People on this site probably interact with computers much more than the average person, and many type stuff into their machines for the majority of their days. I don't see why it wouldn't make sense to get yourself something decent that feels good to interact with there.
Tiny annoyances multiplied by a hundred times a day, 365 days a year add up. And even if it is only that slightly mushy Ctrl key or that spacebar where the right stabilizer is weird because the thing fell off the desk once.
For me a mechanical keyboard must be sturdy, heavy, with no flex of any kind. Preferable with black linear/silent switches, something that you can punch in hard or type completely silent if needed. Not a piece of plastic that moves around on the desk.
Maybe the fact that I am playing musical instruments (and work in audio) plays a role here. Tactile feedback is very important to me. I don't need a click, just very predictable and reliable responses that don't distract me when I am in the flow. I need a keyboard that can be silent if I need it to be silent.
That alone (for me) justifies spending more money than usual people would spend on a keyboard. It is not hobby to me, it is a tool. But a tool I enjoy using and that works for my use case. Sure I could use any other keyboard. But I don't have to, so why would I?
A year ago I lost a lot of free time and realized how much crap I was unnecessarily putting up with. I've started trying to upgrade the tools that give me the most friction, and many times it's been surprisingly inexpensive for the benefit gained. I bought one decent keyboard and mouse that can switch between multiple devices, replaced my terrible second monitor with one that has better viewing angles, and took in my kitchen knives to have them sharpened. There are (obviously) still many annoyances during the course of a day, but there's just a little less overhead involved in getting work done.
What's the advantage of backlighting? I don't need to look at my keyboard to type.
And some people do not 100% touch type, or don't touch type in the strict way everyone expects all touch typists to do so.
It just gets weird when people start into these audiophile-like arguments for the superiority of their choice. I've owned a number of mechanical and membrane keyboards since my first computer in 1983, and there's no real benefit to either except for aesthetics and how it feels to you personally.
3 to 5 years! I expect all of my mechs to last a lifetime. My daily driver is cherry mx blues that have been clicking away for 11 years now, 6-10 hours of software engineering a day.
That calculation does not seem very realistic. I'd expect a mech keyboard to continue to function after 50 years of daily use, and a traditional membrane to probably wear out somewhere between 10 - 15 years of daily use.
I've gone through four or five Apple Keyboard (A1243) during the past decade. They break very easily, but I like the feel and layout.
With mechanical keyboards made for gaming (Razer and Corsair) I've had the caps start to fall apart and break after ~2 years of regular usage. The most frequently used switches also tend to start showing signs of wear and tear after a while.
That's why a lot of people into this hobby get pcb's where they don't have to solder in the switches and if ever a switch breaks they just pop in a replacement or pull the switch apart to see what's wrong. Similarly if a keycap `falls apart and breaks` although i don't quite know how this managed to happen for you
I have been using a Tex Beetle TKL Mechanical Keyboard for about 10 years and they no longer sell it which is a huge bummer. I'm sure if it breaks I'll be OK with another TLK keyboard out there on the market but I do love this one.
Can you speak more to this? I bought a ZSA Moonlander[0], which has built in (tho removable) wrist rests. I bought the keyboard specifically for ergonomics, mechanical keyboard "coolness" was far down the list.
I used to get wrist pain typing directly on my MBP, with my laptop on my lap (shitty setup due to COVID, am fixing now). I would be resting my wrist right on the hard edge of the MBP. Since getting the moonlander, I've had no wrist pains.
Other than that it's about recognizing the signs that your wrists are getting raw from too much use and taking breaks.
I've had severe typing RSI and had to go to the doctor for it.. mine was tendonitis in the flexor muscles.
They looked at the X-Rays and MRIs of my wrists and said there was no way I would ever have to worry about carpal tunnel, different people have differences in the bones and can have a tighter tunnel.. a tighter tunnel can make that type of issue more likely to occur.
Don't do it.
Retiring at 23 because of wrist pain wouldve sucked.
Typing on yor lap is generally bad for all sorts of reasons. I’ve found it can work if you’re reclining in a comfy chair. But float your wrists!
After trying probably 10 different "ergo" keyboards, the one I landed on that has been amazing for a decade is the Kinesis Ergo Advantage2
https://kinesis-ergo.com/keyboards/advantage2-keyboard/
It is split, so helps with that angle, and also has depressions where your fingers go so your hands aren't cocked back causing additional strain. It also has a couple options of the mechanical switches used. Anyone struggling with pain from typing, I'd suggest looking at it. It has a learning curve but it's worth it.
