture of my hands and wrists. I really liked the arrow key placement though. They are badly placed on mainstream keyboards for touch typists.
gauchojs 6y ago
Do you think a keyboard like that is mainly helpful for people with pain, or it would make typing more comfortable/efficient for the general user ?
- kadoban 6y ago
  I got one for just comfort and I'm happy with it. Did take a while to get used to the thumb button group placements, but not too bad.
- srcreigh 6y ago
  I think the general user will be more efficient with the Advantage 2. You basically get ~4-6 more reachable keys per hand depending on hand size. With this extra space there's no problem putting all 4 arrow keys, \|, Delete, `~, and Esc all within home row reach.

xbeta 6y ago

I have been looking for a keyboard, but fails to find one. - ergonomics - wireless (bluetooth or a tiny USB dongle is OK) - mechanical keys - mac cmd-key - below $200 USD I am not sure why it is so difficult to find one like that :-(

hbosch 6y ago
If you give up the wireless portion of that, you have a ton of options. I have an ortho keyboard, wired, and don't mind the wire at all... for travel it's easy enough (my Preonic keyboard from Massdrop came with a case) and the standard USB-C cable is easily detachable and stows nicely. Plus, it doesn't require a battery. I have a wireless mouse (G Pro Wireless) that is good enough but charging it is pretty annoying.
xudongz 6y ago
I recently developed a high end wireless ErgoDox keyboard [1] though I'm working on a more affordable version that will be announced in March/April. It will be around $200 with all the components (some minor assembly required). If you would like to be notified, please subscribe to my mailing list [2] for "ErgoDox Wireless Lite". If you are interested in details, you can also reach me via email (see profile). [1] https://www.slicemk.com/pages/ergodox-wireless https://www.slicemk.com/pages/ergodox-wireless [2] https://xudongz.us17.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=2e46b2d03470daaae50837934&id=6dcb92d819 https://xudongz.us17.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=2e46b2d0347...
- chewxy 6y ago
  Do you also offer assembly services? As someone who recently been unable to work on electronic components (small parts, easily swallowable, in a small apartment = danger), I'd highly appreciate it
  - xudongz 6y ago
    Yes, assembly is available. For the current group buy, you can find details for the assembly service here: https://www.slicemk.com/products/ergodox-wireless-assembly https://www.slicemk.com/products/ergodox-wireless-assembly For the planned low end version, assembly will just be installing switches/keycaps (no soldering). A similar assembly service will be available for people who just want to receive a complete keyboard.

Killakwinn 6y ago

I really enjoyed the aesthetics on some of these. Thanks for sharing -- this seriously puts my $19 Amazon Logitech keyboard to shame.

LeoPanthera 6y ago

I'm surprised the original[1] MS Natural Keyboard is not listed in the mass-market page. Maybe it's because it's not made anymore. I still have mine, it's years old, but it still works and I still love it, it seems to be the perfect angle for my hands. Even though it is absolutely enormous. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_ergonomic_keyboards#Natural_Keyboard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_ergonomic_keyboards#...

martin_a 6y ago
I think that list is for "cool" split keyboards. The Microsoft Ergonomic keyboard seems to still being manufactured, see here: https://www.amazon.de/Microsoft-LXM-00006-Ergonomic-Keyboard/dp/B07XVRSLQS/ https://www.amazon.de/Microsoft-LXM-00006-Ergonomic-Keyboard...
- LeoPanthera 6y ago
  Yeah but the current models are quite different from the original one. Mostly in size - they shrunk them down to more acceptable dimensions. The original is notable just for how enormous it is.
  - martin_a 6y ago
    Ah, just had a quick glance and thought they look similar in size.
Mister_Snuggles 6y ago
I couldn't touch-type until I got a Microsoft Natural Keyboard (the very first version listed). Eventually I got its successor, the Elite, then the 4000. Interestingly enough, the touch-typing skills that I didn't develop until getting the MS Natural Keyboard translate back just fine to regular keyboards.
- markmark 6y ago
  I bought a 4000 when I decided it was finally time to learn to touch type properly so that I'd be force to use the right hands for each half (I tended to use my dominant hand far too much). It worked great for that, and now I use a kinesis advantage, which I love.

