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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: arplod on Sun, 23 October 2011, 08:30:59

Title: Should I get Filco rests?
Post by: arplod on Sun, 23 October 2011, 08:30:59
I managed to get a look at one and it looks really nice. Apparently well made, quality materials, nice two-stage rest. Aesthetically they seem to go pretty much with any black keyboard, not just Filco's.

Or are there better options? Both compact and standard use.
Title: Should I get Filco rests?
Post by: enoy21 on Sun, 23 October 2011, 08:34:06
I am looking for one as well , but Amazon doesn't seem to carry them and I'm concerned about price. I've never used a rest for any length of time and not sure I would do so if I had one. But since trying to learn touch typing correctly I feel it could be advantageous.
Title: Should I get Filco rests?
Post by: arplod on Sun, 23 October 2011, 08:39:38
Quote from: enoy21;437277
I am looking for one as well , but Amazon doesn't seem to carry them and I'm concerned about price. I've never used a rest for any length of time and not sure I would do so if I had one. But since trying to learn touch typing correctly I feel it could be advantageous.


It's not cheap, but it is genuinely pretty classy IMO. I've been fairly rest-averse (when they're not built in) as the ones I've managed to get usually are those horrible gel ones which falls apart in no time, but at the same time I haven't really done a survey of what's out there. The Filco looked like just the ticket.
Title: Should I get Filco rests?
Post by: enoy21 on Sun, 23 October 2011, 08:50:39
Agreed it was pretty nice looking and I like that it's dual height. I also don't really see any other options for 80% size unless using a mouse rest.
Title: Should I get Filco rests?
Post by: Clickey on Sun, 23 October 2011, 10:02:06
They look nice, Keyboardco had some on amazon, I think they were like $55 shipped, but this is a lot for a keyboard rest :ohwell:
Title: Should I get Filco rests?
Post by: arplod on Sun, 23 October 2011, 10:08:06
Quote from: Clickey;437309
They look nice, Keyboardco had some on amazon, I think they were like $55 shipped, but this is a lot for a keyboard rest :ohwell:

True. Since I'm looking to buy a decent number I was wondering if I had better alternatives.
Title: Should I get Filco rests?
Post by: robscomputer on Sun, 23 October 2011, 10:18:04
I considered the Filco, but pricing lead me to the 3M wrist rest on Amazon. I think it's under $20, and I really like it.

(http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6099/6248194781_95a35d860e.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/robscomputer/6248194781/)
Comparing a full size to a ten keyless (http://www.flickr.com/photos/robscomputer/6248194781/) by robscomputer (http://www.flickr.com/people/robscomputer/), on Flickr
Title: Should I get Filco rests?
Post by: insilica on Sun, 23 October 2011, 10:25:08
meh I made my own using spare carpet underlay I had left over

[ATTACH=CONFIG]29618[/ATTACH]

11 mm thickness in a detachable pocket which I can remove an clean. (cut the piece to 300mm by 50mm in size) - optimal for tenkeyless.

I think the height is good at 11 mm, will try to get around to making a wiki article if anyone is interested: not to brag, really comfortable tbh and dirt cheap to make.
Title: Should I get Filco rests?
Post by: arplod on Sun, 23 October 2011, 11:10:00
Quote from: robscomputer;437312
I considered the Filco, but pricing lead me to the 3M wrist rest on Amazon. I think it's under $20, and I really like it.

Show Image
(http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6099/6248194781_95a35d860e.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/robscomputer/6248194781/)

Comparing a full size to a ten keyless (http://www.flickr.com/photos/robscomputer/6248194781/) by robscomputer (http://www.flickr.com/people/robscomputer/), on Flickr

The pricing itself I'm not particularly sensitive to. If you were in that boat, would you have picked the Filco?

