Technology

I built a wireless Kyria keyboard late last year and love it. I went with LEDs and OLEDS (not recommended, I basically have to leave both halves plugged in if I want to use them).

They are a lot more comfortable to use than a standard keyboard IMO.

I have an Ergodox EZ that I use off and on. I used to use it regularly, as I mainly bought it because I was experiencing some shoulder pain.

When you bring your hands/wrists together to type on a regular keyboard, your shoulders tend to roll inward a little bit. Using the Ergodox or any split keyboard lets you open up your chest and shoulders to a more proper alignment and is much more comfortable in my opinion.

It only took me a couple days or so before I was typing at 80%+ of my normal speed on the split and ortho layout.

I haven’t used that keyboard regularly in a while since I wound up discovering that my shoulder pain was caused by my mattress (and just exacerbated by my regular keyboard). I had built out a layout that worked pretty well for me on the Ergodox, but then for the times I would travel for work I would get thrown off switching back to the normal layout of the laptop keyboard.

I’m running a 40% split at work, and I’ve noticed a massive difference in back pain at the end of a long day. Having the shoulders open and rolled back improves my posture and has made a world of difference to me.

I went from regular keyboards to split qwerty for a while. Which was nice but still felt a bit clunky. I then built a Lily58 and daily drove it for about 2 years. I did this mostly out of curiosity because I never had any pain issues, back or wrists or anything. What happens is now I noticed how uncomfortable regular keyboards are, when I have to use the laptop keyboard. It is very good to control tenting with the split form factor. I then switched to a Corne because it's smaller and I travel quite a lot. I also changed to a colemak layout and boy, that switch was hard (decades of typing qwerty, muscle memory, etc). It is much more comfortable to type though.

If you’re not looking to tinker, the Logitech Ergo K860 is a great keyboard. I had to swap to an ergo keyboard due to wrist issues and it really helped. However, I’m a sucker for mech keyboards (& clickies) so I ended up building an Iris. I don’t have it tented, the ortho + split is enough for me. It took some time to get used to swapping layers but after a while it all becomes muscle memory. I can definitely recommend a split keeb! Iris with KAT Milkshake and Kailh Box Whites

I personally have used a self built Dactyl Manuform as my primary keyboard for the last two years or so, and it's great as a programmer. I mostly pursued it due to wrist discomfort, which has essentially disappeared since I started using it.

I can vouch for a split keyboard. I am using moonlander which I find highly comfortable to use instead of the keyboard on my laptop - moonlander does have a steep learning curve but I find it worth it.

I got a Glove80 recently and so far I love it! It took some getting used to but it's very comfortable and seems to be helping with my RSI.

I personally don’t love split but I know keebio specializes in split keyboards and many with tenting as well.

I got Lulu Keyboard that’s split. I was having a lot of pain from typing and this has really helped me. I think I would upgrade and get an even nicer one to be honest

I suggest the Moonlander by ZSA. It checks all the boxes for me:

• Ortholinear
• Fully programmable keys
• Programmable RGB lighting
• Hot-swappable keys (the keys are not soldered onto the board, allowing you to change the keyswitches)
• Built-in wrist support (can be detached or folded to hide it)

I've been happily using the Moonlander for over a year and can't see myself going back to a normal keyboard.

My wife and I use the ZSA moonlander when we're not gaming. When we game we switch to regualr 60%s. I also have a custom built split keyboard that I don't really use.

For me, it saved my wrists. My wrist and forearms used to go numb after extended coding sessions while using a regular 60%. I no longer have that issue using a split.

I do recommend researching switches, as I found that using Gateron Red Inks, 45g actuation force, also added to relieving stress on my wrists. I lubed and filmed them too, which is overboard for most.

I also recommend trying different key layouts, I use Colemak DH, but Workman and regular Colemak are also good. They lower the finger movement needed to press the most used letters in English. Layouts can be changed on the hardware level on the Moonlander, allowing it to just work on any device.

https://colemakmods.github.io/mod-dh/ https://workmanlayout.org/

I would like to try one, but I have yet to see one that comes at a price that's even remotely tied to reality. If anyone can recommend a split keyboard (assembled, not a kit) that I can buy for under $200 I would be all over it.

Love split keyboards! After a few years of experimenting with them I settled on a Mistel MD770, which I've been happily using for about 2 years now. I played around with tenting, but found I didn't care for it as much as I thought I would. With a far enough split (~9 inches?) and a slight interior rotation, tenting doesn't really seem to add any additional comfort for me.

I don't, but a coworker uses an ergodox and I've been eyeing it lately

I haven't tried one, but I probably won't like it, because I often type with one hand as my other hand is busy or dirty, and having to learn what's basicallly another layout is too much.

I use an Iris, a split ortholinear board. I also used a pack of differently sized rubber feet to tent the board a small amount. I love using it, I wish I could have one for every system I use.

I'm even keeping my eye on the Framework 16 inch laptop, since the customizable keyboard module will allow for a split board!