What's not keyboard friendly about explorer? I find it very easy to work with, actually one of the most keyboard friendly programs i have! Arrows and typing for navigation, (shift+)tab for jumping from tree to file list(without mouse you actually get used to working without tree-view, i have mine always hidden), ctrl+c/v/x = duh. F2=Rename, Ctrl+shift+n = new folder. Alt+Up = Up, Alt+left/right = back/forward. Alt+D = Navigation bar(with autocomplete!). Ctrl+E = Search. Alt+P = Preview, Contextmenubutton alone = right mouse button (i'm surprised many people don't know about this button), this contains almost all the remaining things you need that don't have a dedicated hotkey, and even this list can be navigated quickly with the keyboard, for example Contextmenubutton+R = Properties, Or N for SendTo.

Frequently working with two different folders? open a new window(Ctrl+N) and dock one window on each side of the screen with win+left/right. Then simply alt+tab between them, or use the win+nr if you have it docked on your taskbar.

The only thing i'm missing for keyboard navigation is a hotkey to toggle navigation bar on/off and a more sleek autocomplete, such as visual studios or quicksilver.

Great suggestions, thanks.

Tried FAR? http://www.farmanager.com

Excellent suggestion, thanks! Trying it out right now.