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All that and a single paragraph about ergonomic split keyboards? What a shame. Imo, the main reasons to get into mech keyboards are customization and programmab

All that and a single paragraph about ergonomic split keyboards? What a shame. Imo, the main reasons to get into mech keyboards are customization and programmability. This subreddit is a good starting point: https://www.reddit.com/r/ErgoMechKeyboards/ https://www.reddit.com/r/ErgoMechKeyboards/

peterbecich 2y ago
Two thumbs up for the Iris keyboard, typically purchased as a kit: https://keeb.io/collections/iris-split-ergonomic-keyboard https://keeb.io/collections/iris-split-ergonomic-keyboard
user_7832 2y ago
I’d also add r/olkb for ortholinear keyboards and r/ergomechcomputers for those pushing ergo keyboards to their logical conclusion. Side note, the BFO-9000 looks glorious.
mlloyd 2y ago
Thanks for this! I use a Perrix 835 and I'm quite happy with it except that the keys are rubbing raw and I need new key caps. But I'm always looking to trade up if possible.
- pabloescobyte 2y ago
  There's a whole world of custom split keyboard options out there that use switches where it's super easy to buy replacement keycaps. You can get keycaps made of PBT which are long-lasting and have a very high "rub" factor so you shouldn't have to worry about rubbing them raw for a very long time.
AceJohnny2 2y ago
Yes! I don't really understand the appeal of mechanical keyboards. I mean sure, they're a step up from cheap-ass rubber-dome defaults, so it's worth people discovering there are options. But for me, most mechanical keyboards are downright painful to use. The standard rectangular layout is bad for my wrists, the keypress depth is bad for my fingers, clicks are just plain annoying. Perhaps decades of keyboard use has worn my wrists and fingers down or helped me define what I wanted, but it's split low-profile or bust. And there's a dearth of such options on the market. Slowly rising, but a paltry fraction of the overall "mechanical"/custom keyboard market, especially as it comes to keycaps! Maybe I should just grab the bull by the horns and mod a Microsoft Sculpt to be wired, whose only downside is unreliable wireless. /rant
- layer8 2y ago
  I share your experience. I can recommend the discontinued Microsoft LXM-00001 (the Sculpt wasn’t quite for me), which is wired, if you can find leftover stock, or if Incase finally manages to resurrect it [0]. [0] https://www.zdnet.com/article/fan-of-microsofts-windows-pc-accessories-theyve-been-resurrected-by-another-brand/ https://www.zdnet.com/article/fan-of-microsofts-windows-pc-a...
- eviks 2y ago
  There are non-clicky keys!
  - AceJohnny2 2y ago
    oh yeah, in fact I find it hilarious that clicky keys just have an extra lever just for the click sound. It's not part of the actuation mechanism! I have a Giant Kailh from Novelkeys which is interesting to see the construction of a switch.
    - eviks 2y ago
      indeed, of all the things to preserve from the bad designs of the past...
- fernmyth 2y ago
  I’m quite happy with my Perixx Periboard 335 replacing the Microsoft Ergo Sculpt. Standard layout, semi-split, tented, low (-ish) profile, mechanical switches, wired. Took me a lot of searches to find something meeting my requirements
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
- motorest 2y ago
  > But for me, most mechanical keyboards are downright painful to use. The standard rectangular layout is bad for my wrists, the keypress depth is bad for my fingers, clicks are just plain annoying. I think you're conflating things. The "mechanical" in "mechanical keyboard" refers to the key switches. That's it. Then you have unrelated traits such as customization,which can express in using fancy/functional keycaps, feel/keypress experience, and whatever you can imagine and throw at a keyboard. None of your complains refer to mechanical keyboards in particular.
pabloescobyte 2y ago
It's an article written by a mainstream site so I wasn't really expecting them to talk about split keyboards at all but I agree wholeheartedly. I went from a full size to a 40% keyboard to an ortholinear and now use a low-profile split keyboard as a daily driver. IME it's so much better for ergonomics with a proper desk setup and seating/posture with the split halves shoulder width apart. Wireless is a great benefit as well if you swap between desktops and laptops. Open source firmware like ZMK and QMK make it trivial to use splits with Linux, mac OS and Windows and for any environments where the OS is locked down and software installation is required.
mastazi 2y ago
Are there split keyboards that preserve the standard layout of the home/end/pgup/pgdown cluster? Due to my usage patterns, not having that is a deal breaker for me. As an example, with rectangular keyboards my only choices are tenkeyless or full size, because they preserve the home cluster. Are there equivalents in the split keyboard world? All I'm seeing in that subreddit are smaller keyboards that lack the home cluster, that's why I ask.
- lelanthran 2y ago
  > Are there split keyboards that preserve the standard layout of the home/end/pgup/pgdown cluster? There used to be. I have a Microsoft keyboard[1] that works just fine using a PS2 <-> USB connector. Unfortunately I lost the PS2 <-> USB connector (which, IIRC, was an active converter, not a passive one) so I don't use it any more. I use a standard mechanical keyboard with the standard US layout, and have not noticed any discomfort after 25 years or daily driving the standard layout. [1] This particular one - first gen model: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_ergonomic_keyboards#Natural_Keyboard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_ergonomic_keyboards#... - although if you browse that entire page you'll see that there are newer models.
- lawn 2y ago
  Why not create a "navigation layer" where you can have your home/end/pup/pgdown and arrow keys, right below your fingers? That's the usual way people use these smaller keyboards, and it's way superior in my opinion.
- WesleyLivesay 2y ago
  I think the Ergodox ez does those keys better than a standard keyboard because they are split between the two thumb clusters in the standard layout. Don't even have to move my hands to hit any of the four keys. It was one of the things I was looking for in a keyboard.
- 3eb7988a1663 2y ago
  Does seem like a white whale. Nearly all of the split keyboards want to do something different. I just want to stop scrunching my shoulders and space out my arms. Give me a fully traditional keyboard with all of the keys, just with a split down the middle. My non-QMK keyboard has a horrendous home+end location, which I only realized after I acquired the thing. I did not realize how much I rely on those keys in normal programming.