blhack 6y ago

How on earth do people actually type on some of these? I have a keyboardio model 01(this: https://shop.keyboard.io/collections/model-01-keycaps/products/keycaps-model-01-qwerty https://shop.keyboard.io/collections/model-01-keycaps/produc...) And even this feels like I'm having to function dive into weird chords of keys to get some of the functionality that I want (arrow keys, mostly). Are people just not actually writing code with these ultra minimalist things?

jhardy54 6y ago
I use my Ergodox full-time and I love it, but I feel this way about an Atreus I just picked up: there are only a few keys, and some are inaccessible (!) so I'm stuck putting stuff like colons and quotation marks in a layer. Feels bad.
1-more 6y ago
I code full time on an Iris. Hold/tap is huge for me for every kind of bracket or brace, just like the spacecadet keyboard that came before us. I have my layer modifiers under F, D, and S which then flip the right hand to Vim style arrows, a number pad, and a symbol pad. Space cadet hold/tap shifts details here, from a soft remap I used to use: https://stevelosh.com/blog/2012/10/a-modern-space-cadet/#s17-shift-parentheses https://stevelosh.com/blog/2012/10/a-modern-space-cadet/#s17...
autocorr 6y ago
From browsing r/ErgoMechKeyboards and GeekHack, I think the main group of people making these custom keyboards are devs actually. Consider how foot pedals are a long-standing emacs thing :) I use a 40% layout on a custom board with palm keys for coding and writing in LaTeX mainly (like the Model 01 with 3x6 alphas 3 thumbs 1 palm on each side). It took some effort to re-train, but I'll never go back to a keyboard without palm keys now, I love the setup. They palm keys are perfect for activating the layers for arrows/navigation or numpad. But typing style plays a role too, it's definitely probably not everyone!
Agingcoder 6y ago
Agreed! I tried all kinds of keyboards, and intensely dislike all these smaller ones, which I find absolutely unusable for anything more complex than typing email. Some people quite visibly disagree with me I eventually settled on a kinesis ergo edge, which I really like.

nielsbot 6y ago

Don't forget about this classic: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Adjustable_Keyboard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Adjustable_Keyboard

alpb 6y ago

I know this is super off-topic but I’ve needed to design this web experience myself over the past few years (and ended up making visitors use Google Sheets with filters they adjust). It seems you've got some property/binary/numeric filters already in there and if you could load the data from a js/json file, this UI could be entirely open source and customizable. I’d just fork and put my own data, set my own sliders and good to go. Just a thought if you ever wanted to open source it. It would be a superb experience for many developers.

kemitchell 6y ago

I own or have owned several of these. The Kinesis Advantage 2 is the only one I regularly recommend. It's very expensive, but also refined, thoroughly tested, and highly customizable. It did not take me long to adjust. I'm now as fast on the Advantage as on any mechanical standard.

pimlottc 6y ago
I’ve got one as well but I haven’t quite managed to make the switch. The normal keys are no problem, but what keeps me from using it full time is all the special keys, i.e navigation (arrows/home/end/etc) and shortcuts (command/option/ctrl). I’m used to flying through editors by muscle memory so it feels quite painful to stumble on the new keyboard. Half the time I have to look at the old keyboard just to figure out what the actual keys I wanted are. Any suggestions to get over the hump? I’ve tried some typing games like Epistory but they normally focus on normal keys. I haven’t see one for these special keys.
- kemitchell 6y ago
  I use a lot of keyboard shortcuts. I can share what worked for me. Remap CapsLock to Windows/Super. Mirror Ctrl and Alt from the left thumb cluster onto the right thumb cluster, so you have Ctrl and Alt in reach of each thumb. Don't be afraid to customize special keys and punctuation. Especially that big Delete key under your left thumb. That's prime real estate. If you have larger hands, buy some of the stick-on palm rest pads. They'll help bring your wrists to the right angles.

castillar76 6y ago

I've used split keyboards for ages, and until recently had a Kinesis Gaming Edge that I really liked and still highly recommend. But what I found was that I was "freezing" while typing: instead of typing smoothly, it felt like every other sentence I'd pause for a sec and then keep going. After watching Thomas/chyrosran22's keyboard reviews on YouTube and his discussions of why ergo doesn't work for him, I realized why the 'freezing' was occurring: my brain was getting hooked when the key it wanted to hit was on the 'wrong' hand. I switched recently to a Keychron K4 (with about half the switches swapped out) and am now just being more conscientious about keeping my wrists at a natural angle than I am about hitting keys with the right fingers. The result: no more freezing, my wrists are happier than ever, and I feel like my typing has gained 10wpm. I do miss the extra macro keys, though—might have to get a macro pad at some point...

