I’m a complete novice to mech and ergo so I apologize in advance for any sins lol
The 3 I checked are Kinesis 360 (https://kinesis-ergo.com/keyboards/advantage360/), Glove80 (https://www.moergo.com/collections/glove80-keyboards) and the Moonlander (https://www.zsa.io/moonlander/).
These below are what I got from watching reviews:
- Kinesis is difficult to customize and sometimes has connectivity issues
- Glove80 feels cheap
- Moonlander doesn’t have many keys and thumb cluster is on odd position
Considering the prices, the moonlander is about US$100 cheaper than the others, so feels like a better option.
I am interested in options with keywell, as they feel way more comfortable, but anything will be better since I use an conventional non-split keyboard.
The right menu links to a compare tool but there are so many.
My hands are small, so it may constrain the options I have. Or maybe not.
What are your opinions/suggestions/experience with these types of keyboards?
Before you even buy anything, if it’s work related and you’re in pain (I was when I started down the rabbit hole), drop some coin on the Kinesis Advantage 2. That will get you some experience with a keywell keyboard, a mild split, some ortholinear/columnar and mechanical keys. That will help determine if you can live with all those changes all at once. Whether it works out or not, you can easily return it on Amazon.
From an entry level perspective, I recommend a Moonlander. Programming is really easy and has a GUI that makes things easy peasy. I created a custom layer for my type of work in the first 30 minutes of opening the box. You can get the Platform, which is a separate tent rig for the Moonlander and adjust the thumb cluster to fit your hand size. And the keys are hot swappable - which you will want when you realize you can control the different sounds and actuations of your keys. As far as the number of keys, one word - layers. The less you have to move your fingers, the happier your hands.
From a support perspective, Robin at ZSA was amazing! I had an issue with my right keyboard and it was handled in a timely manner. The only thing they didn’t do was swap out my keys for me.
Good luck!