Matias Ergo Pro ReviewTL;DRIf you want a sturdy, professionally made split mechanical keyboard, the Ergo Pro is the one you want.
Keyboard BackgroundTo place this review in context, my previous keyboard experience is: Kinesis Freestyle, Ergodox (Cherry Red with PBT caps) and now the Ergo Pro. I also used an AEKII back in the day so I have had some previous ALPS experience but not in recent typing history.
Overall BuildThe first impressions of a keyboard are always informed by the feel of the thing. I believe this is the first Matias keyboard with a matt finish. I think this is an excellent materials choice, as the Ergo Pro isn't a fingerprint magnet. The only downside is the surface seems to collect dust quite easily, but if it's a choice between dust and fingerprints -- this is the right choice.
The body of the keyboard itself is very sturdy and reassuringly heavy. Thanks to nine rubber feet on each panel, regardless of ergonomic settings (see Ergonomics below), this keyboard does not slide around. Once you have found the ideal position for you, the panels aren't going anywhere. The body is a little on the large size, but you get all the function keys and some dedicated cut/copy/paste keys, should that be of interest. Here is a stack of the Ergodox, Kinesis Freestyle and the Ergo Pro to give a relative size comparison.
I have a confession -- I've never used a wrist rest before. I've always been a touch typer and was taught to float my wrists, so scorned those with them. I suspected I would be detaching the wrist rests from the keyboard and finding a different tenting solution.
* ergo_typing looks embarrassed and scuffs foot on the floor
Ok, I was wrong, you guys had a point. These wrist rests act as a nice foot stool for the hands when pausing to think about what's going wrong with that line of code. Just remember to resume floating your wrists when you get back to it, otherwise Mavis Beacon will frown in your general direction.
Switches and KeycapsThe Ergo Pro uses quiet click switches
quiet click switches. They are indeed quiet. I don't think anyone should have concerns for office use. My experience of mechanical switches is small so I won't go into much depth here. Compared with Cherry Reds, I notice the additional force required for actuation but I don't find it excessive. The tactility of the quiet click provides a more satisfying 'thunk', which is rather appealing for straight typing.
Let's get this out of the way -- ABS. They're not as nice as PBT, but as far as ABS goes, the Ergo Pro caps aren't bad, just not great. To give you a sense of these keycaps, in the keycaps picture, you can see from left to right: command key and g key from the Ergo Pro, a key from a Leopold number pad, an Ergodox key and a Kinesis Freestyle key. There are three keys in particular which have received special attention on this keyboard: the escape key, the control key and the space bar. The escape key falls away at a negative slant. According to Matias:
The position & size of the Esc key (and the dead space between Caps Lock and A) are to accommodate the change in relative key positions that happens with greater separation distances / angles. As your opening angle increases, you'll find that the old positions are awkward to reach. This is also why the Tab and Tilde keys are wider -- we did a lot of user testing on this.
I don't know whether that key design choice increasing my accuracy in hitting the escape key as I was never really aware of that being a problem but in practice, it feels fine. The control key also makes a bold choice. It's big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-boggling big it is. But it's very easy to hit. According to Matias:
With a Ctrl key that big and convex in shape, you can just sort-of make a fist and use the knuckles of your fingers to hold down Ctrl. This is more comfortable and quicker than using your little finger to hold down Ctrl -- because your hand can stay in home position and there's no unnatural stretching required.
(Hulk Smash!)
Finally, the spacebar. That unsung hero of the keyboard. The spacebar on the Ergo Pro really is wonderful. As you can see, it's wide, deep and curved. This means regardless of the size of your hand, it's highly likely your thumb is going to be able to hit the spacebar, cleanly and consistently. I know it looks a little odd having these oversized keys but when you get used to it, they are lovely.
ErgonomicsWe now enter the highly subjective, opinionated section. Ergonomics are a personal thing. If you've found a solution which works for you -- fantastic. This is just how I feel about typing with this keyboard.
My view on keyboard ergonomics begins and ends with: anything different always feels better, for a week. Therefore, any one size fits all approach such as the Kinesis Advantage or the Truly-Ergonomic have struck me as a compromised design. Having a static width between hands will never suit all customers, as the correct (most comfortable) space between your hands will be predicated upon multiple factors; height, shoulder width and hand size. And with a static design, you can't make small adjustments and variation of hand position over time. Fully split, discrete panels represent a much more flexible, ergonomic design.