peterbecich 2y ago

Two thumbs up for the Iris keyboard, typically purchased as a kit: https://keeb.io/collections/iris-split-ergonomic-keyboard https://keeb.io/collections/iris-split-ergonomic-keyboard

user_7832 2y ago

I’d also add r/olkb for ortholinear keyboards and r/ergomechcomputers for those pushing ergo keyboards to their logical conclusion. Side note, the BFO-9000 looks glorious.

mlloyd 2y ago

Thanks for this! I use a Perrix 835 and I'm quite happy with it except that the keys are rubbing raw and I need new key caps. But I'm always looking to trade up if possible.

pabloescobyte 2y ago
There's a whole world of custom split keyboard options out there that use switches where it's super easy to buy replacement keycaps. You can get keycaps made of PBT which are long-lasting and have a very high "rub" factor so you shouldn't have to worry about rubbing them raw for a very long time.

AceJohnny2 2y ago

Yes! I don't really understand the appeal of mechanical keyboards. I mean sure, they're a step up from cheap-ass rubber-dome defaults, so it's worth people discovering there are options. But for me, most mechanical keyboards are downright painful to use. The standard rectangular layout is bad for my wrists, the keypress depth is bad for my fingers, clicks are just plain annoying. Perhaps decades of keyboard use has worn my wrists and fingers down or helped me define what I wanted, but it's split low-profile or bust. And there's a dearth of such options on the market. Slowly rising, but a paltry fraction of the overall "mechanical"/custom keyboard market, especially as it comes to keycaps! Maybe I should just grab the bull by the horns and mod a Microsoft Sculpt to be wired, whose only downside is unreliable wireless. /rant

