Aside from the advice mentioned (I bind caps to escape), I find that beginners use escape waaaay more often than is necessary because they aren't using all the commands at their disposal. For example, entering insert mode to delete some characters instead of using d+motion or x. Or entering insert mode to add indentation instead of using the = operator. It would take too long to enumerate all the cases where there is a much more streamlined way to perform an operation than entering insert mode, but I think this would explain the difference in experiences between people that may have used longer and aren't bothered by escape-use frequency and newer vim users.

First I “live” in command mode and only visit insert mode to …insert stuff afterwards which I always leave with escape.

So using vim becomes a series of small edits.

I map caps to Ctrl and use Ctrl-[ for escape.

That means I can still use Ctrl for insert mode shortcuts such as

  Ctrl-w (delete last word)
  Ctrl-r to insert a register  (eg Ctrl-r% for filename)
  Ctrl-h instead of reaching for backspace.

There’s loads of them.

It just takes a bit of muscle memory but if you’re a touch typist it’s well worth it IMHO.

Doing it this way, rather than say ‘jk’ in insert mode, also has the advantage of working in other vim-like programs where you’d have to repeat the mapping. If that’s even possible.

I’ve never found a problem with it. Right at the corner, it’s easy to hit with my left ring finger, sitting perfectly at a comfortable distance (based on where I rest my hands) for a slap in that general direction.

(I use my Caps Lock as Backspace. Backspace near the top right is vastly less comfortable to reach than Escape in the top left.)

We simply do get used to that and all the rest. The benefits of modal editing far outweigh the eventual clunkiness of pressing a given key now and then. But the more you know how to use Vim, the less you need to get in and out of insert mode and the less you need to hit <Esc>.

I actually use Ctrl+[ instead of escape. It takes some getting used to but it's easy to reach

I use `jk` or `jj` instead of esc. Its so much easier

   imap jj <ESC>

Its the weakest part of the vim keyboard scheme IMO for ergonomics, and switching modes in general. I wish there was an alternative that gave a nod to vim but remained in 'input' mode without loss of capability, you know...without having to be vscode. If the key layout wasnt even worse, and it wasn't a bloated mess (on windows at least) I'd have switched to Emacs. Capslock is mostly a redundant button so I wholey support remapping it and for me is the only sensible way to use vim, binding to jj is hacky and plays up often and is inefficienct, and ctrl+] is insanity for such a regular press. Caps as Esc is useful in games when remapped to esc too for speedy pausing or simply pressing it by accident to kill you in a gunfight lol struggles

Once I found out CTRL-[ did the same thing I haven't hit ESC since.

Esc is probably the easiest key to hit in the keyboard? Tied with bottom left ctrl/fn and whatever you have in the other two corners. As in it's the easiest to misclick without accidentally hitting other keys

I use ctrl+c. Since I'm already used to ctrl+c while using a terminal, it became easy even in vim. By default vim goes to normal mode when you press ctrl+c

Caps Lock being Esc is so convenient that I use Esc a lot more outside of Vim too. Stop the browser loading a page? a quick pinky tap on the caps lock. Take the focus out of a text field (so I can use my Vimium commands)? tap the caps lock. Decide not to save or open that file after all? caps lock's got your back.

The remapping was originally for Vim, but now at least a third of my Esc usage is outside of it.

Time. It slowly becomes second nature and now I quickly reach for esc in many applications, not just vim. It does seem weird at first, an insert key (i, a, o, etc) and an esc needed for every text addition, but over time you grow used to it.

I also have my caps mapped to both ctrl and esc. Ctrl when held, and esc when tapped. Wish I had done that ages ago.

I remapped caps lock, to be control when you hold it and escape when you use it alone.

However, for a long time I used Ctrl-c instead of escape, which is 99% the same except in some odd corner cases (not recommending that, just mentioning my history).

These days I use the common vi tweak of 'jk' being mapped to escape.

I've just got used to over time. It's gotten to the point I accidently use vi keybindings in other applications. Luckily there's keybindings in common applications e.g. typing / followed by a search phrase works in Firefox as it does in Vi which is pretty cool.

On my Ultimate Hacking Keyboard I have a mapping of (left)space+q to produce Esc which for this combo I hit comfortably with my left hand thumb + ring finger.

On other keyboards I find fishing for the Esc key with the left ring or sometimes even middle finger good enough since it's so prominently singled out on the top left corner on all the keyboards I had yet to use, but it breaks the flow a bit more.

It probably helps that I'm not typing in proper form for the 10-finger system but only some hodgepodge approximation of it...

I use either karabiner on my laptop or map it in my keyboard firmware (mostly drive QMK boards for the last few years) to swap caps lock to escape on tap and control on hold. Makes vim life great. Also means that using ctrl+a as a tmux leader is comfortable to type.

Do you consider hitting enter/return for a newline to be clunky as well? Its generally the same size as caps lock and opposite it on the keyboard. I'd say I press return a bit more often then Esc when using vim, but its close

I type using my old Sun keyboard still. The escape key is where the tilde key is on normal US PC keyboards. So the pinky stretch is quite easy.

(Also the control key is where the caps lock is. Also another fine position.) :)

I use a programmable keyboard with thumb keys, similar to the ergodox. I have escape set to one of the thumb keys so that it's no more work than hitting "space".

Not a great answer, but I switched Cap with Esc and it took several months before I was hitting Esc automatically like you might Ctrl + s a document when stopping typing.

Muscle memory. It feels clunky at first, especially when coming from a non-modal editor, but I hardly realize I am even doing it any more.

I've bound it to double J in my vim configuration file. First thing I do on every computer.

I don't. I use Ctrl-C instead.

Rebind Caps Lock to Escape (or as a second escape). Can't live without it now.

It’s pretty easy if you don’t think about it too much.

Caps as Esc works like a charm outside of vim too!

how is using cap clunky? works great

Esc ? Never. Got so used to Alt-l

Ctrl + [