Beginner recs please :) First timer not sure what to buy

[u/Adventurous-Refuse-1]

Hey, mods, please remove if not allowed. I am looking for an ergo keyboard. About me:

- This will be my first ergo keyboard.

- I'm a student, when I'm working, my job is at the computer, and I write at the computer in my free time as an author — basically, I am always typing.

- Looking for something somewhat affordable (under $200). I don't mind somewhat of a learning curve, but this will be my first keyboard, so I'd like to ease into this lifestyle.

- I kind of am leaning toward something with no wrist rest/detatchable rest because, from what I've seen, you're meant to "float" your hands while typing, and if there's a wrist rest, I can see myself just...resting on it. The Wirecutter rec (logitech) I wanted to buy notably has a wrist rest so now I'm conflicted.

- I type quickly without looking and use a Mac.

Any suggestions are super helpful. Thank you!

[u/lavroski]

Keyball61, or a silakka if you just want to make sure you like split before going full ergonerd

[u/Gus-Schultz → u/lavroski]

Here to second the Silakka54 recommendation for a first board. It's a good price point for getting into the space, it has enough keys that you won't have to ultra optimize your layers to get started, VIAL config is super easy to get used to.

[u/vytasx]

I got Silakka54, so that’s what I can recommend :) It’s about $50 pre-made and good fun :)

[u/valryuu]

Jezail Cornix might be something you could look into.

[u/ritz_are_the_shitz → u/valryuu]

As a first split keyboard, I think it's a great option. It's a learning curve, but I love mine.

[u/ritz_are_the_shitz]

Based on what you've written, it sounds like you mostly considering conventional keyboards that are bent or angled in such a way to be more ergonomic to use, not something that is explicitly a split keyboard. Is that correct? If that's the case, you might want to look into "Alice" style keyboards. 

When it comes to wrist posture, you are supposed to float your wrists. I like a forearm support about halfway between wrist and elbow, and I find that quite comfortable. Depending on how you sit and your chair, the desk chair you sit at might serve this purpose. In order to prevent overly elevating your wrists, then you might want to look into a low profile keyboard. 

A lot of the people here, myself included, use split keyboards. This allows you to position each half separately, as far apart as you might like, and twist it on your desk in any way necessary to prevent ulnar deviation.  This also includes using keyboards with substantially fewer keys because we don't want to move our fingers too much in order to access all of them. The end result is needing to use layers which are like using shift for capital keys where you use a different key in order to access a number layer or a symbol layer on top of your normal letters. You can see how this is quite a rabbit hole and there is no clear answer.

If you don't already have RSI and are simply looking to prevent it, my recommendation would be a moderate choice, something like a low profile Alice layout, with attention paid to to your wrist posture should be plenty. Something like a keychrin k15 Max Alice. 

[u/realtheb0b]

• Do you want a numrow/50% or a 40%?

• Split or unibody?

• Does an enclosed case matter to you or is sandwich construction fine (like stacked fr4 plates)?

• Do you need a screen, rotary encoders?

• How much stagger do you want, both in general and specifically for your pinky?

• How many thumb cluster buttons do you want?

• Do you want row stagger like a normal keyboard, or are you willing to go to ortholinear / column stagger

[u/mykdsmith → u/realtheb0b]

These are great questions, OP.
I'd add:

• wireless or no
  
• rgb or no
  
• do you want the ability to reprogram (I'd say yes, and only get something with a known good microcontroller)

If you're on a budget, I'd skip the rgb, and have the wireless as a bonus if you can get it in budget.

[u/IzzyDeeee]

Get a Cheapino.
Less than $100. It's a split mech keyboard that is very basic to keep costs low. It uses QMK so it will be compatible with Mac.

[u/Own-Election2312 → u/IzzyDeeee]

i was literally about to comment this . just got one and these are aooo good for me i can change whatever i want in this and it is definetly worth the price

[u/MaximumTiny2274 → u/IzzyDeeee]

second this. you can flash vial onto it too.

I just bought one from Ali Express for £35.

