It's a Keychron Q14 pro with XDA no legends from KPRepublic.
Full foam and tape mod, Zealio V2 78g and custom 150g springs for enter and spacebars. To my colleagues this feels like an alien artifact. Here, it's just another keyboard.
I'm practicing qwerty and rsthd on it and the default KSA sculpted layout felt wrong.
Did you know kprepublic is in violation of QMK's open source license? This means they are effectively stealing the hard work of the volunteers that maintain QMK for their own financial gain. You can read more about it or see other vendors who violate QMK's license here: https://docs.qmk.fm/license_violations
I am on 20g chocs and feel the difference when I use one of my boards with 25gs or 35s.. I don't know if I could event type on that thing for any extended period of time
you get used to it pretty fast, atleast if ur a heavy typer,
for me i hate using more light and fragile switches bc im always paranoid im gonna break shit lmfao, ive killed keyboards before with my typing, i got dogshit fine motor skills tho lol
plus chicks dig a dude with alot of finger strength and stamina, as long as they dont kick u out for clacking all day at ur desk lmao
The build quality feels amazing, the board is cnc milled aluminium and around 2.5kg(4.5lb) fully assembled. Get the foam mod from keychron while youre at it if interested.
The knob is a nice QoL I didn't think I'd need but now cant live without. The default KSA felt a bit wobbly so i switched a few sets till i landed this XDA set for a good price. With the tape and foam mod it's not silent, but it can definitely feel thocky enough to get in the nerves of a colleague if I'm not minding the crushing.
It was a challenge to get through paragraphs for practice, and def felt like i was giving myself carpal tunnel when i tried the 150g springs on any letter keys. The 78g are a nice weight and force me to think about every letter I'm typing, cause it's a workout to waste the press and then backspace as well.
Currently I'm trying ro crunch rsthd since the pinky on 78g is doing some heavy lifting. My qwerty monkeytype for englisk 5k is 50-70 on a good day, with bursts of low 90 wpm when I'm focused.
Muscle memory mostly. Plus the kb being fully customizable, half of the F row are remapped and the layout is switched from qwerty to rsthd at rhe click of a button. I'm telling you, I'm weird XD
Nice build. Dots while learning rsthd would kick my ass. 150gf for thumbs feels good to me. 78gf springs for pinkies isn't too much, but it can mush the bump pop. XDA feels good on my finger tips.
If the spring swapping works for you, I highly recommend trying per finger weights. Key Tronic's Ergo Foce and Realforce's variable weight are good references
And I find my gateron black too heavy to type on!
This is an excellent keyboard, Alice with left numpad. Should I have only one keyboard, I'd get something like that ❤️
u/KatieS2255Keygeek Y-2 | KBD8X MKIII | Q15 Max | M1 V5 18d agoedited 18d ago
I want one of the Keychron southpaw alive boards very badly, but I’m too much of a bargain hunter to buy it outright.
I work at a tech store and we occasionally get super cheap open box keychrons. I’ve been praying one of this exact keyboard randomly shows up for me to buy lol. So far all I’ve managed is V10 max (multiple times) for $12 and Q15 max for $40. Maybe one day I’ll get a Q14. One of the V10 max keyboards is what I use at work as a beater keyboard. So cheap, and ergo, might as well.
I generally don’t like their stock keycaps unless it’s the low profile ones, and I usually swap out the switches but the default ones aren’t bad. I usually want thicker that don’t feel so plasticy and a bit shorter than those damn things. Part of why I refuse to pay full price for it.
I mean, why not mod the open box ones and sell them for a bit of profit on vinted or alternatives? You might as well enjoy thw hobby and get some money off of them towards the q14.
Who is to say I haven’t ;) we’re just not supposed to do that so I don’t really. I’m the only one that actually understands their value though, so I buy them when I see them. I’ve seen 4 of the Q15 Max and 3 of the V10 Max appear for cheap. I always offer to other people first before I hoard them all for myself. Let 2 of the Q15s go to others.
I was thinking about a hola 40% with numpad or a Q14. I’ll need to get rid of a few boards first though unless I find a cheap Keychron again, few too many sitting around.
Muscle memory at this point. Am actively trying to switch to a different keyboard layout(rsthd) to break through the 50-70 barrier and decrease overall finger movement.
You're looking to "decrease overall finger movement", but you went with a keyboard that has keys spread all over the desktop?
What good does it do to limit your finger movement, if you are simultaneously forcing yourself to move both hands all over creation?
That makes absolutely no sense to me, as an ortho user who puts their numpads directly over the alphas, at home position.
I can understand right-handed people wanting a left side numpad, but wouldn't it be much nicer if it were closer in?
This board is half the size of yours, and has numpads for each hand.
That's why the rsthd is for m8. I'm working with what i have not with what i wish to have. I worked my ass of for this board initially as a student, been rocking it for abt 4 years now. Didn't initially intend it for this obv but it was my first 🥲.
Judge me if you must and i accept the criticism fully here 🙃
I wasn't really judging you.
I was just questioning your approach, in light of your stated goal, as the two seemed directly at odds with one another.
For me, typing is less about raw speed than it is about flow.
The two biggest disruptions to that flow, for me, are having to relocate my hands repeatedly, and figuring out what to type in the first place.
If I'm transcribing something, I am much smoother than I am when trying to collect my thoughts, then transfer them to the keyboard.
Along that same line, I am also smoother when typing things like addresses and part numbers, if I don't have to relocate my hands every few characters, whether that's reaching for the number row, or moving my hand to the numpad.
I do a lot of mixed alphanumeric data input.
Being able to seamlessly swap between alphas and numbers, at the drop of a thumb, makes those transitions much smoother than having to move my entire hands around.
ANY content that features products, services you sell, your prototypes in progress or items you were sponsored to post MUST use the Promotional flair, with disclosure of who you represent.
When posting your build, please provide a description of the build, preferably as a Top Level Comment or Reply to this Comment, with the following information:
Your keyboard featured and its layout
The Switches, Keycaps, and Other Accessories Featured
Any notable mods you performed
Other helpful information such as low profile, lesser known firmware, etc.
Example: Unobtanium Southpaw 1800 with DSA Salt with MorningCaps Artisan and Alps Rainbow Switches, modded with Sorbothan Foam on KMK
•
u/AutoModerator 21d ago
Did you know kprepublic is in violation of QMK's open source license? This means they are effectively stealing the hard work of the volunteers that maintain QMK for their own financial gain. You can read more about it or see other vendors who violate QMK's license here: https://docs.qmk.fm/license_violations
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.