Matias ergo pro keyboard review: Matias Ergo Pro Review – RTINGS.com

Matias Ergo Pro Review – RTINGS.com

Tested using
Methodology v1.0

Reviewed Feb 28, 2020 at 08:33 am

Latest change: Test bench update Oct 26, 2021 at 03:52 pm

By Shaqil Hossain, Nicholas Di Giovanni, and Yannick Khong

6.6

Gaming

3.3

Mobile/Tablet

8.5

Office

6.6

Programming

3.0

Entertainment / HTPC

overview
test results
deals
discussions

Size

TenKeyLess (80%)

Connectivity

Wired

Mechanical

Yes

The Matias Ergo Pro is a very good TenKeyLess (TKL) office keyboard thanks to its split keyboard design and great ergonomics. The wrist rest is comfortable and the tactile switches give good feedback, delivering an impressive overall typing experience. However, without any dedicated macro keys, RGB backlighting, or a programmable software, most gamers will be disappointed with it. On the upside, there are two variants for Windows and macOS, so you can get the one that suits your computer.

Our Verdict

6.6

Gaming

This is a disappointing gaming keyboard. They Matias Ergo Pro doesn’t have any programmable macro keys, there’s no dedicated software, and there’s no backlighting for people who game in dark rooms. However, the tactile keys give good feedback, which might please some gamers.

Pros

Great ergonomics with three incline settings.
Very good typing quality.

Cons

Key caps feel cheap.
No dedicated software.

See our Gaming Recommendations

3.3

Mobile/Tablet

The Matias Ergo Pro keyboard doesn’t have wireless connectivity.

8.5

Office

The Matias Ergo Pro is a great office keyboard. Its split keyboard design allows you to place the two halves however you like. There are three incline settings, including a negative incline, for more ergonomic options. The wrist rest is comfortable and the switches don’t make too much noise. Unfortunately, the keycaps feel a bit cheap, but there’s enough space between them to help reduce typos.

Pros

Great ergonomics with three incline settings.
Very good typing quality.

Cons

Key caps feel cheap.
No dedicated software.

See our Office Recommendations

6.6

Programming

Mediocre for programming. The typing quality feels great with a nice tactile bump and the Ergo Pro itself has a solid build to it. It also has great ergonomics, with different incline settings and a comfortable wrist rest, but there aren’t any macro programmable keys or multi-device connectivity. Programmers will be happy with its compatibility with different operating systems, as it’s available in Windows or macOS variants.

Pros

Great ergonomics with three incline settings.
Very good typing quality.

Cons

Key caps feel cheap.
No dedicated software.

See our Programming Recommendations

3.0

Entertainment / HTPC

Pros

Great ergonomics with three incline settings.
Very good typing quality.

Cons

Key caps feel cheap.
No dedicated software.

6. 6

Gaming
3.3

Mobile/Tablet
8.5

Office
6.6

Programming
3. 0

Entertainment / HTPC

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Updated Oct 26, 2021:
Converted to Test Bench 1.0.
Updated Feb 28, 2020:
Review published.
Updated Feb 25, 2020:
Early access published.

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Differences Between Sizes And Variants

This keyboard is available with tactile and linear switches, but our unit had the tactile switches. It’s also available in Windows or macOS versions to provide full compatibility on both operating systems; ours is the Windows version. We expect the same results across the variants, except for typing experience and compatibility.

Compared To Other Keyboards

The Matias Ergo Pro has a similar office performance compared to other ergonomic or split-design keyboards such as the Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard, Kinesis Freestyle Pro, or Logitech ERGO K860. The multiple incline settings give it an edge over some of its competitors in that regard. Check out our recommendations for the best keyboards, the best keyboards for writers, and the best keyboards for programming.

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The Microsoft Surface Ergonomic Keyboard is significantly better than the Matias Ergo Pro. Although they have very different approaches to the split keyboard design, the Microsoft is better in almost all aspects, such as build quality, ergonomics, and versatility, since it can be paired to anything that has a Bluetooth connection. However, the Matias has better compatibility with Linux.

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The Kinesis Freestyle Pro is a better overall keyboard than the Matias Ergo Pro, although the Matias is a bit superior for office use. It has a wrist rest and incline settings, plus the build quality is also better. However, the Kinesis has full compatibility on Windows, macOS, and Linux systems with dedicated software with a few customization options.

