Why?

So, I've caved in a bought a new keyboard. This time I was interested in the ergonomic keyboard space. Most people use these because of certain injuries like RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury); or if you're a keyboard geek like me. Well actually, because I use the COLEMAK keyboard layout (which is designed for Ortholinear Keyboards), I wanted to experience COLEMAK properly and get all the benefits of using COLEMAK.

Colemak is an alternative keyboard layout to the popular QWERTY that rearranges the most used keys near the home row to minimise key movement whilst still allowing for "rolling" and "comboing".

You might have also heard of Dvorak, Workman, Colemak-DH, Colemak-DHM. These are other variants, and if you are struggling with some sort of RSI injury or just have an interest in these layouts, I strongly suggest you check these out. I've only used QWERTY and COLEMAK, so I can't really speak for the other layouts.

If you're reading this post, you are probably quite familiar with this keyboard (or other similar keyboards), but in case you aren't the ergodox is a prebuilt ortholinear, columnar staggered keyboard with thumb clusters on both hands. If you're not new to these funky keyboards you can just skip this section.

Woah thats a lot of words, what does this actually all mean?

Ortholinear meaning the keys are in a "grid-like" pattern, unlike your standard keyboard where the keys above and below each other are actually shifted a bit to the right and left.

Columnar Staggered (sometimes just column staggered) refers to each column being shifted up/down a bit to better match the differences in each finger's length.

Thumb Cluster refers to the extra set of keys near the thumb, which is often used for modifiers or layer bindings.

The olkb people claim that these features can drastically improve ergonomics and reduce or completely eliminate RSI.

1. Ortholinear Layout means that your fingers don't have to stretch awkwardly to reach nearby keys.
   • If you wanted to press the key 'w', then you just take your ring finger and move it up one unit exactly. No weird up 1 unit and left by 0.2 units or whatever it is.
   • Overall means less unnecessary movements to reach the key you want.
2. Columnar Staggered might seem like it contradicts some of the benefits that the ortholinear provides, but it actually can enhance them.
   • The rigid grid of ortho layouts can sometimes be hard to type on because our fingers are different lengths. Columnar stagger addresses it subtly by modifying the grid slightly.
   • The ergodox has a very small columnar stagger if this feature is deterring you.
3. Thumb Clusters are so important when it comes to ergo keyboards. They allow the user to remap certain keys (usually ones controlled by the pinky finger) to the thumb.
   • The thumb is controlled by a much larger muscle and is overall much more comfortable to use to press a key versus strecthing your hand to press Ctrl+Shift+Alt+...
   • There are other ways to get around uncomfortable modifier keys, but this is an easy way to get around it.

My Build of the Ergodox

The Ergodox itself

I should mention at this point, that my ergodox isn't actually an official ergodox keyboard. I bought this one from an AliExpress vendor that sells the same ergodox keyboard with a modified pcb.

The mousepad is a bit icky my bad :)

In terms of how the pcb is modified, I couldn't tell you - but it is still compliant with the online configurator.

The keyboard comes with TRRS cable and USB-c cable and is completely ready to use out of the box.

Here is a link to the modified ergodox

Some side notes:

• If you are almost 100% considering the tenting kit, then probably just get an official ergodox that supports tenting. This kit (atleast the one I got) is not compatible with the tenting kit.

Switches

As of writing this I running this keyboard with Chosfox x Kaihl Box Arctic Fox clicky switches. For me I am a clicky tolerator, I do have a couple of clicky keyboards - I've tried box jades and whites. When building these sort of ergonomic keyboards, you can't expect them to have the same beautiful sound from a premium custom build with linear/tactile switches that are usually the go to. For this reason, a lot of people including myself just go with clickies to sort of "mask" the hollow sound of the ergodox and alike keyboards. However there are people that definitely run other things like your standard linear/tactile and make that work, or some will also use silents (I am not a fan of silents...).

The arctic fox clickies are one of the most crisp sounding clickies I have ever used. They suffer from almost no wobble and have a crisp high pitch sound - that is actually extremely pleasant to type on.

Stabilisers

If you're using box switches, you actually don't need stabilisers (even with the 2u keys). This is a plus in my books because bad stabilisers can completely ruin a build.

Keycaps

I am using generic black/white blanks DSA profile. You can buy these literally anywhere on the one and only AliExpress. Counterintuitively, blanks can actually be quite expensive so keep that in mind. I went with blanks because I am not a QWERTY user, and would rather have no legend than a qwerty legend just to not use qwerty. Also its my first time using DSA keycaps and they feel awesome. They are a great alternative to XDA that feel cherry like.

Keymap

Let's go through how I actually use this keyboard. Again, I use the COLEMAK layout, which is the easiest way to get more benefits from an ortholinear keyboard - using a layout that was designed for ortholinear keyboards.

