Keyboard Became Glossy How to Add Tactile Feeling to It Again
The research
- Why you should trust the states
- Who this is for
- How we picked
- How we tested
- Our pick: Kinesis Freestyle Edge RGB
- Flaws only not dealbreakers
- Long-term examination notes
- Budget choice: Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard
- Upgrade pick: ErgoDox EZ
- Other good ergonomic keyboards
- The competition
- Footnotes
- Sources
Why you should trust the states
As a senior staff author at Wirecutter, I've reviewed all types of home-office gear, including ergonomic seat cushions, standing desks, and webcams. I've researched and tested ergonomic keyboards for Wirecutter since 2016, and I type on one daily, ordinarily for hours on end.
Over the years, I've interviewed experts in ergonomics and keyboard blueprint to larn what to look for in an ergonomic keyboard. Both Dr. David Rempel, founder of the University of California's ergonomics program, and professor Alan Hedge, director of Cornell University's Human Factors and Ergonomics Research Group at the time of our interview, have extensively researched workplace ergonomics for decades, and their inquiry has helped inform the design of workstations, keyboards, mice, and more than. For the latest update to this guide, I interviewed Amaanat Gill, an associate ergonomist at Humanscale, a manufacturer of ergonomic piece of furniture and tools.
Who this is for
Standard keyboards force you to hold your wrists and arms at angles that can cause discomfort or hurting in your hand, arm, or shoulder. An ergonomic keyboard can aid y'all position your trunk more properly, with your shoulders relaxed, your upper arms close to your trunk, and your forearms level with the floor. Equally Rempel told u.s., if yous utilise a keyboard more than 10 hours a week and already feel this discomfort or pain, yous should consider an ergonomic keyboard. Similar buying an ergonomic chair or a standing desk-bound, ownership an ergonomic keyboard is an investment in yourself.
That said, anyone who doesn't type much or doesn't accept any discomfort while typing probably doesn't need one of these. There's no clear bear witness that ergonomic keyboards tin can prevent carpal tunnel syndrome or other kinds of repetitive stress injuries, although these alternative keyboards tin can help reduce strain on your body. Also, a keyboard, like a reckoner mouse or your favorite pair of sneakers, is a very personal choice. If you lot have a keyboard yous love, and it doesn't cause you any pain or discomfort, you lot don't need to upgrade.
If you've been diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome or any repetitive stress injury, you should consult an ergonomics expert or your dr. for advice specific to you. Hurting, numbness, or other serious symptoms likely require a medically advised option tailored to your needs.
On that same note, our recommendations are based on ergonomic advice for most people, simply everyone has different needs and preferences. For case, if you use your mouse with your left manus, an ergonomic keyboard with a dedicated number pad won't be an effect for you. Or if you lot don't need defended arrow keys, a more than meaty keyboard might exist a amend option. Some of the keyboards nosotros mention in the Competition section might be worth considering in these cases.
How we picked
Post-obit are the virtually of import features to look for in an ergonomic keyboard, according to our experts:
Fundamental feel and well-functioning keys: The shape and size of the keys, how much force y'all need to press a key before it registers (chosen actuation force), and how much tactile and auditory feedback you get all bear on how comfy your hands will be afterwards a long day of typing. Key experience besides influences how finer you blazon.
The UC Ergonomics Program'due south David Rempel told us to wait for "relatively light-touch on keys with an actuation force between 45 and 60 grams." Co-ordinate to Rempel, "The haptic feedback and consistent force are indicators of skilful quality. Typically a proficient experience is a key with some click virtually halfway through the stroke." The keys should be piece of cake to press to reduce strain on your fingers when yous're typing.
For these reasons, we focused on mechanical switches, which are more than responsive and comfortable to type on than cheaper and less durable membrane keys. Nosotros recommend Cherry MX Brown switches (or their equivalent) because they have a tactile crash-land and a lighter actuation forcefulness of 45 grams compared with other kinds of switches.1
Apartment keyboard slope from front end to back: We focused on ergonomic keyboards with at least a zero-caste gradient or, even ameliorate, a negative tilt option. "To minimize the chance of injury and to optimize performance, it is of import that a keyboard can be used with the hand in its well-nigh neutral position," said Cornell's Alan Hedge. "That is, direct and level." Most keyboards are angled upwards from forepart to dorsum, which makes y'all flex your wrists up 10 degrees or more than to attain all the keys. This position, called extension, is a major cause of strain. As for the little feet that virtually keyboards have in the rear, which enhance the back edge of the keyboard to tilt information technology similar an old typewriter, well, don't utilise those.