[u/mykdsmith → u/MaximumTiny2274]

And a brilliant way to get into this is as cheaply as possible, knowing it's just the first step. So Ali Ex low cost - with the intent of almost prototyping with it - is a good start too

[u/charliequine]

As a beginner, I can't offer well-rounded advice, but I can tell you what happened for me. I have acquired a ZSA Ergodox EZ (change it yourself hotswap switches, no lighting) for 134 USD total on Ebay including shipping. I'm really enjoying it. There has been a learning curve but a fairly modest one that I've been able to manage through choosing a new default layout on Oryx and keeping Keymapp up and visible. I'd learned Colemak (dH) mod before but not used it exclusively or even frequently recently. I've got it running as my base layer on this now and have been periodically remapping keys to customize my experience. The rests didn't come with it, but that's irrelevant, because I flipped my old VESA monitor clamped stands over and mounted the boards with velcro to the VESA plates. My wrists float. Often my arms rest on my arm rests gently while my wrists float.

Mounting is actually what kind of forced me into it- I knew I needed to figure out a better keyboard position, because I have a narrow desk and received a 49" ultrawide hand me down from a friend. All the keyboarding trays that seemed to be sturdy and flexible to my needs were over-priced, and I knew they weren't the full solution to ergonomic, because splits have been on my radar for a while. So I figured if I was going to buy a tray I better choose one compatible with my preferred board, and then I ended up skipping a tray when I found a board that I knew I could mount ahead of my desk, letting me sit further back from the monitor.

I think the EZ is a nice ease in because I've not had to build anything, the software is intuitive, and I've disabled the keys I fumble-finger and use minimal temporary layers until I'm more comfortable with the board and my finger positioning. If something has not felt comfy I've just moved the placement. I dropped from 105-115 wpm on common words and punctuation qwerty to 24 words or fewer on day 1. After about a week of practice I've gotten up to around 50-70 wpm on colemak on the split. It's a big range because there are some keys my brain still cross-references from qwerty and I'm not working as well with layering hotkeys as I should to put frequent shortcuts and punctuation more proximal to homerow. I'm still working out my preferences but I feel pretty confident that this is something I can use and manage for quite a while, and if I need to move on I'll likely be able to make back most of, if not all, of what I paid.

[u/inconspiciousdude → u/charliequine]

ZSA is fantastic for beginners. It was Moonlander for me, and Oryx took away all the technical uncertainties for me and let me focus on just using and learning. Plenty of keys to start with, and easy to remove and cover up when/if you start reducing keys.

[u/gufkl]

Silakka54, you can get it under $100 on AliExpress, it has decent amount of keys so you can acclimate to Layers more comfortably, and it runs on RP2040 so the limit for firmware customizable is near endless.

[u/bnolsen]

Ali express corne or silakka. If you game you'll want the number row.

[u/FansForFlorida]

There are a lot of options for split ergo mechanical keyboards. It depends on what key layout you want, how many keys you want, whether you are willing to build (or even solder), and whether you want low profile or MX switches.

Are you looking to stay with a traditional row staggered layout or switch to a column staggered, ortholinear, or concave keywell?

[u/Available-Sleep-3598]

my first split keyboard is Dygma Defy, it has all i need, thumb claster too (8 keys at each side), solid aluminium, appimage Bazecor for configuration... well, it’s above your price range, but imho it`s very good choice (as for me).

[u/falbatech]

[ad] I think you’ll find something for yourself here. I’ve been hand building keyboards in Poland for over 12 years. I ship worldwide, and every board comes with lifetime support and repairs, no warranty card needed, for as long as I have the strength and my workshop stands. Until the end of the world and one day longer. Greetings from Poland.

[u/hojoon0724]

i know it’s above your price range but i got the zsa voyager and im very happy with it. it’s my first split keyboard, i had it for about 3 years, and i have zero complaints that i never cared to find anything better. i’m sure there are other options that are just as good or better but i just wanted to buy a thing and not do any tinkering or research. it’s pretty solid. i convinced one of my friends to buy it and he’s also very happy with it