People talk a big game about how durable these pricy mechanical keyboard are, how they can be repaired and last forever, etc. I don't think it works out that way. Looking through these comments you can see people with the Ergodox EZ asking whether they should "upgrade" to something slightly newer. Once you start chasing keyboarding perfection, the journey is endless. Minutae loom large; you're never quite satisfied. It's best to just buy something reasonable and learn to like it for what it is.
I will say the Kinesis Advantage2 people seem to be more or less permanently satisfied, though. So I am tempted.
Re:Split Keyboard for Professionals
by XenophileJKO on Monday September 28, 2020 @03:35PM
(#24620418)
Yep.. I bought a second hand Kinesis Advantage off ebay to "see if this would work for me". I used that one for almost 10 years and it was old when I got it. I had to use a usb adapter plugged into a ps/2 adapter into the original AT keyboard plug. Currently I have an advantage pro. Thinking about getting an advantage 2, but would only to get upgraded function keys.
After 3 years, I heartily recommend the Advantage2. Using it is simply more fun. I use mine with a trackpad sitting in the space between the two wells.
Creating those wells is, apparently, a tough engineering challenge, which is why so few commercially available keyboards have them, but they are what makes it so comfortable and effective. I consider the flat split keyboards to be pointless.
I'm overall very happy with my kinesis advantage, but there is something (subtle?) to be aware of: you tend to use your thumbs quite a bit to hit control/alt/return/space (especially with emacs), and after some time my thumb joints started hurting. Thumbonitis? :-)
Just like different guitars play differently, just like different shoes feel differently, different keyboards feel differently too.
If you are fine with a non-mechanical one, no need to defend yourself. Some people like clicky mechanical keyboards, some like linear ones, some want a heavy touch, some a light touch, some don't feel any difference at all, etc.
A good keyboard will last you at least a decade, multiply these hours by that and even 200$ would be nearly next to nothing given the time you use it. Do you really need it? Probably not (unless you use it for ergonomics). But if you can afford it, why not.