dr_kiszonka 6y ago
That keychron looks so nice! I quite like the color scheme. Have you seen any keyboard with a similar layout to Kinesis Edge but with attachments similar to those that UHK has (https://ultimatehackingkeyboard.com/product/keycluster https://ultimatehackingkeyboard.com/product/keycluster). Those more fancy, niche keyboards like Moonlander and UHK seem to offer great configurability, but simply have too few keys for me. My wrists like separate arrows, home, end, page up & down keys and not needing to change layers or press and hold four-key combinations :)
- firstSpeaker 6y ago
  I use UHK. Note that it does not have the modules yet and the reason I switched to this when my previous vessel died was the modules. As far as it goes they are postponing tease of the modules on every release date. I am looking forward to the trackball and the key luster. Although now I am considering waiting for a bunch of reviews to come out before paying for those two modules.
- UHK2 6y ago
  You can change layers with one keypress too. You can configure what will activate the layers: hold or double-click or a simple click.

regus 6y ago

I switched to using a Kinesis Freestyle 2 with the tenting kit. It has made a big difference for me, a lot of the pain I was feeling when using other keyboards has gone away. I am so intrigued by some of these minimalist keyboards. I tried to use a 60% keyboard but I found using the extra layers to be difficult to adjust to. On paper it sounds good, move your fingers less, just use a layer. But in practice it got old fast. I never realized how often I needed to press the ` key until I started using a 60% keyboard.

urmish 6y ago

I have the ez ergodox but it is slightly big for my hands. I end up making typos once in a while. What is a good keyset for tiny hands? Or a smaller split keyboard.

mewse-hn 6y ago

This is super cool! I definitely could have used this when I found a photo of a split keyboard on aliexpress and it turned out to be the redox manuform. Relatedly, this site is missing the redox manuform

Symbiote 6y ago
Thanks; I've added the Redox Manuform. I'm not sure how I missed it!

treeman79 6y ago

I have the Kinesis Freestyle Edge RGB with brown switches. Use for programming and occasional game. Amazing help for my inner shoulder pain. Highly recommend. Keys are squishy and I loath them. Error rate is much higher. Regret brown keys. Arrow keys are oddly mashed in and unpleasant to use. VIM reduces need, but still. Going back to non split makes my shoulders tense up again. Took about about a week to get used to keyboard. Absolutely recommend split keyboard if you have broad shoulders. I will try a different model on the next one.

kylepdm 6y ago

No love for the Alice and it's loving clones?

Symbiote 6y ago
I've added it. Is there somewhere to buy it, or is it discontinued / one off group buy? I've linked it to here for the moment: https://www.taehatypes.com/alice https://www.taehatypes.com/alice

workingonmyback 6y ago

I wonder if anyone shares my setup. I lie horizontally with a monitor suspended 3ft directly above. I use a logitech trackball on my right hand at my side. I find this position comfortable for long hours and don't experience the backpain that I did for years. One wrinkle is the keyboard - it rests on my upper thighs, and I find I'm rolling my shoulders forward to type which is less than ideal. I experimented with split keyboards but haven't found an ideal solution yet. A major problem is switching from the trackball back to the keyboard. Also needing to keep the trackball out wide to allow space for the split keyboard on my right side.

eru 6y ago
A friend of mine cut up her Kinesis Advantage to put a big trackball right in the middle. (There's enough space in the housing, especially if you are not afraid to cut and move the circuit board.) A similar position might work for you? I use a standing desk to be in a similar (but upright) position, because sitting is also bad for me.
- maximilianroos 6y ago
  I have a trackpad in the middle of mine, it works great. Here's a photo from a few years back: https://twitter.com/max_sixty/status/1144236070369988609/photo/1 https://twitter.com/max_sixty/status/1144236070369988609/pho...
  - eru 6y ago
    Nice! Hers was a rather more professional looking job. The trackball was about 8 cm in diameter and sunk right in. (She also hacked up the kernel driver to make horizontal rotation be interpreted as the scroll wheel.)