"Repeated extremes of wrist extension tin can put excessive pressure on the median nerve as it passes through the carpal tunnel of the wrist, and this impairs nerve part and somewhen results in injury," explains a Cornell research study. That same written report notes that a keyboard with negative tilt (angled downwardly, abroad from the user) protected the carpal tunnel from critical pressure far more regular keyboards did.
In lieu of a negative tilt, however, you can change any keyboard'southward tilt with an adjustable keyboard tray.
Carve up keyboard: With split keyboards, yous tin can concord your upper arms at the most comfortable position, past your sides. Conventional keyboards, in dissimilarity, can strength your easily to angle in and your elbows to button out from your sides, which can lead to hunched shoulders and upper-dorsum strain.
Split up ergonomic keyboards come in two flavors: partially split and fully split. Partially separate keyboards have a gap of an inch or two downward the middle but the keyboard is a unmarried unit, like a traditional keyboard, then it involves an easier learning bend. However, you can't adjust the split or the tenting of the keyboard (more on that beneath). A fully split keyboard, on the other hand, is basically a keyboard cut in half. This pick is more flexible and adjustable; you can bending and position each half exactly how it is nearly comfy for you lot. Such a blueprint does come with a more than difficult learning curve, though.
If, like me, y'all're a bear on typist who crosses over (that is, you type the Y key with your left manus and the B key with your right), it might take some time to adjust to a split keyboard—you'll need to relearn how to press the keys virtually the middle with the appropriate hand. (To be fair, there's a learning curve with whatever new keyboard, much similar switching from i car you're used to driving to some other.) But if you have wrist or shoulder pain, adjusting your typing technique is a minor hindrance if it might bring some relief.
No number pad: The built-in numeric keypad most keyboards have on the right side takes upwardly more space on a desk. More important, if you use a mouse with your right mitt—every bit most people do—a large keyboard can too crusade strain by forcing your correct arm to stretch to utilise the mouse. This isn't a problem for the few people who utilize their mouse left-handed, simply from our enquiry and talking to several southpaws, we've found that fifty-fifty many left-handed people use their mouse on the right side of the keyboard. A keyboard without a number pad lets right-handed mouse users keep their arm closer to their side, reducing strain on the arm and shoulder. That's why nosotros focused on keyboards without built-in numpads, as well known as tenkeyless keyboards. If you need a number pad, nosotros recommend buying a standalone number pad that you tin move into a comfortable position when you lot're using it and tuck out of the style when you're non.
Tenting: Nearly ergonomic keyboards heighten the middle of the keyboard slightly (the upshot looks like a tent, hence the term) and so that your hands rest in a more neutral position. If you balance your easily on your keyboard and your wrists naturally bend outward, a keyboard with tenting will exist more comfortable for y'all. "When you put your hands on [a regular] keyboard, your wrist is oftentimes bent so that the little finger is actually angle away from the wrist, since your arms are coming in from the sides," explained Hedge. "That'south called ulnar deviation. That results in compression on the ulnar nervus, and also it can crusade compression of some of the tendons used to flex the fingers."
Customizability: Most new ergonomic keyboards released in the past few years have been mechanical models, targeted especially toward keyboard enthusiasts interested in programming alternate layouts for their keyboards. For this guide, we prioritized customizability when it comes to typing comfort and proper posture, including remappable keys and multiple tenting and tilting options.