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The Microsoft Surface Keyboard is a marginally better keyboard than the Matias Ergo Pro. It’s a wireless keyboard with Bluetooth connectivity, but it doesn’t have multi-device pairing. It’s not nearly as heavy as the Matias, so it’s also a better portable option. However, the Matias is somewhat better for office use because it has a better ergonomic design with a wrist rest and multiple incline settings. The Ergo Pro also uses mechanical switches, which deliver good feedback when typing.

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The ErgoDox EZ is a much better ergonomic keyboard than the Matias Ergo Pro. It’s better built, has more incline positions, and overall simply offers more options. The Matias also completely lacks software, although it might be a bit easier to get used to typing on this keyboard than the ErgoDox.

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The Matias Ergo Pro is better than the Adesso Tru-Form 150. It has multiple incline settings and a comfortable wrist rest, plus the typing quality is very good. It has a better build quality than the Adesso, but the keycaps still feel cheap and wobble like the Adesso. Neither keyboard has a dedicated software, but the Adesso has a multi-color backlighting and dedicated media keys.

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The Kinesis Freestyle Edge RGB is a better gaming keyboard than the Matias Ergo Pro. The Kinesis features mechanical Cherry MX switches, while the Matias has proprietary Matias Quiet Click switches. You can’t program keys on the Matias, while you can on the Kinesis, and you even have access to 9 dedicated macro keys. You also have RGB lighting on the Kinesis, while the Matias lacks any type of backlighting.

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The Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard is a slightly better keyboard than the Matias Ergo Pro. The Microsoft has a better ergonomic design, and although it’s a wireless keyboard, it can only be connected through its USB receiver. The Matias has a better typing experience with tactile switches, and with a split keyboard design, you can place the two halves however you like.

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The Logitech ERGO K860 is a much better keyboard than the Matias Ergo Pro. The Logitech is a full-sized curved design keyboard with much better ergonomics and a slightly lighter typing experience thanks to its scissor switches. It also has mobile connectivity, which the Ergo Pro doesn’t have. However, the Matias has a split keyboard design and is available with tactile switches if that’s what you prefer.

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The Dygma Raise is significantly better than the Matias Ergo Pro. The Dygma has a better build quality, ergonomics, and it has RGB backlighting. It’s also much more customizable and it has software support. The Matias has incline settings though, which the Dygma doesn’t have.

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The Kensington Pro Fit Ergo Wireless Keyboard and the Matias Ergo Pro are both great ergonomic keyboards, but with two very different designs. The Kensington is curved with a split-key layout, while the Matias has two different halves that you can position however you want. The Matias is wired while the Kensington is wireless. Also, the Matias uses mechanical switches, which offer a better overall typing quality than the rubber dome switches of the Kensington.

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Test Results

Sort Category───────────RATINGSGamingMobile/TabletOfficeProgrammingEntertainment / HTPC

Category AllDesignTyping ExperienceSoftware and Operating System

Design

Size

TenKeyLess (80%)

Height

1.4″ (3.5 cm)

Width

14.2″ (36.0 cm)

Depth

9.1″ (23.2 cm)

Depth With Wrist Rest

9. 1″ (23.2 cm)

Weight

3.53 lbs (1.600 kg)

The Matias Ergo Pro takes up a good amount of space and takes up even more if you split the two halves. The wrist rest is removable if you want to make it smaller.

Keycap Material

ABS

Very good build quality. It’s made out of a solid plastic, with a metal base underneath the wrist rest, but the ABS keycaps feel cheap with a slight wobble to them. The wrist rest is solid with a cushion-like feel to it. The wiring between the two halves of the keyboard is thin and feels cheap.

Board Design

Ergonomical

Minimum Incline

-7°

Medium Incline

0°

Maximum Incline

7°

Wrist Rest

Detachable

Great ergonomics on the Matias Ergo Pro. With its split keyboard design, you can place the two pieces wherever you like, as it comes with a long cable between them. There are three incline settings, including a negative incline setting, but when all the legs are up (pictured above), there’s an almost unusable wobble to the keyboard. The wrist rest is detachable, but unfortunately you need to unscrew it and it doesn’t come with a screwdriver.

Backlighting

Color

No Backlighting

Individually Backlit Keys

Color Mixing

No Backlighting

Effects

Programmable

There’s no backlighting on this keyboard. If you prefer an ergonomic keyboard with backlighting, check out the Adesso Tru-Form 150.