Is that rest angled or flat BTW?
Title: Should I get Filco rests?
Post by: robscomputer on Sun, 23 October 2011, 11:21:32
Both keyboards in the photos are flat. Personally from reading that the Filco rest (could be wrong) was made out of particle leather, instead of full grain would turn me off from buying. I rather go with the ones from Elitekeyboards.

http://elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=access,palm_rests&pid=hm_prmb
Title: Should I get Filco rests?
Post by: Largest Person on Sun, 23 October 2011, 12:12:12
I got a filco wrist rest, pretty comfortable , good heights
Title: Should I get Filco rests?
Post by: reaper on Sun, 23 October 2011, 12:17:21
If you can find a Filco for $55 shipped then I'd say get it..  since it's cheaper than this one (http://www.elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=access#palm_rests), $70 plus shipping and tax if you're in CA.  I've tried both and prefer Filco over the 3-star.
Title: Should I get Filco rests?
Post by: duncan on Sun, 23 October 2011, 17:01:37
I have the Filco rest and the Ducky one that qtan sells.

 Just went searching and qtan seem to be out of stock at the moment - bummer.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ducky-short-keyboard-wrist-rest-TLK-keyboard-Filco-Noppoo-Poker-Cherry-/300598749257#ht_2974wt_894

The Filco is substantially nicer but not the twice as good that would be be required to justify the double price of the Ducky.

If you do get the Filco I'm confident you'll be very happy with it and your purchase decision. As you seem to be saying above, after a short time the price of things fades into unimportance and the quality (perceived or real) is the long term issue and the Filco is quality gear that makes me smile when I see / use it.
Title: Should I get Filco rests?
Post by: arplod on Sun, 23 October 2011, 17:43:46
Quote from: duncan;437553
I have the Filco rest and the Ducky one that qtan sells.

 Just went searching and qtan seem to be out of stock at the moment - bummer.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ducky-short-keyboard-wrist-rest-TLK-keyboard-Filco-Noppoo-Poker-Cherry-/300598749257#ht_2974wt_894

The Filco is substantially nicer but not the twice as good that would be be required to justify the double price of the Ducky.

If you do get the Filco I'm confident you'll be very happy with it and your purchase decision. As you seem to be saying above, after a short time the price of things fades into unimportance and the quality (perceived or real) is the long term issue and the Filco is quality gear that makes me smile when I see / use it.


Not entirely convinced with the quality of the keyboards TBH but the rests do definitely look very nice.  Actual use will tell of course but the features seem ideal for me.

I guess that's more or less pretty unanimous then? Filco rests are go?
Title: Should I get Filco rests?
Post by: jpm804 on Sun, 23 October 2011, 17:52:54
Thought I would chime in here since I was once in a similar situation andwanted a filco but it was not easy to source one for a reasonable price.

Decided to get a ducky wrist rest over a 3M one since I wanted the exact size since all my keyboards are Tenkeyless and it was going to tide me over... got the ducky and havent really thought about getting a filco.... if i can get a filco for a decent price then I will but not going out of my way either.

Also I have seen a filco in person and do like it but for the price difference not rushing to get it at this point when the ducky does the job...

(http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6135/5945051023_6ec416ece8_z.jpg)
Title: Should I get Filco rests?
Post by: pitashen on Sun, 23 October 2011, 19:16:25
http://www.amazon.com/Grifiti-Notebook-Wrist-Pad-Black/dp/B004DANDN4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1319415366&sr=8-2
Title: Should I get Filco rests?
Post by: skwan on Mon, 24 October 2011, 00:01:18
I've got my filco rest for a few months, and no signs of wear (but that means nothing considering how short a time it is).  I don't have the other rests that are in competition, but i can say that the rest being stepped is a feature that should be considered.  When i was making the purchase i was wondering about the reasoning behind the design of the two heights, but i was unable to find too much information concerning it.

From my few months of use, one of the biggest advantage is helping my hand find the correct distance from the keyboard without looking down at the keyboard, along with the two nubs on the F and J keys, this allows for accurate placement of your hand without needing to look at the keyboard, and i think it serves as a pretty good guide to ensure that my typing posture is correct. Personally for me i thought the height was slightly on the low side (used with HHKB), and i elevates it slightly by 2 mm.

