If you have been using an ergonomic mechanical keyboard for more than year, let us know which keyboard it is, and whether you plan to keep to keep using it for at least another year or if there’s another keyboard you are considering trying instead.
Keyboardio Model 01 since late 2017 until Model 100 came out early 2022, then I switched to that asap for the nicer switches.
Love them both. Very hackable. Very reliable, especially the newer model, the 01 needed some occasional switch de-dusting.
The only downsides are:
- I miss my F keys
- There is no way to get custom labeled keycaps except for manufacturing them yourself somehow.
After starting with an Ergodox, I’ve been using a 42-key Corne keyboard for the last few years.
I love it. My current board is the Boardsource Unicorne.
I’m experimenting the cocot46plus as a “unibody Corne with trackball” for cases when an all-in-one keyboard and pointing device might be more useful, but plan to keep using a Corne a daily driver.
I pair it with MT3 keycaps and Cherry MX2A Browns.
After some practice, my typing speed increased to about 85 wpm on the board vs 65 wpm on my more traditional Happy Keyboard Lite 2 60% keyboard.
I use the markstos layout
4 years with my Iris V2. My only 2 complaints are that I didn’t like the default layering layout in QMK and that I couldn’t wait for V4.
Incredible keyboard.
I also highly recommend the Otemu Silent Sky switches I used in it, though sourcing them is a real pain. Tactile, buttery smooth, good resistance curves, and utterly silent.
Love mine too. I’ve had one at work and one at home for about 3 years now. Only thing I dislike is that the upper thumb button is useless. I’d rather have an extra key on the lowest row.
Oh funny I love my upper thumb. Esc/` on one side and Del on the other. So not high traffic, but close when I need them.
I’ve been using my bad wings (v1) for over a year, and I didn’t think I’d ever give it up. It’s a 36-key mono-body split with a cirque track pad in the middle, and I use it with a miryoku layout. I used it as my only board for several months after I first built it, but I was constantly using it for travel and project computers (it’s perfect for tinkering with raspberry pis), so I put another board at my desktop computer and now my bad wings goes wherever I go for my laptop, or hot-desking, or projects, or anything else. I’ve even used the track pad on it as my only mouse for days at a time.
I recently bought a bad wings 2 as a back up and so that I could convert my first one to wireless with ZMK. All in all, it’s been a fantastic board for me, and I’ll definitely be using it for the foreseeable future.
I’ve been using a Glove80 full time for over a year and I love it! It helped with my wrist pain too. I’ve not used any other ergonomic keyboards other than the Microsoft one, but I’m very happy with this one and see no reason to change.
I’ve been using my 34 key ferris sweep for a couple of years now and I love it.
I have a charybdis nano that I need to wire up, it makes me really appreciate the tighter choc spacing on the sweep, that and the low profile keys are doing a lot for comfort IMO
Do you have any tenting on you ferris sweep?
No tenting, I have found it very comfortable just sitting on the desk, I think the low profile height helps a lot
I’ve used it for a few years and don’t plan to change unless something with an integrated trackball comes along at a decent price. Maybe the Naya but $700 is too much. 💰💸
It moves the micro controller to the pinky zone to free up more pointer finger keys. I love the Choco thumb clusters too.
I also use a Cornish Zen for when I’m in the office or away from my battle station.
This looks similar to the Corne V4, which supports 4 additional interior keys.
Yeah pretty similar indeed. Might have been a tough choice if v4 was available way back when I built mine.
I do hope more keyboards offer choc thumbs too. It’s pretty comfy to rest them just a bit lower.
I’ve had a Manuform Dactyl 6x4 for about 3 years, it’s fantastic and I’ll definitely try to get another one if this one ever breaks in a way that makes repair impossible. Shoutout to Ibnu from the other site, thanks bro
- I was a 60% guy until I borrowed (stole? I still have it) a Kensis Advantage from a coworker.
- Not long after I built a couple Ergodox (Hotdox). I used all 76 keys for about 5 years.
- I built a beautiful wireless Ergodox with a metal case and solar charging (SliceMK) that I have basically never used :/
- For the last year and a half I’ve used a dactyl manuform (Wylder) that I soldered with ameba king per key pcbs. 39 keys (I don’t use a few) + a trackball.
I don’t see myself changing anytime soon, auto mouse layer is amazing. I have a Draculad PCB and case but no real reason to build it since I wfh.
I’ve been using my keyboard, Toast, for two years. I use it with a modified Miryoku layout with Colemak DH. It’s for work, travel and at home.
I open-sourced Toast too
https://github.com/vpzed/keyboards/tree/main/toast
I also built half an MX-switch Helix to have a fully programmable gaming keypad for home.
Colemak DH
Happy to find another user here!
Colemak DH represent!
Nice!
There are literally dozens of us!
I’ve been using a Kinesis Advantage for over a decade now. I’ve tried most of the ergo options out there and I keep coming back to the Advantage. It’s the only one that gets the thumb keys right in my opinion.
I currently run a heavily modified version done by the guys at Upgrade Keyboards.
I’ve been using Zilpzalp basically exclusively for over a year, at this point I don’t think I’ll ever find a more comfortable board :)
Now that you’ve been using this for awhile, how is your typing speed? Or is your preference for it more about comfort and enjoyment?
It’s definitely about comfort, but i’ve also never been faster on any other board. Gotta admit I’m not a fast typist, with around 80wpm.
that’s what your board should feel like, right. also same, except for splaytoraid of course. I don’t use anything else anymore.
The only keyboard that solved all my wrist pain was the Kinesis Advantage Pro, which I learned alongside Colemak. Love the keyboard, and if it broke I’d buy it again tomorrow without hesitation.
Self made Scylla for a year (it’s a dactyl type - 6x4 plus clusters, split, tented, welled, ortho) and I’m cruising on it.
Still adjusting 1 or 2 keys on ZMK but from comfort its amazing.
Bluetooth, USB-C and battery. Enjoying life!
I got my Sofle V2 in 2022 as a job change present for myself. I’ve since changed jobs again, but the Sofle V2 continues to be the keyboard I bring into office.
For a long time I was just bringing it into work in the box it came in, but during the job change period, I bought some fabric, an Apple TV (gen 2) travel case and replaced the moulded foam with a fabric base. Had to do a fair bit of sewing but the result has been pretty great.
It gets a lot of curious comments in the office, and I’ve gotten fairly proficient at Colemak DHm. I’m planning on upgrading the microcontrollers so I can enable tapdance soonish.
