ErgoMechKeyboards

This turned out longer than expected. TL;DR: no regrets using a Lily58, but moving on to fewer keys turned out really well for me.

My first ergo board was a Viterbi from Keeb.io, a 5x14 split ortholinear. At the time, I really thought I needed to have all the symbol, number, and navigation keys on the base layer because I use them all the time for work. This board taught me that having more things for my thumbs to do was a game-changer. That eliminated the need for some of the keys on the outer edges of the board, and I started seeing the appeal of layers.

So I down-sized to a Lily58, and it was great! I used that board for a while, and I spent a lot of time working out a keymap that I liked. Since I was using this full-time, I decided I needed a second one to use for work-travel, so I built a low-profile Lily58 with choc switches. (I tried an Iris during this time too, but the height was too much for me). I really liked both of these Lily58 boards, but I was struggling to develop a keymap that really worked well for me.

When reading about others' keymaps, I kept seeing Miryoku pop up, so I decided to buy a new board to try it out (I didn't want to alter the Lily58s that I was depending on for daily use). I picked up a Crow Board for like $30 and put Miryoku on it.

It. Was. Amazing.

The Miryoku keymap just really clicked for me; it had every key I could possibly need in a set of layers that felt logical. It was also my introduction to home row mods which I was always afraid to try on my Lily58s because it seemed error-prone, but it was actually a great feature. There was a bit of adjustment period for this keymap, but I was completely sold on it. Now I had two new problems: the Lily58s had too many keys, and the thumb layout was uncomfortable because the expectation with Miryoku is that each thumb should rest on the center key of a set of three keys.

That launched a build spree of boards that had ~36 keys in trying to find something I really liked: Swweeep (choc-spacing and wireless!), Totem (let's try some splay), Badwings (monoblock split with a trackpad), Kurp (ortholinears are still cool), Piantor (a little more thumb-keys spacing), Corne LP (odd-ball low profile switches with MX stems), and Waterfowl ('cause I missed MX switches and keycaps).

These days, I'm mostly using the Waterfowl on my desktop computer for remote work and Badwings as my go anywhere, do anything board for everything else. Do I regret buying and building all those other boards? Not one bit. I learned something from every one of them, and I also found that I just really enjoy building keyboards. It's really satisfying to solder a bunch of parts together, print a case, and make something that's truly my own that I can use everyday. I still have more builds lined up to try different layout and feature variations too.

So, the answer is it's complicated. I have two very distinct use cases, one is gaming, and the other is work.

For gaming I pretty much need something like a traditional keyboard. I could do a split ergo, but easy access to number keys as well as shift and control without having to remove fingers from the WASD cluster is a must, so anything that moves numbers into a different layer, or that puts shift and control in a weird place is a no go. Because of this I'm currently using a 65% non-split keyboard, although I'm considering other options as well.

For work on the other hand the situation is very different. I started with a fairly tame choice by going with a Lily58. I didn't really like the placement of the keys on the Lily58 due to my hand size so I replaced it with a Sofle which is nearly the same but slightly different positioning. While using the Sofle I discovered homerow mods which I really like which led me to stop using the modifier keys on the Sofle. Recently I've had to do a lot more traveling for work and that's been rough on the Sofle, so I picked up a Voyager to replace it as a more durable easier to transport board. So far I'm very happy with it.

I'm not sure I could have jumped straight into my current keyboard as my very first split-ortho board. I think rebuilding the muscle memory was a necessary part of the process. That said I wish I could have skipped the Lily58 and gone straight to the Sofle, but that decision is entirely down to how well it fits my particular hand shape, nothing technically wrong with the Lily58.

My beginner ergo keyboard was the original Hotdox. I bought 2 (one for work and one for home), used them for years. Cheap. Reliable. QMk. No regrets.

I regret buying/building my really nice metal Wireless Ergodox because I simply don't use it. The idea was it would be convenient for returning to the office now that nobody has a permanent desk anymore. However I'm still wfh and now using a dactyl manuform with a built-in trackball and half as many keys (so I can't go back lol).

I use my computer normally, but importantly for ergo keyboards, I also play video games. Due to that, initially I looked into ZSA with their Moonlander, as it seemed to fulfill the role of being ergonomic, while having enough keys to let me comfortably game. As usual, a compromise solved neither issue. Due to neither being overly comfortable, nor being satisfactory for gaming, I ended up selling it. I'm now on a Piantor Pro and so far it's pretty decent, while keeping my old traditional keyboard around for games. It's not perfect, but if you play games and want an ergo keyboard there doesn't seem to be anything that truly is.

I started off with a Let’s Split and then moved to a BFO-9000 because I wanted more keys so I didn’t have to constantly jump between layers. The BFO-9000 is way too many keys in its default form! A few keyboards later and the Compression 4C is my current favorite. I still use my BFO-9000 from time to time to test out keymap ideas. My takeaway from 5+ years is to get a separate numpad and make sure you can access all the commonly used symbols and Fn keys easily.

My first "weird" mechanical keyboard was an early Planck version (I was trying to learn steno and it was a fairly cheap NKRO option). I ended up getting rid of it as I had trouble adapting to the layout and layers. I didn't end up pursuing steno very far, but it was a good learning experience.

My first ergo split was much more recent with the Ergo travel that I was able to find very cheap on mechmarket. I still had to build it, but it was a good learning experience and forced me to learn more about flashing firmware, soldering, and the details of keyboard construction.

I'm now using a Draculad wireless after really learning Colemak dhk on a 34 key dilemma, both of which I really love. I don't think I would be as comfortable with firmware and switching to zmk for the Draculad if I hadn't had the experience getting zmk to work.

I've been happy to experience many years of custom keyboards and the advancements in firmware over that time, and I think I've found an end game solution with zmk/Draculad

started out with an Architeuthis Dux, never regretted it :)

I'm actually still on my first ergo, a Lily58 (my first mechanical was a "regular" 75%). I was a bit on the fence between this and the Corne, and I think I would've been fine going with the Corne; I barely used the numrow and currently it's not even mapped, and I'm experimenting with putting the things I had left on the outer columns on layers or combos.

But regret... no, of course not. It's been a great learning experience so far!

I'll certainly build more boards at some point, at least a Corne because, well, gotta build a Corne, but maybe some other things as well. Maybe a Charybdis or a Cygnus or something like that.

I was given a Razer with blue because the guy who owned work in a small office with multiple people. I Got hooked but not bad enough i have more than i have computers to use them on.

Now I use the retro 9bit do for everyday and I have a 36% for when my kids force me to use only one hand.

Not a ergonomic keyboard but I regretted buying a ryzer keyboard for my first pc build because of the build quality, the double key press issues and uneven press resistance (not sure how to describe it but its when you press with certain force for the key to register).

Also their pc app (like many proprietary hardware apps) is piece of sh*t

I love my Sofle and have had little desire to move down to fewer keys. If I ever get that itch, I can always pop my number row off for a week and see how well I get by.