Wrist rest: Ideally, you shouldn't exist typing with your hands on a wrist residuum (also called a palm residual) merely rather hovering them over the keys at a neutral angle to foreclose the wrist extension mentioned above. But a large, comfy wrist rest can provide a soft landing spot to lay your hands in between typing—it's less stressful on your wrists than placing your hands on a desk with your wrists angled upward. "A cushioned palm back up," Humanscale's Amaanat Gill said, "can assistance straighten your wrists and reduce wrist anchoring [on a hard surface], which tin can help reduce intracarpal tunnel pressure." And although such an accessory is most often chosen a "wrist" balance, information technology'south important to annotation that you should residual your palms—not your wrists—on the support, considering the wrist area is sensitive and frail.
We ruled out ergonomic keyboards that had the following drawbacks:
- Require building or soldering: Although the build-it-yourself keyboard community is thriving, with many interesting options for self-assembled split keyboards, most people want to employ their keyboard out of the box.2
- Feel cheap or plasticky: Nosotros looked for keyboards with solid build quality that made us confident the keyboard would last for years.
- Ditch commonly used keys: In an attempt to create more compact models, some keyboard makers eliminate navigation keys such as the arrow keys and the function-keys row at the top. Those features remain attainable via special key combinations, only virtually people want those dedicated keys, so we eliminated ultra-compact split up keyboards.
- Have all blank keys: Keys that don't have printed letters, numbers, or symbols on them are fine for bear upon-typists and platonic for people creating their own alternative keyboard layout. For everybody else, printed keycaps and a standard layout are more important. Ergonomic keyboards take time and patience to get used to, and then throwing in blank keycaps, as the Koolertron does, is just another complication.
How we tested
Afterwards reevaluating our criteria and consulting with some other ergonomic expert in 2021, we researched all of the currently available ergonomic keyboards and tested six: our previous meridian picks and three keyboards we hadn't tested before.
I used the keyboards for about a month, writing, emailing, browsing the web, and playing typing games such as Epistory. (Equally a full-fourth dimension writer, I did a lot of typing!) I frequently switched between keyboards so that each keyboard got time both in the mornings, when I was less likely to accept typing fatigue, and in the evenings, when achiness was most noticeable. If the keyboard allowed for information technology, I adjusted each one-half to unlike angles and programmed a few shortcuts.
In a previous round of testing, four people with different manus sizes and postures helped evaluate the typing comfort for all the keyboard contenders, including our current picks. We weren't able to panel-test again this fourth dimension due to the COVID-nineteen pandemic, but we did apply our comfort findings from previous years' test panels to our latest round of testing. I as well happened to strain both of my forearms after overzealously trimming dead tree branches—so much so that lifting a glass of water became painful. So the customizability and ergonomic features of each keyboard became especially apparent to me during testing.
Our pick: Kinesis Freestyle Edge RGB
Our pick
| Type: | Fully split | Wrist residue: | Detachable |
| Tenting angles: | five, 10, 15 degrees | Slope: | 0 degrees |
| Connexion: | Wired | Programmable: | Yes |
Even though the Kinesis Freestyle Edge RGB is positioned equally a keyboard for gamers, it's actually a fully split ergonomic keyboard that's advisable for anyone who spends most of their days typing. It meets all of our criteria for a slap-up ergonomic keyboard: It'due south bachelor with iii of the most popular mechanical switches, Cherry MX Brownish, MX Crimson, and MX Blue; information technology tin can tent at 5, 10, or xv degrees with the recommended Elevator Kit accessory (bachelor with a palm-residuum support or without); it has a cipher-degree gradient and a low profile, although information technology lacks negative tilt; and you tin program it to fit your needs. We institute the keys to be comfortable and responsive, whether you tend to "lesser out" (fully depress the keys so the caps hitting the switch plate) while typing heavily or whether you tread more than lightly as a typist.
The Freestyle Border also comes with viii actress keys on the left that you tin can program for macros, as well as the Fn cardinal (which locks the office layer until you lot press it again) and a key to toggle the Freestyle Edge's bluish backlight. The extra keys make this keyboard less ergonomic for people who use a mouse with their left hand, though. If you're then inclined, you tin create upwardly to 9 different keyboard layouts or remap any of the keys pretty easily either onboard or via the optional SmartSet software included with the keyboard.
Overall, we establish this model to exist the easiest fully split ergonomic keyboard to get used to; the well-spaced keys and the large, smooth, and well-padded palm rest made for a pleasant typing feel fifty-fifty at the end of a long 24-hour interval of writing.
