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Comment by hummerbliss | Hacker News Reader

I use split keyboards and finding a mechanical split keyboard without the ortho linear configuration seem to be hard. I just want a mechanical split keyboard with hot swappable keys with staggered (normal) keyboard.

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I reformatted an existing list of split keyboards into a gallery some time ago: https://aposymbiont.github.io/split-keyboards/ — you can filter for "traditional" layout.

I've not been actively keeping the site up-to-date. I merge PRs every so often, but I'm not following Reddit/Discord/etc to add new keyboards.

Kinesis generally makes good stuff, and this one has normal cherry MX switches so you've got access to nearly any keycap you want: https://kinesis-ergo.com/shop/freestyle-pro/

I bit the bullet and got used to column staggered layouts but I feel your pain. Some options that I found when I was down this rabbit hole:

https://ultimatehackingkeyboard.com/ (my personal favorite)

https://keeb.io/products/cepstrum-keyboard-pre-built

https://keeb.io/products/quefrency-keyboard-pre-built

https://keeb.io/products/sinc-keyboard-pre-built

https://dygma.com/pages/dygma-raise-2

https://www.keychron.com/products/keychron-q11-qmk-custom-me...

Another one if you're up for a project to put it together: https://nullbits.co/snap/

I use a Cepstrum (bought a kit + switches + keycaps and put it together; there's no soldering required, so it's quite easy). I never 3D printed tenting, so it's not quite perfect for normal typing, but for gaming it's fantastic - I don't think I can go back to non low-profile switches.

Does the ultimate hacking keyboard have some kind of encryption to provide security/privacy for wireless connections? I’ve not used a wireless keyboard before.

Give the UHK a look

https://ultimatehackingkeyboard.com/

Does the ultimate hacking keyboard have some kind of encryption to provide security/privacy for wireless connections? I’ve not used a wireless keyboard before.

Yes, the UHK 80 uses BLE security level 4.

keeb.io keyboards are the best for that kind of thing. I ended up going the ortho route and designed my own keyboard (I needed extra columns as all the ergo split orthos end at ; key)

But before that I bought all the non-ortho splits (Kinesis, Goldtouch, etc.)and keeb.io were by far the most versatile. I recommend Quefrency for compact layout (my fav is V3 where you could still customize the bottom row) and Sinc for regular size. I used Quefrency when traveling and Sinc in the office. Happy to answer any questions!

Kinesis makes regular layout split keyboards.

I own a freestyle RGB split keyboard and it's the best I've used since the OG Microsoft Natural kyboards for ergonomics.

They're also comparatively better priced than others of its kind.

best I've used since the OG Microsoft Natural kyboards

The Microsoft Natural keyboards were an ergonomic nightmare. The cheap, sliding post keys would have varying resistance depending on how close to the center your finger landed, and how vertically you applied pressure.

Also, the keys were arranged over a hump. The dished design of a Kinesis has much better ergonomics.

Any reason to not go with column-stagger? It felt good immediately after a decade on traditional row-stagger keyboards.

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