layer8 2y ago
I share your experience. I can recommend the discontinued Microsoft LXM-00001 (the Sculpt wasn’t quite for me), which is wired, if you can find leftover stock, or if Incase finally manages to resurrect it [0]. [0] https://www.zdnet.com/article/fan-of-microsofts-windows-pc-accessories-theyve-been-resurrected-by-another-brand/ https://www.zdnet.com/article/fan-of-microsofts-windows-pc-a...
eviks 2y ago
There are non-clicky keys!
- AceJohnny2 2y ago
  oh yeah, in fact I find it hilarious that clicky keys just have an extra lever just for the click sound. It's not part of the actuation mechanism! I have a Giant Kailh from Novelkeys which is interesting to see the construction of a switch.
  - eviks 2y ago
    indeed, of all the things to preserve from the bad designs of the past...
fernmyth 2y ago
I’m quite happy with my Perixx Periboard 335 replacing the Microsoft Ergo Sculpt. Standard layout, semi-split, tented, low (-ish) profile, mechanical switches, wired. Took me a lot of searches to find something meeting my requirements
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
motorest 2y ago
> But for me, most mechanical keyboards are downright painful to use. The standard rectangular layout is bad for my wrists, the keypress depth is bad for my fingers, clicks are just plain annoying. I think you're conflating things. The "mechanical" in "mechanical keyboard" refers to the key switches. That's it. Then you have unrelated traits such as customization,which can express in using fancy/functional keycaps, feel/keypress experience, and whatever you can imagine and throw at a keyboard. None of your complains refer to mechanical keyboards in particular.

pabloescobyte 2y ago

It's an article written by a mainstream site so I wasn't really expecting them to talk about split keyboards at all but I agree wholeheartedly. I went from a full size to a 40% keyboard to an ortholinear and now use a low-profile split keyboard as a daily driver. IME it's so much better for ergonomics with a proper desk setup and seating/posture with the split halves shoulder width apart. Wireless is a great benefit as well if you swap between desktops and laptops. Open source firmware like ZMK and QMK make it trivial to use splits with Linux, mac OS and Windows and for any environments where the OS is locked down and software installation is required.

mastazi 2y ago

Are there split keyboards that preserve the standard layout of the home/end/pgup/pgdown cluster? Due to my usage patterns, not having that is a deal breaker for me. As an example, with rectangular keyboards my only choices are tenkeyless or full size, because they preserve the home cluster. Are there equivalents in the split keyboard world? All I'm seeing in that subreddit are smaller keyboards that lack the home cluster, that's why I ask.

lelanthran 2y ago
> Are there split keyboards that preserve the standard layout of the home/end/pgup/pgdown cluster? There used to be. I have a Microsoft keyboard[1] that works just fine using a PS2 <-> USB connector. Unfortunately I lost the PS2 <-> USB connector (which, IIRC, was an active converter, not a passive one) so I don't use it any more. I use a standard mechanical keyboard with the standard US layout, and have not noticed any discomfort after 25 years or daily driving the standard layout. [1] This particular one - first gen model: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_ergonomic_keyboards#Natural_Keyboard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_ergonomic_keyboards#... - although if you browse that entire page you'll see that there are newer models.
lawn 2y ago
Why not create a "navigation layer" where you can have your home/end/pup/pgdown and arrow keys, right below your fingers? That's the usual way people use these smaller keyboards, and it's way superior in my opinion.
WesleyLivesay 2y ago
I think the Ergodox ez does those keys better than a standard keyboard because they are split between the two thumb clusters in the standard layout. Don't even have to move my hands to hit any of the four keys. It was one of the things I was looking for in a keyboard.
3eb7988a1663 2y ago
Does seem like a white whale. Nearly all of the split keyboards want to do something different. I just want to stop scrunching my shoulders and space out my arms. Give me a fully traditional keyboard with all of the keys, just with a split down the middle. My non-QMK keyboard has a horrendous home+end location, which I only realized after I acquired the thing. I did not realize how much I rely on those keys in normal programming.