Flaws just not dealbreakers
Ergonomically speaking, the Kinesis Freestyle Edge RGB's biggest drawback is that it doesn't permit for negative tilting, then if you want a keyboard with a negative slope from forepart to back to protect your wrists, the Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard or the ErgoDox EZ would be a better selection. Or you lot could use a keyboard tray.
The keycaps are made of smoothen ABS plastic, which can become shiny over time, just I've used the Freestyle Edge since the summer of 2018 afterward buying it through Kickstarter, and I haven't seen an issue with that then far. Kinesis doesn't sell replacement keycaps, and the Freestyle Edge'due south nonstandard layout means finding replacements will be difficult. Although Kinesis sells textured, rubberized keycaps for the WASD and arrow keys, if you need replaceable keycaps for your entire keyboard, we recommend the ErgoDox EZ.
Like all fully split ergonomic keyboards, the Kinesis Freestyle Border RGB requires an additional wire to connect the two keyboard halves. This adds some cruddy desk clutter, just it'south a worthwhile trade-off for better ergonomics.
Long-term exam notes
Multiple Wirecutter staffers ain the Kinesis Freestyle Border RGB, and after two years of testing, they still beloved it. Wirecutter supervising editor Winnie Yang said, "I think the keyboard has mitigated a lot of the repetitive stress injury–related hurting in my wrists and hands." And Wirecutter engineering manager Allen Tingley said, "I love it, truly changed my typing life." Our testers concord that the optional tenting kit is a must-accept to take full reward of the keyboard's ergonomics.
Winnie's Freestyle Edge recently survived an attempted iced tea drowning, a scheme masterminded by her cat. All involved are luckily unharmed—but we don't recommend testing out our pick'south water resistance on purpose.
Budget pick: Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard
Upkeep pick
| Blazon: | Partially separate | Wrist residuum: | Attached |
| Tenting angle: | 10 degrees | Gradient: | -five degrees |
| Connection: | Wireless | Programmable: | No |
If y'all're interested in better ergonomics than a standard keyboard offers and you don't want to spend a lot of money, the Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard is the best place to starting time. Because information technology's one slice, the learning curve is less difficult than that of a fully split keyboard—it feels natural to use straight out of the box. It checks off most of our ergonomic criteria, offering tenting and negative tilting (with the included riser), besides as a separate numeric keypad. Plus, you don't have to deal with the unsightly wires typical of fully separate ergonomic keyboards, since the Sculpt keyboard connects to your reckoner via a 2.4 GHz wireless USB dongle. But its low-profile membrane keys aren't every bit pleasant to type on or every bit durable as the mechanical keys in our other picks, and the Sculpt is less customizable.
Nosotros establish the Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard more comfy to use for hours on terminate compared with a traditional keyboard, though not as comfy or customizable as the Kinesis Freestyle Edge RGB or the ErgoDox EZ. Adjacent to similarly priced ergonomic keyboards we've tested such equally the Goldtouch GTN-0099 and Adesso WKB-3150UB, the Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard feels less plasticky and better designed; the keys feel springy and like shooting fish in a barrel to press, unlike the more than wobbly keys of cheaper keyboards. The Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard'south row of office keys, all the same, are tiny and harder to press, more similar buttons than regular keys.
Other trade-offs for the lower price: no programmability, no backlighting, and, nearly of import, no power to dissever the keyboard halves to position them for your body'due south needs. If yous take consistent aches while typing, if you lot need more customization, or if the Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard doesn't fit your needs, the Kinesis Freestyle Border RGB or the ErgoDox EZ may be better for you lot.
The not-detachable palm remainder is large and cushiony, merely even afterward just a week of use, we constitute it gumming up. Equally one Amazon reviewer puts it: "The piano-blackness finish and padded wrist rest are gorgeous... until you lot showtime using your keyboard. It's still a beautifully designed keyboard, but it gets muddied easily and the wrist-rest is quickly stained past the oil from your skin." Keep some cleaning supplies on hand.
