Hi all,
after 23years of heavy keyboard use I started developing problems with my right hand and arm. I researched all kinds of ergonomic keyboards, but I write QWERTZ, so some interesting options like the
https://trulyergonomic.com/estore/ were no option. The maltron clone
https://kinesis-ergo.com/shop/advantage2/ made sense from a design perspective, but I read a lot of negative regarding its build quality and other short comings. Also I am really into good switches and good build quality regarding keyboards.
Split Keyboard seemed to make sense. Programmable buttons also. So I tried an Ergodox.
I was really sceptical about the linear key layout, since I am quite the proficient typer.
Also I do a lot of multimedia work (3D, 2D and programming) that relies heavily on shortcuts.
But I jumped into the cold water...
And I am
really happy!
The linear layout was a little bit tricky at first, especially on the lower row, but 2 weeks in my inner screaming stopped and I hit everything I want. This was the worst part.
Layers are much more easy to learn than expected. I never could touchtype the number row perfectly, but now with a numpad directly under one hand, and all relevant programming symbols under the other its a breeze. Still not very intuitive, but the muscle memory is already building up and I don't have to look at a cheat sheet any more.
The Thumb cluster and the hyper and meh keys are mostly useles imo. If you go fast and don't want to move your hands you will probably just end up using the two big thumb keys and maybe the small one next to them. But the double function keys really make up for this! ALT, STRG, BACKSPACE, TAB, SPACE and ENTER on 4 thumb-keys is a ****ing SUPERPOWER!
I never touchtyped shortcuts, always moved my hand away to the left side and then pressed. But now it's touch typing with ErgoDox!
Also if I work 3D I don't have to move my hand to the left over STRG and ALT like before.
AND it does not affect my speed on regular layouts. That's what I was most afraid of.
On the split board I'm in ergodox mode, and with hands together I'm automatically back to standard layout.
Like I said, I was really sceptical to use Ergodox for my field of application, but I can totally recommend it now!
Only flaw I could find is that there is no german key with "ß" and "?". but thats it.