[iamevn]

I don't know about boosting productivity but the mechanical keyboards I've used have been much more comfortable than the mushy rubber dome keyboards or those extremely thin apple keyboards that feel like you're just mashing your fingers into a metal plate. I've never compared typing speed across keyboards but I definitely do feel more confident that my keypresses are going in the order I intend when I can feel the click of the switch actuating. Also I've found I'm able to type much longer without shoulder/wrist/arm pain when I use a split keyboard with the two halves spread shoulder-width apart.

I've used a Rosewill RK-9000 (basic full-size keyboard) with Cherry MX Brown switches since around 2013 and have had to replace a couple switches but otherwise it has served me well. A friend spilled diet coke all over it early on but disassembling it and washing all the plastic parts in soapy water and the pcb in distilled water was enough to clean that. It still works wonderfully but either I've gotten used to more tactile switches or the browns in it have gotten less tactile in the last 8 years.

A few years ago I got a Matias ErgoPro with quiet click switches to use at work. I love the split profile and the layout with the bigger left ctrl key and the right ctrl key on your right thumb. Unfortunately a few switches started giving me problems: they'd either keep sending keypresses even though the key was not held down or they'd not send keypresses when I press them. I've heard lots of people have similar issues and I think there was a bad batch of switches or something. From what I've heard Matias is really good about customer service and will replace your keyboard but I wanted to have extra switches to use on diy projects anyways so I just bought a bag of 200 switches and replaced them myself. I'm tempted to have a go at writing some custom firmware to turn the hard-coded shortcut keys into real macro keys. The switches are super quiet but still feel clicky which made this perfect for work.

Most recently I picked up a Tex Shinobi kit with green switches which are extremely loud (especially on the metal plate in that keyboard) but feel good. The keyboard is laid-out like classic ThinkPad keyboards and even has the little red pointer nub. I don't use it too much now since my work keyboard is at home. (Also my partner is always home and it really is loud so I tend to just use it for when I've got a laptop hooked up to a television and this keyboard in my lap where it won't resonate as much as on a desk.)