Connectivity

Wired

Detachable

Yes (Wired Only Keyboard)

Length

6.6 ft (2.0 m)

Connector (Keyboard side)

Micro USB

The cable to connect to your PC is long and feels sturdy. The two halves of the Ergo Pro are connected with a 3.5mm cable, but the wire connecting them is fairly thin.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth Multi-Device Pairing

Proprietary Receiver

Battery Type

No Batteries

The Ergo Pro is wired-only and can’t be connected wirelessly.

Media Keys

Hot Keys

Macro Programmable Keys

Trackpad / Trackball

Wheel

USB Passthrough

Numpad

Windows Key Lock

Lock Indicator

Caps & Num Lock

There are some extra features on this TKL keyboard. The ‘Fn’ key gives you access to media keys and there are three USB 2. 0 ports on the keyboard itself.

Matias Ergo Pro keyboard

2 micro-USB wires

2 3.5mm keyboard connectors

Manual

Typing Experience

Key Switches

Matias Quiet Click

Mechanical

Yes

Feel

Tactile

Operating Force

56 gf

Actuation Force

38 gf

Pre-Travel

1.5 mm

Total Travel

3.5 mm

The Matias Quiet Click switches have a nice tactile bump, which actually feels like two tactile bumps when pressed all the way down. If you don’t like the feedback from the tactile switches, it’s also available with linear switches.

The overall typing quality is very good. The switches give nice tactile feedback, but the cheap keycaps make it feel like an average office keyboard. You shouldn’t feel tired typing on this keyboard thanks to its low actuation force.

Noise

Quiet

The switches are fairly quiet, and they shouldn’t bother your coworkers.

Latency Wired

9.8 ms

Latency Receiver

N/A

Latency Bluetooth

N/A

Software and Operating System

Software Name

No Software

Account Required

No Software

Profiles

No Profile

Onboard Memory

Cloud Sync

Macro Programming

Ease Of Use

No Software

Software Windows Compatible

Software macOS Compatible

There’s no dedicated software for the Matias Ergo Pro keyboard. For customization options, check out the ErgoDox EZ.

Windows

Full

macOS

Partial

Linux

Full

Android

iOS

iPadOS

Our keyboard is the Windows variant, so it had full compatibility on Windows and partial compatibility on macOS. There’s a macOS variant available, but we didn’t test the compatibility with it. If you want a similar keyboard that’s fully compatible with macOS, check out the Kinesis FreeStyle Pro.

Matias Ergo Pro Keyboard Review (2022)

It’s here. The long-anticipated Matias Ergo Pro, the fulfillment of every ergonomic dream and the highest ideal of all keyboards everywhere. Okay, maybe I exaggerate a bit. Let me just put it this way: as Alan Ladd said in a certain well-known Western, “It’s as good as any, and better than most.”

Top 7 Best Ergonomic Keyboard In 20…

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Top 7 Best Ergonomic Keyboard In 2023

If the Kinesis Freestyle were mechanical…

As a longtime user of the Kinesis Freestyle ergonomic keyboard, I have often wished that it came with an option for mechanical keys (the awesome benefits of which will be presently explained). At first glance, the Matias Ergo Pro would appear to be the fulfillment of this wish – or the nearest thing to its fulfillment ever likely to materialize. It’s a split keyboard like the Freestyle, with tenting and palm rests roughly analogous to the Freestyle’s VIP3 kit, and it features the excellent Matias mechanical keyswitches.

But there are notable differences too. The Ergo Pro is much thicker than the Kinesis board – probably of necessity, due to its mechanical nature. And while the Matias keyboard comes with an equivalent of the VIP3 kit (and doesn’t sell it as an addon like Kinesis), it lacks an answer to the Freestyle’s V3 lifters. In plain English, this means that you have to the use the Matias palm rests if you want to tent the keyboard. More on that after the jump.

Mechanical action

While mechanical keys aren’t the magic bullet of typing, they are the choice of many developers, gamers, and all-around serious typists. This isn’t just because developers and gamers are weird people who live by overkill. Let me explain.

Most lower-cost keyboards – including the best-known ergonomic models from Microsoft and Goldtouch – use what’s called a “rubber dome” or “membrane” switch under each key. Picture this as a squishy button you have to smash with the key in order to register a stroke.

