Keyboard for a heavy handed typer

[Carcharocles]

I'm hoping to reward my mother for quitting smoking (when she does, anyway), but my budget is pretty low. She's used two Rosewill boards so far, both RK9000's, but due to nerve damage she has difficulty feeling the "bump" from tactile keys and always ends up bottoming them out. To top it off, her keyboard is in bad shape due to that very habit she's trying to quit.

She seems to type very hard, and I don't think having her learn another layout would be good for reasons I don't feel like disclosing. I also don't like the direction Rosewill has been taking its quality control, so I refuse to buy their products now. She says she'd prefer backlighting for typing at night, but can live without it if it means getting a higher quality board. I've heard good things about the Quickfire Rapids and their Reds, but the problem is she wants a full board and the way she pounds on keys makes me nervous about buying something so light. Do you think this calls for something like Cherry MX Blacks?

Basically, I don't know what I should look for. She really wants and needs a new keyboard, and she's been doing great just to get it. It'll only be a few months before she's weaned off completely, and I promised her that if she goes 30 days clean I'll get her one. She likes Blues for the ease of typing, hates rubber domes (hence why she loves blues), doesn't care for scissor-switch and does not like my Browns at all. The two of us settled on either Reds or Blacks since they're common and don't require modding, but I'm concerned she'd rough up the Reds and that the Blacks would be too stiff. If I could find a Model F in my price range that was in good condition, I don't doubt she'd mind giving up back lighting for it (I understand they are extremely durable boards).

My budget, when I end up in the market would be 100 dollars or less, preferably less than 90 dollars if at all possible. I MIGHT be able to stretch it to 120 dollars if necessary, but that's as fgladly pay more if I could, but both of us are on fixed incomes.

I should point out that she plays shooters and other games that benefit from high rollover (I don't think NKRO is strictly necessary for her, since she always uses the mouse, but I'd like at least 5 key just to give her some wiggle room).

Edit: Thanks for the suggestions! I'll be getting her a Unicomp Classic Ultra with large font.

[Altis]

You hinted that bottoming-out is undesirable. Have you considered stock MX Clear? It's the only switch I've used that I can type normally on and easily avoid bottoming out, while enjoying more tactility than say MX Brown. MX Clear is quite heavy near the bottom but light enough at the top.

They tend to be a bit more difficult to get, but you can get a KUL ES-87 with clears from elikekeyboards or I believe Code has some with stock Clears.

I wish her well on her journey... It's tough but highly rewarding!

[Snarfangel]

My Unicomp does well under both normal and angry tying mode, and you can definitely tell when the key triggers.


(Angry typing is when I pound the keys pretty darned hard. Very soothing.)

[chyros]

Almost everything about the opening post just screams "Model M" to me.

[Snowdog993]

Almost everything about the opening post just screams "Model M" to me.

Yep.  I believe in this case, a Model M would be a perfect solution.

[MKB]

This calls for unicomp.  I like the black USB model.  (Unicomp is very similar to Model M)

Cherry Reds and Blacks are out in my book for a heavy typer... 

Cherry blues might work.  But unicomp in my book is the way to go...

This is the model:  http://www.pckeyboard.com/page/UKBD/UB40P4A     Ultra Classic Black Buckling Spring USB.  This si the most compact one they sell.

[Carcharocles]

Aren't Unicomp/Model M keyboards 2KRO though? That might make gaming difficult for her.

The clears are an interesting idea. I didn't know there were boards that had them as stock. I'll definitely look into them.

[chyros]

Aren't Unicomp/Model M keyboards 2KRO though? That might make gaming difficult for her.

They are.

But let's be honest, rollover is massively overrated for gaming. I've been on 2KRO boards all my life .

Seriously for gaming even a fun-of-the-mill rubber dome board will do fine 99.9% of the time.

[SpartanD63]

Aren't Unicomp/Model M keyboards 2KRO though? That might make gaming difficult for her.

The clears are an interesting idea. I didn't know there were boards that had them as stock. I'll definitely look into them.

I've had no issues gaming on Model Ms. The rollover is really not much of an issue.

I'm also trying out a Model F XT, but the layout is odd. And the Model F keys are a bit lighter and easier to bottom out on, at least from my day's worth of typing.

I'd suggest the Model M. It'll be a bit cheaper for a board with a more modern layout and to be honest, the Model M is already overkill in terms of durability. (The only real issue being the plastic rivets, but they'll be fine under normal use.)

[Snarfangel]

Aren't Unicomp/Model M keyboards 2KRO though? That might make gaming difficult for her.

The clears are an interesting idea. I didn't know there were boards that had them as stock. I'll definitely look into them.

If you want to try out and inexpensive Cherry MX Clear board and don't mind a useless attachment (credit card scanner), you can pick up a used Cherry MX8100 on Ebay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cherry-MX8100-Computer-Keyboard-G80-8100LRCUS-White-Switch-w-Touchpad-Used-/252005308623?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3aacafd8cf


This one is $34.99 plus $10.99 shipping, but you can often find them a bit cheaper. Have to be a bit careful, though, because sometimes they use brown switches (which I prefer, but it's a lighter switch). Plus, it's PS/2, which may be an issue for you.

[Carcharocles]

P/S2 isn't an issue at all actually. Both of us use it on our current keyboards.

I'll look into that keyboard as well as the Unicomp. Showed the Unicomp to my mom and she actually digs it, so we may end up going that route anyway.

Edit: She's decided she doesn't want the clears (the more expensive ones are outside my budget, and the one suggested by snarfangel doesn't look appealing to her), but she REALLY wants one of those bright white keys/black chassis Unicomp Ultra Classics with the large font. She says there's no reason for backlighting with those things, and she fondly remembers typing on a Model M way back when I was a kid. Since they are 89 dollars, they fit perfectly in my budget. She's looking forward to getting it, so this should give her good motivation to quit!

[Altis]

Good choice! I hope she enjoys it and wish her well with quitting.

You may want to update the original post so you don't get pages of more suggestions.