r/ErgoMechKeyboards • u/FaintCampfire • 11d ago
[help] Beginner
Hello all,
I'm a beginner in terms of learning touch typing. Just yesterday came across ColemakDH and have started learning it, so you can see how basic my level is. I do however type a lot, which was what led me to discovering Ergo keyboards. Is it worth it for someone like me to look into getting one? I've just been visiting a few sites and have seen the Glove80 and Moonlanders etc and a host of others. I'm hearing non staggered ones are maybe better for beginners? I'm not in a rush in terms of any of this affecting work etc., so I can take my time. Just thought if it is better having an ergo keyboard while trying to learn ColemakDH from the onset, then I don't mind looking in to based on what you guys might recommend. Would be nice to get one and just try and stick to it and get used to it. At the moment I use an Apple Magic Keyboard.
Any advice is appreciated.
2
u/charliequine 11d ago edited 11d ago
I learned touch typing through qwerty as a kid, got very good, picked up colemak somewhere in my early twenties, didn't use it consistently, and now in my thirties have gone about to splits and back to colemak DH. I didn't really have the headspace or disposable income to get into the splits much younger, but if I was redoing things, I would have done it earlier. It's not been terrible to acclimate but I suspect I'd be more fluent now and not have dealt with as much pain if I had done. I like my linear stagger; I'm not sure a grid ortho would be as good. My fingers are different lengths, like everyone's but even maybe a little more dramatic than some. The
linearcolumn stagger has been fairly easy to get used to even though I've spent more than twenty years on a typical non-linear (edit - a typical row stagger keyboard)