Mechanical keys work on a completely different principle. Instead of a squishy button to mash, there’s a tiny trigger-like switch on a spring, and that switch is mounted to the side of the traveling key rod, rather than below it. Why is this important? It means you can register a keystroke without bottoming out the key. That eliminates the sudden shock at the end of each stroke, allowing most users to type faster and more comfortably.

One big caveat: It’s lusciously tempting to hammer a mechanical keyboard, especially if you are the kind of person who likes to make a lot of noise. But if you succumb to this temptation, the mechanical keys won’t do you any good. A mechanical keyboard actually has no shock absorption at the end of the stroke. Instead, the typist has to be disciplined enough to touch the key lightly. The space itself – the air under the key – is in a sense the shock absorber. Mash the keys down all the way, from stress or delight or whatever, and you’re essentially back to a membrane keyboard.

You can bring the two modules of the Ergo Pro as close together as you like for a compact keyboard.

Big key, small key: The Matias Ergo Pro layout

It is quite common for ergonomic keyboards come with their own special, nonstandard key layout. The makers usually claim that this key layout is the best one ever, incorporating everything useful that has been discovered since the invention of the typewriter. Some keep it reasonable, just putting the keys in a grid formation and perhaps moving one or two around. Some go extremely radical, like the Truly Ergonomic keyboard. And some, like the Matias Ergo Pro, try to find a happy medium.

Of all the keyboards I have used, the Matias layout reminds me the most of the Kinesis Freestyle keyboard. I don’t have space here to go over the positions of all the keys – you can look up anything you’re interested in on the diagram below – but I will touch on a few high points.

The Matias Ergo Pro key layout (US). Click image for larger view.

When you look at the Matias Ergo Pro, it is immediately obvious that some keys have been enlarged at the expense of others. Notably, the Space, Alt, and Ctrl keys are gigantic. This would seem to be the reason why the F keys are so small – but rest assured, they are still fully clicky mechanical keys, not squishy rubber jokes like those on the Kinesis Advantage. (Which, we may hope, will soon be improved, as the Advantage is otherwise an awesome board.)

Small function keys I can live with, but I’m not so excited when the cursor navigation keys get minified as well. Home, End, PgUp, PgDn, and the arrow keys are all half-size – which looks a bit strange next to the mega-jumbo Ctrl keys and spacebar. At the risk of sounding like a socialist, I think the available space could have been distributed a little better.

On the plus side, the Ergo Pro does include a left-hand column of useful keys. These include Cut, Copy, Paste, and Undo. I also give the Ergo Pro points for its Fn key implementation, which is momentary rather than toggle. In my opinion, this is the only way that makes any sense. It enables easy access to the media control keys at the upper end of the function row, without having to toggle Fn on and off. Maybe Kinesis would like to take a memo.

Tilt up your keyboard and rest awhile

As I mentioned earlier, the Ergo Pro’s tilt functions are built into its palm rests, each of which has two folding feet along the front. Pop out all four and you get negative tilt for low work surfaces. Pop out just the middle two, together with the corresponding middle feet on the keyboard, and you get 9 degrees of center tilt. Take off the palm rests entirely and you get… well, a flat keyboard. The feet on the keyboard itself are pretty much useless alone. This isn’t exactly a design flaw, but it is something to be aware of: If you don’t like, don’t have room for, or otherwise can’t make use of the palm rests, they’re easy to remove – but then you can’t make use of the tilt features either.

This is the Ergo Pro’s negative tilt position. The palm rests are required for negative tilt and center tenting; thus their presence even though I don’t need them with my Contour ArmSupport Red.

A sturdy keyboard that will go where you go

I cannot properly finish this review without at least a nod to the quality of Matias. Even though the Ergo Pro isn’t a metal tank like some more radical mechanical keyboards, it is very solid without being monstrously heavy. This is a keyboard you could easily tote back and forth to work, using the box itself for a carrying case. (It has a plastic handle for that purpose, and since there are pictures on the box, all your friends will see what an awesome keyboard you have).

Transportation is also facilitated by the way the cables are done: All of them detach at both ends, and none are proprietary and difficult to replace. The connecting cable between the two halves, in fact, is nothing more than a TRRS cable like you might use to hook up your phone to some speakers. Speaking of cables, the Ergo Pro also has three handy USB ports where you can get to them – always handy for flash drives and peripherals, whether you’re at the office or on the road.

