Kinesis Advantage or Unicomp 101 Classic M

[TimIsABat]

Bidding on ebay and I don't know whether to go for the Kinesis Advantage or the Unicomp 101 Classic M.

I could try and win both, but I want to save money for a vape, dance classes at BDC, and 62g ergoclears from GON...

Which also brings up a question...what do people think of the 62g springs from GON in comparison to his 67g or 62g gold springs? I liked the panda clears on the UST and hated the ergoclears because they felt as light as the browns, but I had no clue what the springs were on the UST for the ergoclears. I want something in between the panda and the ergoclears from the UST board.

[bazemk1979]

ugh dude, your talking of 2 different boards from layout to switch feeling. If you want to save money go with Uni and you wont be disappointed for sure, will last you good 5 years before you need to bolt mod it and that's if your profuse typist, if not maeby 15 years until needs bolt mod. Or you can always send it to Uni for fresh new rivets

[tricheboars]

those boards are night and day. so you should buy both so you can use them 24 hours.

[TimIsABat]

Prolly my plan XD...

We'll see on how much I get from my job.

[rowdy]

Both!  Or you will be forever curious if you don't.

And you'll probably end up getting both eventually anyway.

[TimIsABat]

Both!  Or you will be forever curious if you don't.

And you'll probably end up getting both eventually anyway.

Rowdy you always have the best answers.

[vatin]

They are totally different equipment.
The Unicomp is a standard layout keyboard with quality inherited from the legendary IBM model M, that has strong followings.

Kinesis Advantage is designed for efficiency. If you are willing to relearn, Kinesis Advantage will give you more productivity due to less movement of hands and fingers required. I've been using my Advantage for over a year and enjoyed it a lot more than conventional board.

[TimIsABat]

update: I lost on the bid for the unicomp model m. The person outbidded me getting it for 34.00. The Kinesis is getting pricier at about 76.00 right no. I am debating on just buying a customized board from Unicomp. Do I have to purchase the customizing fee as well?

[TimIsABat]

They are totally different equipment.
The Unicomp is a standard layout keyboard with quality inherited from the legendary IBM model M, that has strong followings.

Kinesis Advantage is designed for efficiency. If you are willing to relearn, Kinesis Advantage will give you more productivity due to less movement of hands and fingers required. I've been using my Advantage for over a year and enjoyed it a lot more than conventional board.

hmm how bad is the learning curve. I touch type Colemak so it shouldn't be too bad. What I think might be tricky would be to condition myself to use my right thumb as space instead of the left thumb which i currently use.

[vatin]

They are totally different equipment.
The Unicomp is a standard layout keyboard with quality inherited from the legendary IBM model M, that has strong followings.

Kinesis Advantage is designed for efficiency. If you are willing to relearn, Kinesis Advantage will give you more productivity due to less movement of hands and fingers required. I've been using my Advantage for over a year and enjoyed it a lot more than conventional board.

hmm how bad is the learning curve. I touch type Colemak so it shouldn't be too bad. What I think might be tricky would be to condition myself to use my right thumb as space instead of the left thumb which i currently use.

Adaption is a very subjective. It depends on the willing to learn and to endure the initial difficulty. I'll say it is much more easy than learning new layout. It took me a month. After that it is very rewording. My hands, arms and wrist move much less, contributing to a pain free hands at the end of the day, despite 10 hours of typing. It is worth it.
Kinesis said the new contoured is due out soon, so you might want to wait and see.
Current version, despite being an immensely useful equipment, is plague with flaws of those annoying rubber buttons which is remedied with the "Palm key modification" I got from this forum.

[unicomp_uc]

You will have to pay for the customization. It's a really nice board; but you seem to enjoy lighter keys. You already have a Model M; so you know how heavy the actuation is. I love the tactile action for short periods of time, but after a short while I'm reaching for my Minila to get a more compact layout with lighter actuation keys. Going from 60% to full size feels like a workout now lol.

[0100010]

Interesting.  I wish I could put stiffer springs into my Unicomp.

[unicomp_uc]

yea, a common sentiment. It's all about personal preference.