
Ask HN: What keyboard do you use to code? - sriharis
I want to buy a good keyboard for myself. And I didn&#x27;t find a question here in HN that asked this. So I figured I&#x27;d ask.<p>What do you use?
======
nradov
Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000.
[https://www.microsoft.com/accessories/en-
us/products/keyboar...](https://www.microsoft.com/accessories/en-
us/products/keyboards/natural-ergonomic-keyboard-4000/b2m-00012)

I have large hands so it's very comfortable and allows me to type without
contorting my wrists. Conventional flat keyboards are likely a major cause of
repetitive strain injuries.

~~~
koja86
The best reasonably priced keyboard I have found. Decided to give it a try 5
year ago when dealing with sport-induced shoulder issue and never looked back.
I was briefly thinking about more expensive alternatives (Kinesis Advantage,
Maltron) but decided that MS Natural 4000 is optimal for me.

------
marssaxman
I'm not picky as long as it is "tenkeyless" and not too bulky. I never use the
number pad anyway; being right-handed, the mouse feels uncomfortably far away
when the keyboard has a big bulky extra sidecar sticking out.

At present I'm using Lenovo's thinkpad-style USB keyboard
([https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F3U4TQS/](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F3U4TQS/)).
I like its slimness and the trackpoint is convenient. There's nothing
especially lovely about it, but neither does it ever annoy me. It's also nice
for muscle memory that all three of the computers I use regularly have exactly
the same keyboard layout, whether they are portables or desktops.

I tried out the Happy Hacking keyboard, but it's been collecting dust for a
year or two now. It's nice in a nostalgic way, reminiscent of the original
Macintosh keyboard I used when I was first learning to type, but the long-
throw keyswitches and loud clicking sound got old.

~~~
kluck
Using similar: [https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-73p5220-External-Preferred-
Key...](https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-73p5220-External-Preferred-
Keyboard/dp/B000AOYWVE)

------
zck
I use an ergodox ([https://www.ergodox.io/](https://www.ergodox.io/)) with
Cherry MX Clears at work, and one with Cherry MX Greens at home.

The ergodox is a split-hand^1 columnar^2 layout, with a thumb cluster. I like
the thumb cluster because normally your thumbs are wasted.

Also, as a bonus, I got to build it myself! This is not required, but I had
fun doing it.

[1] Each hand has a separate piece of the keyboard, and these pieces can be
moved independently of each other.

[2] A "traditional" QWERTY keyboard has horizontal rows of keys, and these
rows are not aligned. An Ergodox has vertical columns of keys, and these rows
are not aligned.

~~~
btschaegg
I've been thinking of ordering an Ergodox keyboard for a while, but the
altered layout scared me off so far. Would you say you took up fast on the
moved keys? Does the columnar layout provide some advantage?

Right now, I'm excitedly looking forward to the UHK. It really promises some
quite unique takes on the concept of a keyboard.

~~~
zck
I didn't find switching too bad, but I also set up my own layout for the non-
alphabetic keys. So I don't find it hard to remember where most of the special
characters are, because I just thought "where is the first place I'd look for
them", and put them there. Then, when I have to figure it out, my first guess
is usually correct. The only ones I mess up are - and =, which are the two
innermost bottom keys of the "letter" clusters. But it's a small issue; I'm
sure I could practice for a bit and make it easier.

> Does the columnar layout provide some advantage?

To me, I like the fact that if a keyboard was designed without paying
attention to historical accident, there's no way you'd make it a row-based
keyboard, but would instead make a columnar keyboard, or perhaps slightly
staggered. To me, the thumb clusters are a big reason to switch. But then, I'm
a big shortcut fan -- I use Emacs a lot.

But then, I also didn't have that difficult a time switching from QWERTY to
Colemak, so perhaps my brain easily changes this kind of thing.

~~~
btschaegg
Thanks for the explanation :)

~~~
zck
Sure! You might want to see if you can find someone to try out the keyboard
before you buy it. If you're in the NYC area, I can be found at some events.
My email's in my profile. (Open offer to HN members).

------
derstander
I use a Corsair Vengeance K70 Mechanical Keyboard. It's a "gaming" keyboard,
so it's unfortunately got what I would consider garish red lights. But it was
one of the more economical mechanical keyboards that I could get my hands on
relatively easily.

I'm interested in an ergonomic mechanical keyboard -- either one that's
completely split or something more reminiscent of Microsoft's Natural
Ergonomic Keyboard series -- but I have yet to find one for what I would
consider a reasonable price.

------
jmiserez
Kinesis Advantage 2 LF with US layout. Best there is, after a ~2 week
adjustment.