Here’s to the next billion keystrokes

The world – at least, the geeky part of the world – has waited many years for a split, mechanical ergonomic keyboard at a price that people not named Gates can afford. With the Ergo Pro, Matias has brought about an amazing fulfillment of that dream. I believe this product will take its place with enduring favorites like the Kinesis Advantage – machines that pros and ordinary folks alike will use and love for many millions of keystrokes to come.

Author
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Kealoha

Hi, I’m Kealoha, an American engi-nerd. I’ve designed dozens of software systems for Fortune 1000 companies worldwide and institutions like MIT’s Digital Media Lab. I started to get carpal tunnel syndrome early in my career and a total
switch to ergo products has completely eliminated any pain or discomfort despite decades of crazy hours behind screens. I hope you too weave in a bit of ergo into your lives.

Matias Ergo Pro (2020) Review

If you sit at your computer all the time—several hours every day—you’ll eventually want to consider switching to a split keyboard. A strange-looking two-piece typing machine that splits the keys in half so you don’t have to clench your hands in front of your body and bend your wrists could help minimize pain for people with repetitive stress injuries (RSIs) and possibly help slow the onset of such disorders in experienced PC users. Matthias, a small but longtime player in the ergonomic keyboard space, recently updated his Ergo Pro keyboard ($220 for the programmable version) with softwareless key remapping and macro support for a limited number of keys. While the 2020 model is a relatively minor upgrade that probably should have happened many years ago, the Matias Ergo Pro still shows off the main qualities of a split mechanical keyboard with a comfortable typing feel, strong ergonomic features, and a couple of technical advances that you won ‘I can’t find it anywhere else.

Divide and Conquer

If the Matias Ergo Pro hadn’t split into two parts, it could easily pass for an ordinary office keyboard. The 87 keyless keyboard is encased in thick black plastic and has black keycaps with laser-etched white lettering. No backlight, no logo, nothing more. The focus is on features, which makes sense for an ergonomic keyboard.

However, as a split keyboard, Ergo Pro is anything but universal. The keys are distributed over two chassis of the same size, which are connected by a bridge cable. The inner edge curves in zigzags to compensate for the uneven gap between the two sets of keys, giving both sides strange but complementary shapes. (You can slide them together if you like, although the cases still create a slight gap between the left and right keys.)

Although the Matias comes with several options, you will probably want to use a longer retractable bridge cable that you can extend and set to the ideal length. Having a jumper that snaps into place is a small but important touch: when the cable is too long, it tends to catch on things on your desk. When it’s too short, not only will you not be able to take full advantage of the split keyboard, but the stretched wire can feel like a limitation.

And it’s very important that you feel free to use the split keyboard. In fact, using one of these should be the most comfortable typing experience you’ll ever have, ignoring the fact that you won’t be able to find your fingering. Splitting the keyboard into two parts gives each user the ability to adjust the width of the keyboard to fit. Ideally, you want the halves to separate so you can type without bringing your arms up to the center of your body. You can also tilt them to prevent your hand and wrist from turning to align with the typing surface.

These movements that you make and hold every time you use the keyboard can lead to repetitive stress injuries that cause pain and numbness in your hands, among other things. The Matias Ergo Pro accomplishes its primary purpose by simply using a split form factor, giving you the ability to customize your keyboard in a way that minimizes long-term damage and avoids pain if you already have a problem.

Of course, that’s not all. If you turn the keyboard halves over, you’ll see that the Ergo Pro has six adjustable feet instead of the usual two. Located at three of the four corners of each half of the keyboard, feet give you the ability to tilt by raising the front of the keyboard by 4.5 degrees to support your wrists or tent by raising the middle by 9degrees to minimize wrist twist. Both modes elevate the sturdy yet well padded detachable wrist rest to the point where your hands feel under the support.

However, using the same paddle-style feet found on most keyboards limits your ability to fine-tune them. In theory, you can tilt the legs at different angles to raise the keyboard at a steeper or lesser angle, but the legs only stay in a few positions. Any attempt to fine-tune to an intermediate tilt or tilt angle will cause the keyboard to wobble and may slip out of place. More importantly, the feet do not have the ability to help you determine the slope or set the same angle for all feet. It’s not hard to get the keyboard feet to point at roughly the same angle, but perfection isn’t a given. It would be helpful to have a way to quickly and accurately tune these settings.

Even the key layout has been slightly adjusted to minimize stressful wrist and finger movements. On the left is a column of six keys offset from the left edge. Two of them, Fn and Escape, are just further away from the left edge than usual, but the other four – Undo, Cut, Copy, and Paste – are all special keyboard shortcuts. While they need to stretch their little finger a bit, these keys shorten the backward curl of the finger to press the Ctrl key.

