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by arvinsim 2092 days ago
Really wish there were more affordable full size split keyboards.

I love typing on mechanical keyboards but would love an ergonomic option.

Yes, I know there are keyboards like Kinesis and Ergodox but it's hard to get them outside US.

3 comments

Ergodox EZ will ship anywhere, afaik. They ship from Taiwan, even when you order them from the US.

I don't know if it's what you consider affordable, but given the hours I put in on the thing, it's a worthwhile investment.

What is the experience like with the fully disconnected sides, do you not struggle to keep them at the correct position relative to each other?
If anything, the opposite.

The correct position is somewhat subjective, and will differ slightly based on the rest of my position, in particular sitting and standing. Being able to fine-tune it is part of the charm.

I'd like to try tenting it further than the legs allow, one of these days. But it's quite a capable and comfortable machine out of the box.

And the sides are quite solid, they never slide around on the desk in use or anything like that.

I have an Ultimate Hacking Keyboard, which is split like the ErgoDox. I don't find any issue with the positioning. I personally think about keeping them in any position relative to each other, but rather how each hand/wrist feels comfortable with its own half. Currently they are both nearly parallel to the edge of the table and positioned so that my hands are straight, not angled. They have rubber feet so they don't tend to move.
How easy is it to get the hand back into home position after using the mouse on the split?
I don't know as I don't use a separate mouse anymore, I use the mouse layer on the keyboard itself. My hands don't really leave home position too much. I moved backspace to the right side thumb clicker too, so I don't have to stretch for it.
Super easy if you have homing indicators on the keys (F and J on QWERTY layouts) like you would on other keyboards, only slightly more difficult if you don’t.
I have an Ergodox EZ, and the rubber feet on it help it stay in place fairly well. The sides move around a little, but never enough for me to notice.
I got my Kinesis in the UK via Osmond Ergonomics. It’s cheaper than direct US shipping (which Kinesis would do, but then it’s a bit of a pain with border taxes). Osmond is a pretty small company, very friendly, I expect they could probably get you other Kinesis stuff not featured on their webstore, if you ask them.
I couldn’t afford a full size one but got a 40% split and it has been great. Joint issues but placed a mouse and later a trackball that I can use with right hand or thumb in between the halves and a few layers to get F-keys up to 24, numpad and media buttons.

Absolutely amazing to use and has rid me of a lot of pain.