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Why do tenkeyless layouts dominate over "nav-less" designs?

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zegonix:
i felt the same for quite a while. but a few years ago i bought a KBD67 by accident.. (meant to buy a Tiger Lite ..... yes, i am stupid). i was disappointed at first, but i gave it a try, using layers of course, and while the KBD67 (at least my unit) is utter garbage, i have never looked back. the biggest keyboard i have used on a daily basis since then is the cycle7.

but as already mentioned, i heavily rely on layers, otherwise i would need a TKL.
(i use caps lock and the key to the right of space as layer shifts.)

julimma:
For me, I can't live without the directional keys. But the numpad can be easily replaced by the number row.

clay:
People just hate numpad in the hobby generally, so they would rather have a large keyboard without a numpad, than a compact one with numpad.

SwearWolf:
as a 40's user I recognize the TKL rectangle as the most satisfying rectangle ratio of all the keyboard layouts.

PandaKB:
It mostly comes down to mouse space and hand travel.

From an ergonomic standpoint, a nav-less board keeps the widest part (the numpad) on the far right, which still forces your right hand to stretch way out to reach the mouse. TKL wins because it chops off that bulky section, letting you keep your mouse closer to your natural shoulder width.

Plus, a physical numpad is pretty much obsolete for most ergo users now. It’s way more efficient to just map a numpad layer directly under your home row. Holding a thumb key turns your alphas into a number pad instantly—meaning zero hand movement. A nav-less board just adds unnecessary physical width.

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