From a ergonomics geek perspective, the first obvious choice made on the Ergo Pro is that of a staggered layout. Much has been written on staggered vs columnar keyboard layout and the relative ergonomic merits. I feel that Matias made a reasonable choice here with a staggered layout. As this keyboard is obviously targeting as broad an audience as possible, asking a user to adjust to both a fully split design
and learning a columnar layout might be seen as a step too far. I think the most ergonomic benefits can be achieved with a fully split keyboard and
either tenting
or negative tilt. Sure columnar would have been nice but if columnar is really your thing, there is always the Ergodox choice.
For those of us with broad shoulders, the inside placement of the usb port is very well thought out ergonomic choice. When moving the panels shoulder width apart, there is a handy pointing device shaped hole in the middle. Fine if you're using a wireless trackpad, but not so much if you are a trackball or mouse type. With an internally facing USB port, Matias has enabled much easier cable routing and switching out of devices.
The only downside of this arrangement is the lack of a USB port on the left panel. Us southpaws will still need to deal with cable clutter on the left side of the keyboard. As the two panels are connected via a TRRS cable I suspect this makes a USB port on the left panel not possible.
The Ergo Pro comes with two USB cables, one short and one long. The shorter of the two has a clever USB connector which fits regardless of orientation. But both cables are left angled at the micro USB end. Matias said:
Regarding the Micro-USB cables, they all veer to the left, so that users plugging them into laptops can position them directly in front, without interference from a perpendicular cable end. We provide 2 lengths, so that desktop and laptop users aren't left with a cable that's too long or too short.
I would love to see the longer of the two cables switch to a right angled cable, as it seems more likely if you are using the longer cable, you are more likely to be connecting to a laptop/desktop further away. This would enable more tidy cable management. As micro USB cables are so cheap, this is not really a difficult problem to solve after the fact.
The wrist rest attachment on the Ergo Pro also provides the choice of
either tenting or negative tilt. The feet of the wrist rest can be adjusted easily for either configuration. The angle of tenting and tilt are relatively soft, but quite comfortable and it's trivial to switch between them. If you don't have the desk space or need a different support solution, you'll need to think about an alternative tenting/tilt option. There are easy mounting screw threads on the bottom of the keyboard, DIY options should be easy.
Coming from using an Ergodox, I was interested to see what level of programability the Ergo Pro has. None would seem to be the first answer. However, hidden under the right panel command key is a set of DIP switches:
These switches aren't documented in the packaging which strikes me as a curious omission. The switches let you toggle between mac/pc layout, capslock/control and define whether the left or right space bar should trigger a delete. This last option is the ergonomically interesting decision. Not having to move your right hand far into the top right hand side of the keyboard for a delete press really assists in keeping your hands where they should be: the home row. I highly recommend trying this setup out for a week. It will take you a little while to get used to not repositioning your hands every time you make a mistake, but it's great when you're used to it.
One last point in the ergonomics of this keyboard which shouldn't pass without noting is that of
The Six Controversy. When typing on a standard keyboard, the subject of which finger should be assigned to the numeral 6 key is hotly contested. When dealing with a fully split keyboard, the designer of the layout needs to make a decision. Left side, or right side. This issue led to a wonderful conversation here:
The correct finger for the six key. I happen to fall into the "should be on the right side, obviously" camp, so the Ergo Pro works great for me. If not, you could always use Karabiner or AutoHotKey to remap to your hearts desire.
Conclusion
The Matias Ergo Pro feels like a modern day reimagining of the IBM M15. Although, as you can see from the picture, IBM obviously got it wrong as to where the 6 key should be! The Ergo Pro is a well thought out keyboard with several positive ergonomic contributions: fully split, tent/tilt and that wonderful spacebar. The other significant step Matias has made is that of a commercially readily available, ergonomic keyboard with mechanical switches. No more membrane for us ergo-typers. If your wrists have ever complained to you about too much typing -- this keyboard is worth serious attention.
Pros:The first widely available, two panel mechanical keyboard. It's mechanical, what more do you want?
Very good build quality.
Great ergonomic customisation.
Wonderful Space/Delete dual spacebar.
Cons:Remove the NumLock key on the right panel (this has thankfully been excised on newer versions of the keyboard)
It would be very useful if one of the USB cables were right angled.
It would be great to have instructions in the box on how to alter the DIP switches.
PBT keycaps as an option (my understanding is this is being worked on).
Higher quality, longer TRRS cable, preferably not a retractable one as these always seem to fail.
Programability - I know this will not happen, but a man can dream.