In the right half, Matthias held the Page Up, Page Down, Home, End and arrow keys in the lower right corner, replacing the right Fn key, the menu key and the right Ctrl key. (The menu key is now a shortcut, Fn + Right Alt.) On most keyboardless keyboards, these keys are in a separate column on the right. Their seal here drastically reduces the amount of lateral movement you make with your wrists and fingers, which is a key ergonomic issue.

If you’d rather use keyboard shortcuts to do something more complex, all four of the left “macro keys” (Undo, Cut, Copy, and Paste) can be remapped. Matthias took a conservative approach to adding programmable keys to the Ergo Pro. Only 19 keys can be changed: four left hot keys; single macro key with plug on the right side; F1 to F12; and two spacebars. It’s less customizable than most premium keyboards, but this added flexibility isn’t something most work-oriented users are likely to miss out on. (Admittedly, full customization is usually geared towards gaming.)

The Ergo Pro does not come with a setup application, so you set the macros manually using a set of programming hotkeys. Installing and uninstalling the new feature is very easy: just press Escape and the key you want to reset. When you are in programming mode, this is easily recognized by the flashing light under Caps Lock. I’m not a fan of softwareless key remapping at all – it’s relatively easy to make a mistake and hard to catch when you do. Also, there is no way to create profiles or rotate macros in and out. This system is as simple and easy to use as anything I’ve seen, which is great, but its usefulness is still limited.

It also helps that the Ergo Pro is comfortable to type on in the traditional sense of the word. Matias makes their own “Quiet Click” switches, a tactile model comparable to Cherry MX Browns. Although they are not silent, they are relatively quiet and quite comfortable. They require a firm press to actuate, but this is good, especially for beginners. When moving to an ergonomic keyboard, especially one with a split design, you can expect typing speed and accuracy to drop for a while. Fast, high-quality typing relies on muscle memory, and a slanted keyboard with new and shifted keys makes that muscle memory obsolete. As a regular user of an ergonomic keyboard, I found that I could adjust fairly well, but not completely, in five or six days. A new user should expect to spend at least two weeks onboarding.

Last but not least, Ergo Pro’s craziest feature has nothing to do with ergonomics at all. Along the far edge of the right keys, you’ll find at least three USB 2.0 pass-through ports. One on the back of the keyboard, next to the micro-USB port for the cable that connects to your PC; the other two are in the far corners of the right half, pointing both ways. You don’t need to plug an extra USB cable into your computer to power these ports (probably because the Ergo Pro doesn’t require extra power for the backlight) – plug one port on your PC and you get three in return. It’s a terrific addition: a single USB pass-through is common, but not guaranteed on premium keyboards; two, very rare; and three are almost unheard of.

A professional keyboard requires a professional investment

The Matias Ergo Pro is a very well made but modest split keyboard. It looks standard, but its design defies those expectations, and sometimes some.

Part of me though wished Matthias did more to match the features of regular premium keyboards. As a performance-focused device, gaming-style RGB lighting would be out of place, but standard white LED-backlit keys would be nice, as well as premium features like dedicated media keys and a volume roller. For a steep $220, it would be wrong to say that the keyboard lacks features, even if most split keyboards range from $200 (the price of non-programmable Matias) to $250.

However, if you are in pain or worried about RSI in the future, a few dollars up or down in general shouldn’t matter much compared to your comfort and health. Ergo Pro will let you work hard without complicating your work.

Pros

Split design for good ergonomics
Three USB pass-through ports
Dedicated keyboard shortcuts/macro keys

9006 2
Built-in Reverse Tilt & Tent Legs
Cable Retractable Bridge

View More want to mitigate the effects of typing all day long , every day.

cool ergonomic keyboards worth paying attention to / Habr

I think that many readers of Habr often work with the keyboard – it doesn’t matter for code or writing articles / documentation. You can adapt to any keyboard, even the most inexpensive and “Chinese” (although there are excellent models in this category). But it is better, of course, to work in comfort.

In this selection, we have collected a few keyboards that we ourselves like – some of them have Selectel employees, some we are looking at. There are a lot of good keyboards, we will write about some of them. If you have your own favorite “clave”, tell us about it in the comments.