Upgrade selection: ErgoDox EZ
Upgrade pick
ErgoDox EZ
Extremely customizable
This fully split up mechanical keyboard can angle in whatever position to accommodate a wide range of torso types and ergonomic needs, though its layout and its bare modifier keys take some getting used to.
Buying Options
| Type: | Fully separate | Wrist balance: | Fully discrete, optional $30 add-on |
| Tenting angle: | Up to 20 degrees | Slope: | Up to -15 degrees |
| Connexion: | Wired | Programmable: | Yes |
If you lot want the most adjustable and customizable ergonomic keyboard and don't mind paying more and dealing with a significant learning curve, we recommend the ErgoDox EZ. Information technology meets all of our ergonomic criteria, offering responsive keys with great feedback, a fully separate design, and support for both tenting and negative tilting. Information technology's bachelor with 12 different switch types, including Cherry MX Browns—you tin even swap out the switches yourself without a soldering atomic number 26. Just the unusual layout takes more fourth dimension, endeavour, and patience to get used to, fifty-fifty with the user-friendly configuration options.
The little legs on the ErgoDox EZ are infinitely adaptable to any angle—for both tenting and negative tilting—so you tin can fix this keyboard up exactly to fit your posture needs. It takes experimenting to get the bending only so, but once you do, you might experience as if this keyboard was congenital for you. Fifty-fifty the palm rests are flexible: Different those on other keyboards, the ErgoDox EZ's palm rests are detached from the keyboard, then you lot can place them as close or as far apart from the keys every bit you lot need for comfort. The palm rests have a weird rubbery texture that tin can collect lint, but we institute them sturdy and comfortable to balance our palms on.
The ErgoDox EZ has an ortholinear layout: Its keys are arranged in columns, rather than the staggered layout of traditional keyboards. This pattern is meant to reduce how far your fingers have to stretch to reach each key, just it volition probably take you lot weeks to get used to if yous cartel to retrain yourself to blazon on it. And its clusters of unlabeled modifier keys and unusually placed keys (such equally the quotation marking, which sits on the left side of the keyboard) tin can exist time-consuming and frustrating to get accustomed to. Exist prepared to fiddle around with the keyboard layout using the graphical configurator, which we found easy to use.
Nosotros also recommend the ErgoDox EZ Glow if you don't mind spending a trivial more than for programmable RGB backlighting and PBT keycaps, which tend to exist more than durable and take a grittier texture. The standard ErgoDox EZ comes with ABS keycaps—equally the Kinesis Freestyle Edge RGB does—which can wear down and become smooth and shiny over time. Because this keyboard uses merely standard keycap sizes (albeit in strange places), it's somewhat easier to find replacement keycap sets for the ErgoDox EZ than it is for the Freestyle Border, and the company offers replacement keycaps and switches so you tin customize the keyboard fifty-fifty further.
Wirecutter's Sam Morrison said it took them about 2 weeks to go used to the ErgoDox EZ afterward modifying the layout extensively and using a typing tutor every forenoon to train. After adjusting the layout to exist more similar that of a traditional keyboard, I'one thousand yet not back up to my total typing speed after a couple of weeks, then exist patient with yourself every bit you relearn how to type.
Other expert ergonomic keyboards
The Matias Ergo Pro is a fully separate mechanical keyboard with tactile serenity central switches. It offers the option of tilting the keyboard a negative four.five degrees or tenting the halves 9 degrees, though y'all tin can't do both at the same fourth dimension, every bit you can with the ErgoDox EZ. We prefer the Kinesis Freestyle Edge RGB because it has more tenting angles, but if a negative tilt is more important than tenting for relieving stress on your wrists and yous want a fully split mechanical keyboard, this is the best selection. The Ergo Pro costs about as much as the Freestyle Border, but information technology lacks RGB backlighting, has smaller palm rests, and is less programmable. (You can program 20 of the keys, rather than the whole keyboard with multiple layers.)
The Lenovo Go Wireless keyboard is a well-built, sturdy ergonomic keyboard very similar to the Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard. It's slightly wider, and comes with a snap-on riser to create a 4-degree negative tilt. However, it's effectually $30 more expensive for a similar set of features, and we expect the cork palm residue would discolor and go unsightly afterwards months of typing. It might be a good choice if the Sculpt is out of stock or you lot prefer the cork aesthetic, just otherwise the Sculpt accomplishes the same task for cheaper.