Now they even offer it with blank keycaps, very much looking forward to those.

At home I also have a CODE TKL, also a very nice keyboard.

------
dzolvd
Kinesis Advantage, I used to have pretty serious carpal tunnel issues and the
kinesis took care of the problem. I love the usability of the thumb buttons.

------
Kareeeeem
Topre Realforce, the tenkeyless 55g model. Very expensive but I can definitely
recommend it.

It's quiet enough for the office as well.

On a sidenote, I hate the keyboard on my thinkpad x220. People rave about
thinkpad keyboards but aside from the switches, which are nice, the base feels
bouncy. Feels like it's mounted on cardboard.

------
brudgers
In my opinion, the best resource for programming keyboards is Xha Lee:
[http://xahlee.info/kbd/keyboard_blog.html](http://xahlee.info/kbd/keyboard_blog.html)
Agree or disagree, there is a lot of information accumulated over many years.

------
avitzurel
ErgodoxEZ.

Tried before All versions of MS natural/ergo etc.. Happy hacking keyboard
Truly Ergonomic DAS professional Apple keyboard Matias Ergo Pro

I finally settled on the ErgodoxEZ and it feels great. I had to force myself
to learn touch typing. After about a month, it started feeling really
comfortable.

------
neilsimp1
I use a $25 or so PS/2 keyboard from Newegg that I bought 6 or 7 years ago. I
couldn't be happier with it. It 's a plain old keyboard with zero flair.

I'm curious, though. Does anyone here have any experience with Jeff Atwood's
CODE Keyboard?

[https://codekeyboards.com/](https://codekeyboards.com/)
[https://blog.codinghorror.com/the-code-
keyboard/](https://blog.codinghorror.com/the-code-keyboard/)

Edit: Of course after posting a see a few people's comments saying that they
like them.

------
framebit
Kinesis Freestyle2 Blue for Mac: [https://www.kinesis-
ergo.com/shop/freestyle2-for-mac/](https://www.kinesis-
ergo.com/shop/freestyle2-for-mac/)

My coworkers make fun of me for it, but it really helps my posture and wrist
issues to have a split keyboard. I thought it would take me a long time to
adjust, but within five minutes I was good to go! I've heard some complain
about the placement of page up and page down right next to the arrow keys, but
it doesn't bother me. I really appreciate the one-button cut, copy, paste
functions.

~~~
bartvk
Yep, I also use the Freestyle2. I'm in Europe and the resellers charge double
of the Kinesis price in the US.

However, nowadays Kinesis themselves are present on Amazon and sell a limited
selection. Sometimes supply is short, though:
[https://www.amazon.de/dp/B00CMALD3E](https://www.amazon.de/dp/B00CMALD3E)
[https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00CMALA46](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00CMALA46)

It's the PC version, but on a Mac, the option/command keys can be correctly
mapped.

------
anotheryou
Cherry KC 4000: cheap, laptop-style, no num-pad and not ugly.

I removed the annoyingly positioned fn-key (removed the rubber-dome and glued
it down, so the felt edge of the keyboard is the ctrl key).

I tried mechanical cherry brown keyswitches, but it wasn't for me.

No num-pad and no fn, because my keyboard layout¹ has the numbers under my
right hand when I hold a modifier.

¹ [https://neo-layout.org/](https://neo-layout.org/) (hover "Ebene 1/2/3/4"
above diagram of the keyboard)

~~~
btschaegg
I have tried getting into the Neo-Layout for a while (up to being able to use
the basic letters), but I never got to really taking advantage of it. Then,
because I started using Vim-bindings, I took up the basic US keyboard (I
originally started on another locale) and am now wondering if the layout is
worth training again.