I immediately bypassed the aesthetics side of MK and went straight to functionality; the kinesis has probably been the most reliable piece of hardware I've had over the years (with the exception of a key-repeating known issue that has been resolved with the advantage2)
I also bought the Moonlander and have had very minimal pain since (~4 months now). Was thinking about this as I went to bed last night; such a relief. Sometimes I'd have to wear wrist braces at night due to pain.
Regarding the wrist rests, I find that the base of my palms, and not my wrists, touch the wrist rest. Maybe it's the size of my hands and how I have it tented, but overall I like the wrist rests quite a lot. I do try to lift my wrists a little when I'm really typing though.
You’ll get wrist pain primarily from wrists not being straight (either flexed downward or extended upward). Keeping your wrists close to straight is important when doing any kind of repetitive action with the fingers.
But I've found that for some use cases, when I always press the same keys (say moving around text with hjkl, or similar) it's very comfortable to rest the wrist on the wrist-rest. However, I usually put most of the wrist's weight on the exterior, so I suppose the nerves aren't as much constrained.
- high enough (forearm to wrist straightish to concave, NOT splayed back)
- just the right softness (too hard = palm fatigue)
- kept my wrists warm enough. I think cold palms/wrists might be a bad situation
for my mouse, I found using a smaller mouse-dedicated wrist rest full of beads worked for me.
why people would use wooden or plastic wrist rest is beyond me. Same for typing with your palms on a cold laptop surface. (also remember there are NO OSHA-approved laptops, they are not ergonomic)
I have, but only under very specific circumstances: playing Overcooked with two players on one keyboard. This will occasionally mean six keys simultaneously pressed and then someone notices key presses just go missing.
Also, not all keyboards with mechanical switches have N-key rollover. Many tout "anti-ghosting" which means different things that you have to look in the specs for.
Mechanical keyboards are much more comfortable to type on.
I feel like even a 10% increase in comfortableness for something you use every day for just $100 is totally worth it! If you do any amount of typing I really recommend it!
If someone is moving forward (W) and strafing to the right (D) while jumping (Space), they will have reached the key rollover limits of their 3KRO (3 key roll over) membrane-based keyboard.
This means that if they ALSO try to fire off one of their abilities (let's say they have to press "1" to activate their ability), they won't be able to activate it unless they first let go of one of their movement keys.
This is a lot less noticeable in a more advanced keyboard that can do 6 key rollover. It's pretty rare that someone is going to be performing 6 simultaneous actions in a game.
I eventually threw out my oldest mechanical (1997) because I didn't want to deal with a ps2 adapter anymore. Mecha are a higher price tier, and it's easier to get higher quality. Newer keyboards (2009 onwards) that I still own hold up pretty well.
My Kinesis is distinctly less fatiguing. That's because I don't bottom out the keys when typing. The key activates early and the keyboard beeps. I stop at the beep and it's really more comfortable. My hands can feel a significant difference after a day off typing.
If you're placing your wrist down when typing, it's better to place it higher up. And when rising your hand from idle to typing height, it's less fatiguing to raise it less. A better starting position will likely improve your final typing position.
Having had some RSI issues; I have found significant improvement since I started swapping mechanical keyboards around. I don't bottom-out as much which alleviates some finger pain I had after using my previous rubber-dome.
Not for everyone I'm sure; but it does help. I rotate a Magic Keyboard and ~3-4 different mechanical keyboards on various desks to get different angles and pressures also.
I've never encountered this sort of problem with ANY keyboard I've owned in 30 years, no matter how crappy.
> A good mechanical keyboard can alleviate the fatigue of typing. Users who need to type for a long time can consider it.
This claim seems dubious.
> In theory, a mechanical keyboard can last for 3 to 5 years.
I've yet to have a membrane keyboard actually wear out. I just had my daily driver Logitech solar wireless keyboard that I bought in 2014 finally die, but it was the solar charger circuit that failed, not the keys or membrane (although the paint on the wasd keys were getting pretty damn faded).
> Keyboard wrist rest: some users may feel uncomfortable typing without a palm wrist. This depends on personal needs.
Wrist rests are actually one of the leading causes of RSI due to the extra compression stress they place upon the carpal tunnel.