I’ve been wanting to try an ergo split keyboard but there are so many options.
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
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 a usual non-split keyboard.
What are your opinions/suggestions/experience with these types of keyboards?
For what it’s worth I have a Sofle keyboard, that’s a diy ergo split. And it’s a lot cheaper than a moonlander (especially if you already have keycaps and switches). Also it’s QMK so you can customise the layout to your hearts content. I really enjoy it. Very nice to use. The Sofle v2 looks to have a slightly more convenient thumb/mod key row, but I couldn’t get it with choc switches at the time, which I wanted.
If I had to pick between those 3, I would probably go with the Glove80. I’ve just really liked that board since the guy that made it first posted early pics.
If you can solder and are willing to go with a smaller thumb cluster, look into a Sofie or Lily58 kit. That would be cheaper by far but I get why someone wouldn’t want to go that route too.
Hi, there is a community just for Ergo Mech over at lemmy.world - ErgoMechKeyboards
Thanks! I tried to find one yesterday but the result was empty.
I’ll check that one.
For whatever reason, the “c” in that link needed to be switched with “m” for it to work: https://kbin.social/m/ergomechkeyboards@lemmy.world
Guess it’s kbin.social that uses /m for communities - for lemmy servers I belive it’s /c
Yeah, if it’s on a Kbin instance they’re called magazines, not communities. Honestly I find Kbin weird because it tries to mix two different organization styles, but whatever. So, for that user it uses an m even though it’s originally a Lemmy instance.
You prob would want to DIY this. There isn’t a reason to limit yourself to only keyboards with injection molded cases. Ultimately anything kit-based will be as sturdy, and having QMK support is, imho, a must as you won’t be dependent on the manufacturer’s software. Also a point of consideration is whether you’d be limited in terms of switches. Idk if those boards allows you to buy a switch-less board.
I had Kinesis Edge and stopped using it pretty quickly after going the DIY-ish route.
Plenty of boards you can buy that would only require you to add the switches, which is a fun part.
From what I’ve seen on YouTube reviews, the moonlanders’s thumb keys are not in the best position.
I have the Moonlander as my first and only ergo board (so far). I like it a lot, especially since it’s not an extreme departure from normal keyboards. I don’t go crazy with layers, but people have published Moonlander configurations that may help you solve the issue of not enough keys.
The lack of keys is what makes my Moonlander feel that much better on my hands from an RSI perspective. Getting used to the lack of keys is what made it hard to deal with at first, but now, I wouldn’t do it any other way.