Do you have experience with Vim on Neo? Would you say it's worth switching
(rebinding all normal mode mappings is quite an undertaking...)?

~~~
anotheryou
Apart from jklm-keys, most vim keys are assigned by some letter-to-meaning
relationship, less for ergonomics. Therefore it's not too bad if they jump a
bit as long as you stick to the neo-native iael-keys for arrows.

------
sharmi
I use a TVS Mechanical keyboard with Cherry blue keys. This is the only model
we get in our country. I would like to have quieter keys but this is much
better than the mushy keys.

Laptop is Thinkpad T410. Thinkpads always have awesome keyboards with good key
travel and tactile feedback (atleast the older ones). That and the fact that I
can always open the laptop and fix anything myself means I will be a Thinkpad
user for a long long time.

------
rsto
I use a KUL ES-87 Tenkeyless Mechanical Keyboard:
[http://www.keyeduplabs.com/es-87.html](http://www.keyeduplabs.com/es-87.html)

It's quieter than a keyboard with Cherry MX Blue keys and the tenkeyless form
factor doesn't require my right mouse hand to travel unnecessarily.

Edit: I see that it comes with a choice of Cherry keys. I use Cherry MX Brown.

------
afarrell
An IBM external keyboard with a trackpoint. I like it because:

\- I don't need to move my hands back and forth to a mouse

\- It only takes up 1 USB port

[https://www.amazon.com/ThinkPad-USB-Keyboard-with-
TrackPoint...](https://www.amazon.com/ThinkPad-USB-Keyboard-with-
TrackPoint/dp/B002ONCC6G)

------
cagey
[https://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-286-00082-Natural-
Keyboard-...](https://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-286-00082-Natural-Keyboard-
Elite/dp/B00000JDFD)

Have a stash of Model M's and a Kinesis Advantage, but seem to be liking the
above-linked MS Natural Elite for now.

~~~
anotherevan
I would opt for the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000[1]. Those
rearranged arrow and home/page keys will drive you crazy.

[1] [https://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Natural-Ergonomic-
Keyboard-...](https://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Natural-Ergonomic-Keyboard-
Business/dp/B004SUIM4E/)

------
neverminder
[http://www.madcatz.com/keyboards/strike7.php](http://www.madcatz.com/keyboards/strike7.php)

You don't have to be a professional racer to drive a ferrari just as you don't
have to be a gamer to appreciate a keyboard like this.

------
kasey_junk
At work I use a Code keyboard with the MX clears as they are quieter. At home
I use a Code keyboard with the MX greens.

I also use my macbook pro keyboard by itself a fair bit, but I feel much worse
after a few hours of use of it vs the Code keyboards.

------
keviv
I use Cooler MasterMasterKeys Pro S RGB Keyboard. It's a Tenkeyless but
there's a full keyboard available too. Comes with variety of Cherry MX
choices. I've got one with Cherry MX Brown.

------
WillKirkby
At home, Logitech G710+. I love the Cherry MX Brown keys on it.

At work, Logitech K120. The "we just buy everyone the same cheap keyboard"
keyboard. I'm not particularly fond of it.

~~~
bartvk
In the 15 years I work, I don't think I ever used an employer-issued keyboard.
It's just too important to me.

------
bergie
Custom-made version of Atreus
[https://atreus.technomancy.us/](https://atreus.technomancy.us/)

Cherry MX Blue switches.

------
emidln
Das Keyboard 4 Pro with Cherry MX Blues. I also use the keyboard on my 15"
Clevo which, although not mechanical has good travel and a nice sound.

------
PaulHoule
Razer black widow ultimate, most of the time. Sometimes I swap in a Logitech
washable k310 if am on calls a lot because mechanical keyboards are noisy.

------
vldx
Magic keyboard. I've got into the hype of mechanical keyboards and bought
HHKB2. Now it sits on my desk as a talisman.

------
s_kilk
A Filco Majestouch, the one without the num-pad.

------
sriharis
So far, I see/hear good things about

\- CODE keyboard \- Mircrosoft Ergonomic ones \- Filco Majistouch \- Matias
Ergo Pro

------
GnarfGnarf
das keyboard ([http://www.daskeyboard.com/](http://www.daskeyboard.com/)).
Built like a tank.

If I'm going to spend my life on a keyboard, it better be good.

~~~
Declanomous
I don't know if this is still the case, but when I bought my first mechanical
keyboard 10 years ago, Filco was a much better option for the price. I bought
a Filco Majestouch (2?) with MX Blues and it is still going strong.

That being said, I'd do some research on the mechanical keyboard subreddit
before I bought a pricey keyboard of any sort. I did buy a Rosewill keyboard
Cherry MX Reds right before they switched over to the off-brand switches, and
it's pretty solid. Not as nice as my Filco, but it's more solidly built than
the Corsair mechanical keyboards I've used.

Side note on Corsair, the font is thee worst part about their keyboards by
far. It has some hideous font with a mix of capital and lowercase letters.

------
peternicky
Happy Hacking Professional 2

~~~
kentt
Yep JP edition for me. More thumb keys are very useful.

------
space_ghost
Vintage Model M. I own several, some full size and one tenkeyless.

------
tugberkk
My Toshiba laptop's generic keyboard for most of the time.

------
sboselli
Leopold FC750. Amazing build quality, super sturdy.

------
midknightowl
Cooler Master Storm Quickfire Rapid, Tenkey less