jugg1es 6y ago

I mean, if you want to make something useful - you can't go wrong by adding drawers to it.

roldie 6y ago

I have the X-Bows. It's my first ergo keyboard, and I really like it so far. I even use it for gaming. They just released one with a Mac layout, so I might be picking up a second one.

thex10 6y ago

Awesome! I wish I'd seen this last year when I was in the market. Nonetheless I'm happy with my Dygma Raise (I mostly wanted split, RGB lights, with not too few keys). I wasn't ready for an ortholinear layout but hope to venture in that direction for my next purchase.

nine_k 6y ago

I wonder why people obsess so much with colorful keycaps and RGB lights. I suspect it's for aesthetic pleasure, not for enhanced ergonomics. I got me a split keyboard so that I would never have to look at it. For me this is achieved by not moving the wrist, only moving the fingers. Then my hands do not slip and do not need vision-guided repositioning. (My current keyboard is an Ergodox EZ, all black, no lights. It's fine enough, and thr ortholinear layout is very helpful, but the thumb cluster is clumsy, and the pinky columns are not staggered enough, so typing P or Q needs a wrist shift. I have 60g switches in the home row, so that fingers can rest on them without clicking, and 30g switches everywhere else. My plan is to build a Kyria which has a better geometry / ergonomics, so I made a Kyria-compatible layout to get used to it.)

nickburlett 6y ago
I have my Ergodox EZ configured so that each layer has a different backlight color, helping me notice if I've inadvertently switched layers. I agree on the pinky column not being staggered enough.

sequoia 6y ago

I am up past my bedtime typing on hacker news just to mega-disagree about the goldtouch keyboard, of which I own multiple and have used exclusively for over 10 years to manage serious RSI which has left me debilitated at times and will probably never resolve fully. The goldtouch is a fantastic ergonomic keyboard. I’m sure others are just as good or better and didn’t object to the authors criticisms until s/he suggested a better alternative to the goldtouch is the Kenesis freestyle which does not tent, the main reason I use the goldtouch. This makes me wonder if the author is concerned about ergonomics and functionality or just quirkiness. The fact that he dumps all “mass market” keyboards (ie the majority of those people actually use) into one bucket in order to highlight a half dozen impractical lookalikes where someone basically just took a keyboard and cut it in half was the first thing that had me scratching my head. An interesting collection of oddities but not a sound product guide IMO.

stevekemp 6y ago
I had the same feeling; I've been using the Microsoft Ergonomic keyboards for what feels like the past 10-15 years now: http://xahlee.info/kbd/microsoft_ergonomic_keyboard.html http://xahlee.info/kbd/microsoft_ergonomic_keyboard.html Every time I change job I bring my own with me, or persuade the company to buy me one. I did experiment with an actually-split keyboard back in the late 90s; two pieces joined by a short cable, but it was really difficult to use and so I gave up on it almost immediately. My memory was that there was only a short/stubby space-bar on the left-half of the keyboard too. (I'm a touch typist, and I definitely use both thumbs for pressing the space bar. Albeit I use my dominant hand most of the time.)
- noir_lord 6y ago
  I did the same at every job for the last decade - either work buys an Ergo 4000 or I buy an Ergo 4000 and clear it with IT (honestly that was one place, I did it out of courtesy, I just took the new sealed in box to where IT sat and asked "ok if I use this?" and they said sure). These days I'm WFH forever and can use whatever the hell I want (work issues a stipend for hardware). The Ergo 4000 is such a large part of my computing experience that I have a stockpile of new in box units as a hedge against their eventual discontinuation. I've yet to have one die though, I wear the letters off fairly quickly but otherwise they are tough little beasts and easy enough to take apart and clean.

dukeofdoom 6y ago

Costco was selling selling a cheaper version of logitech ergo keyboard. The ergo line of logitech keyboards feel great to type on.