The competition
The other keyboards we looked at and tested all fabricated too many compromises for usa to recommend them. For example, some models we considered were labeled "ergonomic" but didn't meet the ergonomic criteria our experts laid out.
The Cloud Nine ErgoTKL is a tented, split keyboard that costs $180. Nosotros liked the command knob in the middle of the keyboard, as well equally the ErgoTKL's key mapping and customization options. Only the board makes a loud and distracting hollow ringing sound after every keystroke, referred to in the keyboard world as ping. The board likewise has a set 7-degree tent, dissimilar our peak and upgrade picks which allow you to control the degree to which the lath is tented.
The Goldtouch GTN-0099 is a partially divide keyboard that costs under $100, only we found it unpleasant to use, with cheap, chattery keys. In addition, the embedded numeric pad on the model nosotros tested didn't work on a Mac. Its unusual pattern lets you tent the halves as much every bit 30 degrees, merely that'southward an farthermost angle to type on, and y'all tin can't command each half separately. If yous need that level of keyboard adjustment, nosotros propose consulting your doctor or an ergonomic expert because there are likely improve options.
The Moonlander is a flatter, more than portable mechanical keyboard with a detachable, unpadded wrist rest made past the same visitor backside the ErgoDox EZ. We similar that the thumb clusters can exist raised to accommodate different hand sizes, a feature the ErgoDox EZ lacks. But the Moonlander offers no negative tilt, and the keyboard slides effectually too much when tented, even when you type lightly on information technology, equally the thumb clusters don't have rubberized feet.
We dismissed the Dygma Raise considering it doesn't take a neutral gradient. The Raise tilts upward, from back to front, 3 degrees, which goes confronting ergonomic principles.
The Logitech Ergo K860 Keyboard is like to Microsoft's Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard, with a partially carve up design and a negative tilt. All the same, the built-in number pad makes it less ergonomic because it forces people who mouse with their right hand to accomplish farther—that'southward a dealbreaker.
The Kinesis Freestyle Pro is very similar to the Freestyle Border, but the Freestyle Edge is a meliorate choice for more than people because for just $25 more you become backlighting, included detachable palm rests, Cherry MX Bluish and MX Red switch options, and a slightly ameliorate build quality with touches like braided cables.
If you demand a wireless keyboard, the Kinesis Freestyle2 Blue is a solid Bluetooth choice, but its membrane keys don't feel as responsive or comfortable as the newer mechanical versions on the Edge and Pro.
Microsoft's Surface Ergonomic Keyboard shares the Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard'southward partially split pattern, but its non-removable number pad and its lack of a keyboard riser for negative tilt make the Surface Ergonomic Keyboard less ergonomic than its cousin.
The wireless Adesso WKB-3150UB feels cheaper and more plasticky than the Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard, still it typically costs effectually the same.
Nosotros tested a few compact keyboards for this guide only ultimately ruled them out because they fabricated typing harder by eliminating disquisitional navigation keys. Simply if you lot're interested in that category, y'all might consider the Ultimate Hacking Keyboard (UHK), a fully carve up ergonomic keyboard. However, the UHK omits dedicated arrow keys and other navigation keys, which frustrated some of our testers.
The build quality on the Goldtouch Go2 wasn't equally high as on competing keyboards.
We eliminated ergonomic keyboards that had a high price tag only weren't adjustable. For example, the Kinesis Advantage2 is well regarded among ergonomic-keyboard enthusiasts, simply its fixed design with extreme horizontal and vertical angles means information technology isn't a expert fit for nigh keyboard users. When a nigh $350 toll tag is involved, nosotros'd like more adaptability in an ergonomic keyboard.
Footnotes
Sources
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David Rempel, director of the University of California's ergonomics plan, interview
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Alan Hedge, managing director of Cornell University's Human being Factors and Ergonomics Research Group, interview
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Amaanat Gill, associate ergonomist at Humanscale, electronic mail interview , April 9, 2021
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/comfortable-ergo-keyboard/
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