Microsoft Sculpt

I’m starting with this keyboard because I use it myself. I chose it simply on the principle of “like” – I saw the review and bought it a few days later. I got used to it, I must say, for a long time, since the keyboard consists of two parts with a gap between them. I spent a few days learning how to print without errors, and then it took another couple of weeks to return to the previous typing speed. After another couple of weeks, I began to type even faster than before – perhaps it was the ergonomics of the keyboard that affected.

By the way, one of the features of Microsoft Sculpt is a completely separate numeric keypad as a module. I did not quite appreciate this feature, since it is inconvenient to constantly keep the module on the table – it gets in the way under your arms. And if you put it off somewhere, you forget about it or you are too lazy to get up and go look for it.

In general, I eventually sold it, because there was little sense. But I am very pleased with the keyboard and mouse – I will write about it separately, it’s just a song. By the way, I also take it on business trips, and not just a portable small mouse, as before.

Microsoft Surface

I include this keyboard in the list because it is very similar to the previous one, which means that there is a high probability that it is just as comfortable. Its advantage is that the digital block is built into the main keyboard – there are no problems with its use.

These two keyboards are also liked by the fact that they have a separate button for calling the calculator. Probably, this is also in other keyboards. Though a trifle, but nice.

Another point: as far as I can see, the palm rest here is made with the texture of matter (correct if not). This means that the stand will quickly get dirty, no matter how clean the owner’s hands are. I hope you can clean it up without any problems.

It is intended for the Surface line, which can be understood from the name. But it also works great on laptops and desktops.

Matias Ergo Pro

Unlike the Miscrosoft Sculpt, which is a partially split monolithic keyboard, the Matias Ergo Pro is a two-part keyboard. This is not news anymore, probably, many of you have seen something similar. But they say that working with her is very convenient. It can be used as a monolith, or it can be divided into two different blocks, gradually increasing the distance between them. The owners of such keyboards claim that the speed of typing increases significantly if you get used to it.

In general, the keyboard is positioned as a tool that allows you to increase productivity and work efficiency. It would be possible to add a backlight, of course, but it’s so good – the keyboard works perfectly, its owners, whom I know, are happy with.

It costs, however, a lot – about $ 200 on Amazon.

Kinesis Freestyle Edge RGB Split

And here is a similar keyboard, but with a cool backlight. It is positioned as a gaming one, but it can be used without problems by developers / authors. Typing is convenient, but if you want to split the keyboard into two halves, you will have to get used to it, and adaptation will take several weeks, no less.

But the result is worth it: you will type text faster than usual. At the same time, the hands get tired less, simply because they can be spread apart or even change the position of the keyboard halves, putting them at different levels on the table.

Another keyboard feature is a stand that raises the halves. This is also convenient, and the standard keyboard does not allow this. Ergonomic keyboards like this one help reduce stress not only on the hands, but also on the forearms and shoulders. The neck is also less tired, although, it would seem, what does it have to do with working on the keyboard?

The difference between this version and the previous one, except for the backlight, is the ability to add macros – for this there is not only software, but also dedicated buttons in a separate block.

Logitech Ergo K860

Logitech is one of the most famous manufacturers of keyboards and mice. This time, Logitech has developed a wireless ergonomic keyboard that is somewhat similar to Microsoft Sculpt. Perhaps this solution is the most convenient for the hands, which is why it is repeated from company to company (other vendors have similar ones).

The angle between the two halves of the keyboard is about 30 degrees, and the shape itself is wavy. According to the manufacturer, thanks to this, the user’s hands practically do not get tired. There is also a soft memory foam wrist pad.

In general, the keyboard turned out to be cool, you can’t say anything. In addition to all its advantages, the developers have made the device wireless. The keyboard can be connected to a PC not only via Bluetooth, but also via Wi-Fi. With two regular AAA batteries, the keyboard can last a couple of years.

It costs about $129.99.

Kinesis Advantage2

This is the most expensive keyboard in the collection. But it is quite popular among developers – at least in the US and Europe. It is often cited as an example because of its good ergonomics and sharpening for a certain type of work, namely code entry. To be honest, I have not seen reviews where it is positioned as a tool for editors. It looks unusual, but, in general, the difference with a keyboard simply divided into two parts is small.

The keys are widely spaced to match the distance between the hands. According to the manufacturers, the concave shape is very convenient. Function keys like Enter, CTRL and ALT are spaced so that they can be reached with your thumbs.