Choosing a New Keyboard

If you're typing a lot, chances are that you experience discomfort after long sessions (if you don't, congratulations on being young!). Changing your keyboard could help you reduce strain, or alleviate pain. Fortunately, there are a million options to choose from. Unfortunately, there are a million options to choose from. In order to help you navigate this space, I've put together a simplified list of things you'll have to consider when you're going on your typing ergonomics quest!

split vs non-split

I'm a split keyboard guy. I switched to a split keyboard in 2018, and my back / shoulder posture has improved, not being inclined to hunch over the keyboard anymore. And as a bonus, you can put stuff in between the two halves! Perfect place for a cup of coffee, but it's useful for other ergonomic reasons: for instance; I'm putting an external trackpad there, so that I can let my right wrist rest and use my left hand for pointing.

Also, I've seen people mount the two halves on the armrests of their chairs, for the ultimate arm posture / nerd cred.

ortholinear layout vs. staggered

Ortholinear layouts are considered to be better, since our fingers have an easier time extending on only one axis. Try reaching the B key with your left index finger — not exactly easy. Based on my own experience, I think that this is indeed the case, and I do feel more comfortable on an ortholinear layout. I also think that this is a gateway to further finger ergonomics, layouts such as Dvorak, which emphasizes the use of the strong fingers, and Workman etc. which, in addition, avoids the inner columns (TGBYHN on a qwerty layout).

tenting vs non-tenting

Laying the wrist flat on a desk is not the natural position, so the keyboard needs to be usable while the wrist is angled. Tenting angles the base of the keyboard with respect to the desk, and enables typing on a more natural wrist position. Keeping the wrist in the natural position is important for wrist health — as anyone with RSI can tell you.

Split keyboards have the advantage here: one can add tenting as needed after-the-fact, whereas non-split keyboards have to have tenting built-in (the Microsoft Ergonomic Keyboard comes to mind).

wired vs wireless

Typing has to be immediate and reliable, and Bluetooth is none of those things. As a result, I don't really trust wireless keyboards, especially in an office environment where there are many Bluetooth devices constantly shouting at each other. For split keyboards, anything you place in between the two halves is also a potential source of interference. Having said that, keyboards that use their own wireless protocol seem to suffer less from this problem: I've been using such a keyboard for gaming, and have had no issues for the past 4 years.

100%, 60%, 40%

Some keyboards get rid of certain keys in favor of size, making them instead available through key combinations (often through a mechanism called layers). This can be both a boon and a bane to productivity/ergonomics. For instance, on my current keyboard, HJKL become arrow keys when I press and hold a dedicated key, which is super handy when coding. On the other hand, since my keyboard does not have dedicated number keys, I can only access the number keys when I press and hold a certain key, at which point XCVSDFWER become 123456789. This is very hard to get used to after 30+ years of typing on linearly arranged number keys.

Which brings me to my last point…

learning curve

Going from a non-split/staggered/non-tenting/100% keyboard to anything else will introduce a learning curve. And on the pursuit of a better/healthier typing experience, one needs to adjust some variables, spend time evaluating, and then iterate. This is costly — both in terms of time and money. You'll have to prioritize according to your own needs, but I can almost assure you that all effort you put into this process will be better for your health in the long run, especially as we get older and more prone to injuries. Also, you get to play with cool stuff.

suggestions

I have been using the Keyboardio Model 01 (orthogonal, >100%, split, tenting-optional) since 2018 and I was incredibly happy with it. It is extremely well-built, has a great default layout, and some very clever ideas. Unfortunately, I shorted a very essential key switch, and could not repair it; and they don't make it anymore; so I'm on the lookout for a proper replacement. They have introduced the successor to it: Keyboardio Model 100, but I would like to take this opportunity to try something else before going back on the Keyboardio train.

Currently, I am evaluating a Corne keyboard. This is an open-source hardware project, so there are kits and pre-built keyboards available from keyboard makers around the world. I bought a low-profile and an MX-profile version, to evaluate which one I like the best. I have bought them pre-built, as I don't know how to solder 😅 I have been enjoying them so far, and can recommend either variant.

I have friends who have been very happy with the Moonlander and the ErgoDox EZ, which are good commercial options.

I want to, at some point, explore more extreme options such as the Charybdis, or building my own. But these are for when I have more time/money/patience :)