After playing around with it, i am pretty sure the two heights are not for flipping the rest around for taller keyboards, the distance just doesn't work.

Thing that irritates me, i line up the right side of the pad with the right of the keyboard, and my right palm rubs against the filco logo whenever I reach over to the (fn+ arrow keys) and you can definitely feel the logo there.
Title: Should I get Filco rests?
Post by: TheProfosist on Mon, 24 October 2011, 02:08:56
Quote from: pitashen;437629
http://www.amazon.com/Grifiti-Notebook-Wrist-Pad-Black/dp/B004DANDN4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1319415366&sr=8-2
I know its a bit off topic but I found an interesting item from that link http://tinyurl.com/3tn2dbu
Title: Should I get Filco rests?
Post by: arplod on Mon, 24 October 2011, 02:58:49
Quote from: skwan;437770
I've got my filco rest for a few months, and no signs of wear (but that means nothing considering how short a time it is).  I don't have the other rests that are in competition, but i can say that the rest being stepped is a feature that should be considered.  When i was making the purchase i was wondering about the reasoning behind the design of the two heights, but i was unable to find too much information concerning it.

From my few months of use, one of the biggest advantage is helping my hand find the correct distance from the keyboard without looking down at the keyboard, along with the two nubs on the F and J keys, this allows for accurate placement of your hand without needing to look at the keyboard, and i think it serves as a pretty good guide to ensure that my typing posture is correct. Personally for me i thought the height was slightly on the low side (used with HHKB), and i elevates it slightly by 2 mm.

After playing around with it, i am pretty sure the two heights are not for flipping the rest around for taller keyboards, the distance just doesn't work.

Thing that irritates me, i line up the right side of the pad with the right of the keyboard, and my right palm rubs against the filco logo whenever I reach over to the (fn+ arrow keys) and you can definitely feel the logo there.

Yeah, it's obviously - at least to me - there for hand location and placement (I didn't actually read the bit before about flipping it around, although I guess that would actually do the same thing - hand placement assistance - if you have really tiny hands), which is why I liked the idea (and haven't seen it on other rests). An angled rest would do kind of the same thing, only not to as a predictable level.
Title: Should I get Filco rests?
Post by: TheProfosist on Mon, 24 October 2011, 03:02:23
Quote from: arplod;437842
Yeah, it's clearly there for hand location and placement, which is why I liked the idea (and haven't seen it on other rests). An angled rest would do kind of the same thing, only not to as a predictable level.
I much prefer hard angled wrist rests but their usually more expensive and harder to find I had to make one for my HHKB. I may try out a leather one again soon as I need a portable one for my Leopold TKL.
Title: Should I get Filco rests?
Post by: arplod on Mon, 24 October 2011, 03:05:59
It's pretty much decided I think. All of the 'wouldn't gets' so far are based on price and that's irrelevant to me. Ordering - thanks for the feedback.

If you have alternative products that work better (I really don't care about cheaper) throw'em in please. I can try them out too.

Thanks
Title: Should I get Filco rests?
Post by: oddsratio on Mon, 24 October 2011, 03:34:50
I have that 3M one and do like it at that price point. If I had the choice now, I would just get the ducky. Not sure if Filco would be worth it.

The 3M one has shown no signs of use after 3 months, though I have to say I do hate it with my leopold at home, but it's pretty good with the DAS at the office. Not sure why. It's a little high (~3/4 inch), but I don't have the DAS here to compare keyboard heights.
Title: Should I get Filco rests?
Post by: TheProfosist on Mon, 24 October 2011, 03:40:46
the one thing that I would have to say is that I also can not stand any wrist rests that are not at least 3.5in wide the normal with ones at 2.5in are just wide enough to annoy and not help.