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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: kwantz on Sun, 06 June 2010, 22:51:31
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What would you say is the most durable brand of keyboard out there? That has a USB or PS2 connection (preferably USB) (for use with my laptop that does not have a PS2 port.. SO i guess that can exclude the monster IBMs from 1984 out (that have the old school keyboard ports....
Would it be Realforce, HHBK, Steelseries, Filco etc.. etc.... which is the toughest and longest lasting? I know there is no actual numbers, but from what you can tell from the build etc... also how many years would you say it would last from average home daily use, 3-4 hours a day....
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The HHKB is by far the most portable. You mention it is for your laptop. What is the use case? Will you be carrying it everywhere? If so, the HHKB and a protective case would be my suggestion.
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As for typing, all you mentioned would outlast your interest in them if you used them 3-4 hours per day.
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I've only had my Filco Majestouch with Cherry Browns for around 9 months or so now, but it's been through a lot of abuse in that 9 months including one instance of me hammering straight on over the left side of home row with my fist... not something I'd ever do again. I was having a really bad day.
It's fallen off of my keyboard tray. I've accidentally slammed it against my desk when pushing in my keyboard tray before. I've used it to store lots of board chow that gets removed weekly with vigorous upside down shaking. I'm a 100+ wpm typist and I type 10+ hours on it almost every single day including weekends.
It's still working flawlessly. I like it even more than the day I got it.
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When speaking on life-time it's usually measured on the switches at least from a certain perspective.
Most of the switches that are mentioned easily reach into the decades. Even membrane domes themselves can last years albeit with the obvious negatives. Your thread on the desire for a Topre, considering the quality and how they are built are probably able to last as long as any other mechanical. I recall a thread of someone who visited a Japanese bank and noticed Topres from the 80's or early 90's and I believe inquired if any are for sale but was turned down, since they still worked.
Most of the higher quality mechanical keyboards are made of either higher quality plastics look at the IBMs durability. Or if they use lesser plastics use a significant quantity more so than the mass-produced membranes out there.
Along with plastic or metal back plating and whatnot. It's not just the type and amount of plastic but the plate as well adds additional sturdiness and durability by resisting warping or twisting when typing, besides heft and weight as anchor.
But it doesn't make them invincible mechanical keyboards can still break. Just not as easily as the cheaper alternatives.
I'd say the key caps suffer more abuse than the keyboard itself and probably survive just as long but certainly with negatives like shiny keys or deformities; remember that woman that literally broke the plastic on her 20-something year old alps mechanical keyboard on a number of key caps. And yet the board itself still worked perfectly fine.
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thanks for the posts! well when i said 3-4 hours a day,,, its typical use for me... from the time i get home from a day of work.. till i goto bed.... (im a truck driver) so i dont really bring my keyboard to work... I do chat alot on the keyboard, and post on boards like this and other ones..... but my career doesnt involve a keyboard....
as of right now im typing on a rubber dome, that I have had for less than 6 months... its actuall a MS multimedia cordless board of some sort... I can tell its basically half way through its life already..... cheap piece of crap that actually cost me 70 bucks...
I can type over 100 wpm... But with this keyboard that I absolutly hate, I have noticed my typing skills have gone down along with accuracy...
I cant wait till I get some bills paid and finally buy my Topre... I am choosing topre,, because of the durability, and quitness. since it will be used in the bedroom along with my wife.. as well as in the living room which is next to our childrens rooms.. so i need quietness.... and I feel like a topre is my best bet... I want durability. because I know my wife can not justify me having more than one keyboard, let alone spending alot of dough on them haha. She has me on a short leash.
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because I know my wife can not justify me having more than one keyboard, let alone spending alot of dough on them haha. She has me on a short leash.
Then you should delete your account now and forget you ever came here before it's too late. The Topre came to you in a dream. Leave and go forth. Get it. Don't look back and type happily ever after.
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Yep, get it and...
(http://sunshinedaydream.biz/store/image/y7y3/Stickers_Keep_On_Truckin_Sticker_101.jpg)
Or enjoy a great new hobby of keyboard collecting. :)
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When people make decide what to buy, they tend to be happier with their purchase when they went for their gut choice. Sounds like getting the topre might be in order... Especially if it's going to your only keyboard.
I want durability. because I know my wife can not justify me having more than one keyboard, let alone spending alot of dough on them haha. She has me on a short leash.
That's the problem with this forum, it encourages you to try out new boards. I came here to check ideas on what to buy next (making a considered purchase so I wouldn't have to spend too much money), since then I've bought a Filco, some POS keyboards, a geek hack space saver and a few others...
I'm just glad that someone else 'get's it'.
When looking for hi-fi equipment, the phrase wife-friendly comes up a fair bit - perhaps we could steal it.
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I'm going with iMav on this one. Go with the HHKB. It's portable, and it will last you forever. Elitekeyboards even sells replacement caps for it in case you ever feel the need to ever replace them.
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Then you should delete your account now and forget you ever came here before it's too late. The Topre came to you in a dream. Leave and go forth. Get it. Don't look back and type happily ever after.
yes do this!! once you go down the rabbit hole you can neve return!! welly thought he got away but he is doing rubberdome reviews!!!!
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Don't think any other quality keyboard series has been around for as long as the Model M. And those boards really do last a long time.
I'm typing this on a 1992 board that had been used for a decade and then left in an attic for a few years and was covered in grime. Never even opened it up; just cleaned the key caps and the shell and it's working as good as new.
So, if you want a brand new one, get a unicomp customizer or some other unicomp buckling spring board. They're far cheaper than Topre boards (or even most Cherries!) unless you need to ship them to a continent other than the US (and even then, Unicomp may be cheapest).
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Topre RealForce, not the HHKB, if you want durability over portability. Steel>Plastic. pics showing innards... (http://geekhack.org/showpost.php?p=188984&postcount=2)
My exact thought as well.
Nice pics, ripster!