GreaterFool 6y ago

I wish DataHand was still made. The 3d printed keyboard based on DataHand looks very interesting but right now I don't have time to invest into making custom hardware. I wish I could just buy something similar!

wejn 6y ago
You can sometimes snatch it off of eBay for $800-$1500. Of course making a lalboard from scratch might end up being cheaper in the end.

mech422 6y ago

This is sweet! I'm trying to find time to work on my 'trackdyl' (like the 'oddball' or 'beast' in the photos) I wouldn't mind a split with a thumb cluster mounted 'electric eraser' either.. It would be so nice not to have to reach for a mouse/trackball all the time...

airhead969 6y ago

The DataHand was the ultimate split keyboard innovation advancement short of implanting electrodes in your skull. It failed because of poor marketing and a ridiculous price (likely due to cost-inefficient engineering/manufacturing).

Tepix 6y ago

Nice gallery. I sold my Keyboardio Atreus. I think it was too radical for me and i didn't want to invest the time to adapt to it when in the end there was an aspect i didn't like (tiny space and enter keys, no numbers etc). The Dactyl looks tempting now...

alexvoda 6y ago

This is a fork of this gallery on github: https://github.com/diimdeep/awesome-split-keyboards https://github.com/diimdeep/awesome-split-keyboards It was also featured in HN here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25922698 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25922698 It appears to have extra keyboards. However several are not properly tagged because they were missing when I used the filters. This initially made me think the gallery was incomplete before I realized it is a fork of the other gallery.

5tefan 6y ago

All would be fine for me if MS would fully integrate key rebindings. No chance in my business environment to install extra software. I could balance the use of both hands better if I can have the return key also on the left side or rebind R shift as left mouse click or whatever... I need the full keyboard. All of it and accessibility of (some) keys to both hands would be great. Most split keyboard and minimal keyboards make no sense anyway outside English environments.

frostburg 6y ago
You can do that (mouse keys included) with any keyboard that supports QMK. No software needed on the local machine.
Kaze404 6y ago
> Most split keyboard and minimal keyboards make no sense anyway outside English environments. Not sure what you mean by this. I've been using an Ergodox EZ for almost 2 years and I don't live in an English-speaking country. It's no different from using the US-INTL layout in any other keyboard.

stunt 6y ago

Those that aren't curved/concave miss a major comfort factor in my opinion. My personal must-haves for a split keyboard: - Concave/curved design. - Thumb clusters. - Vertical arranged key columns. - Palm support. - Fully customizable layout. - Mechanical switches or anything similar with proper feedback for better typing, and also decent travel distance so it doesn't feel that you're knocking your fingertips on hard plastic all the time.

still_grokking 6y ago

I would love to have an ergonomic split keyboard. But they are (almost) only available with those bulky, loud, (imho) hard to use, "clicky" mechanical keys. It's a pity nobody is building such a thing like https://github.com/JesusFreke/lalboard https://github.com/JesusFreke/lalboard with keys like https://www.r-go-tools.com/products/ergonomic-keyboards/r-go-split/qwerty-us-black-wired/ https://www.r-go-tools.com/products/ergonomic-keyboards/r-go...

gwenzek 6y ago
If you build your own keyboard you can put whatever switches on them. Kailh Choc Blue for instance are ultra light linear switches (20g actuation)

bmn__ 6y ago

Indicate the state of a filter with a check mark, not with red/green background. https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/#use-of-color https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/#use-of-color

ScottBurson 6y ago

Though it's been out of production for 15 or 20 years, the Kinesis Evolution belongs in here. I have a chair-mount model that still works.

checkyoursudo 6y ago

I realize I'm a little late to this party, but I thought I would try to ask anyway. As someone who has used what is probably considered a mass market ergo split keyboard for a long time (10+ years), what would be a reasonable new one to try? This is definitely better than a straight, standard keyboard for me, but it is not really good. The keys require too much activation force. I still have to bend my wrists a lot. Some keys are hard to reach. What else can I try? I do not have RSI that I know of. I don't have pain. It is just not very good. Anyway, I don't know if this is enough info for a recommendation.

aknosis 6y ago
I'm on my second Mistel Barocco split mechanical keyboard. First with a MD600 and now the MD770. I only upgraded because I liked the 770 has a full row of function keys and arrows keys making me less reliant on function keys for those extra key presses. If the keys are too hard to press, you need to get switches that have lower actuation force (I use MX Browns), if you are having issue bending wrists I think you need to find a keyboard that tents well.
- checkyoursudo 6y ago
  Thanks for your response. I'll take a look at tenting keyboards. I think that might be what I should pursue next.