I’ve slowly been going down the rabbit hole of ergo keyboards and want to replace my current “normal” full-size keyboard, but the sheer amount of variation there is, even disregarding the usual differences like rgb or some extra macro keys or whatever, is kind of giving me decision paralysis, so I’d like some help.
I know what I definitely want:
- Split
- Tentable
- Ortholinear
- Supports QMK
But that still leaves a lot of questions open.
I like the look and portability of heavily vertically staggered 42-key keyboards (three rows and three keys per thumb cluster), and while for programming that’s definitely enough, especially for certain games that seems like a questionable choice, since you’d need a lot of layers for a good experience.
Then I looked further into keyboards with four rows, which definitely seem more appealing, but at that point I’m wondering if for convenience’s sake, it might be better to just get something like the Moonlander which has more than enough keys, but is also just really big and leads to a lot of finger movement which isn’t necessarily a problem, but also just isn’t really… well, neat.
What kind of keyboards do you all have and what do you use them for? Are there any you’d recommend? Should I just go with something akin to the Moonlander or are there any tangible advantages to something like the Piantor apart from portability?
I have a lily58 right now, since I didn’t want to jump into a really small board right off the bat. I’ve now reduced my layout down to 34 keys which I think is best for me. As a result, I’m building a chocofi to get a feel for low profile switches.
That said, apparently the cheapino is a slightly cheaper build that is 36 keys and uses MX switches.
I haven’t gamed on a 36 key layout yet though, so I’m not sure what that will look like.
The main thing I regret about the lily58 is the minimal pinky column stagger. I want it to be much more aggressive, which is part of what pushed me to try the chocofi. If you wanna compare layouts this site may help you figure out what keyboard would be good for you.
As for tenting, there a bunch of DIY methods to do it. I recently got what’s called the manfrotto setup, using magsafe and tripods to tent. It’s a bit more expensive but really sturdy and modular. Good luck picking out a keyboard, I hope you find one that works well for you.