I wanted to stay away from home row mods, as I found that while the idea of putting modifiers on the home row (and accessing them with a hold instead of a tap) was cool, it simply is sluggish to type on. The small inconsistent delay is hard for me to type on.

The next thing I tried was using a symbol layer. As a programmer, there are some heavily used keys that are kind of hard to reach, especially because I have smaller than average hands. Here was an early iteration of my keymap.

Layer 0 Layer 1 Layer 1

Here is a link to my old layout: Old Symbols Layout

Another reason why I wanted to try the symbol layer is because I have used one in the past with a planck-esc keyboard to varying degrees of success and figured I would give it a try.

For about 2 days, I would do non-stop typing tests on MonkeyType and Speedtyper.dev to get comfortable with the new layout and symbol layer. I quickly found out that yes, while the symbol layer significantly helped with reducing repetitive finger and hand movements, I quickly found out that my ceiling for raw WPM is reduced greatly. This is because it was hard to hold my left thumb to access the symbol layer while I was also typing with my left hand. I could have switched to a toggle instead of momentary switch layer, but that would still reduce my ceiling for WPM - remember, I don't have issues with RSI, so for me I care way more about typing quickly: I will definitely take the ergonomic benefits, but it is more like an afterthought for me.

After a few days, I quickly switched off of that symbol layer and decided to just go with a more standard layout. Remember, even though perfecting your setup CAN give you benefits, it still takes time and practice to get to that point, where you are faster and more comfortable than you were initially. Funnily enough, I am actually still slower than my peak qwerty speeds, but I can type for longer periods of time more comfortably and also have a much better average speed and significantly lower error/typo rate.

Anyways, here is my current layout if you would like to copy or take inspiration from it:

Layer 0 Layer 1 Layer 2 Layer 3 Layer 4

Here is a link to my current layout: New Symbols Layout

For symbols, I use the standard shift + number combo. I find that the muscle memory was easy enough to correct in this olkb layout and is actually pretty similar anyways. I have curly braces, brackets and a few other niche symbols on the bottom row of each hand. Part of using this ergodox is having to remap certain keys like \, { etc. because those keys don't exist where they normally do. It took some time to get used to, especially reaching to the bottom row and curly my fingers an extra unit felt weird, and I didn't really have the muscle memory for that initially. Other than that, all the other symbols are mostly in the same spot.

Let's talk modifiers. I tried not to move the modifiers too much, because like I said, I don't really need to solve any RSI issues, so keeping your standard ctrl, alt, shift in mostly the same spots seemed logical. The fewer things I changed, the easier it would be to begin typing at the same (or even better) speeds as I was before.

Moving to the thumb cluster, I have space on the right hand (I am exclusively right hand space), which allows me to put backspace on my left hand. An annoyance I had with standard keyboard layouts was that having my right hand reach for backspace was quite annoying. This is probably one of the best things about this keyboard + configuration. However, this did mess with my muscle memory on normal keyboards quite a bit. For similar reasons, I have return on the second right hand thumb key.

I have some other modifiers on the further away thumb cluster keys, which just give me alternatives when I need to one hand some key combinations or want to hit a combination without mega stretching my hands.

Layer 1 - Numbers + Function

On my second left thumb cluster key, I can MO (Momentary Layer Switch) to my numbers and function keys layer. This moves all number keys to the home row, and gives my access to function keys. I don't use function keys very often, but it's always nice to have access to them. I strayed away from using a numpad layout because I simply didn't use a numpad (like ever) in the past, and didn't feel the need to build the muscle memory of something that I didn't even need to in the first place.

Layer 2 - Media

I don't really use the media controls to be honest, but they are nice to have. What it's really for is for the mouse controls.

Yes, that is right, you can control your mouse with this keyboard.

Honestly, it's not super useful, but its kinda cool to just have if you don't want to move your hand back and forth between your mouse and keyboard. It's good for simple tasks, if your just browsing the web and don't need precision. The controls are similar to controlling a joystick, but the longer you hold a key, the faster your mouse cursor moves. This allows you to have mediocre precision whilst still being able to control your cursor with mediocre speed and comfortability. It is a cool idea, but, honestly not super useful.

Layer 3 - QWERTY

Just your standard qwerty layer. I haven't used it yet, but it's kinda nice just to have in case I need to do something in qwerty for some reason.

Layer 4 - Arrows

I have a hold layer for arrows which I primarily use to navigate text whenever I am not using vim (by the way I use vim). The control scheme is not the same as vim's hjkl, but I've done this intentionally to separate these two ways to navigate in my muscle memory.

But yeah! This is my keymap. I don't like to use hold/tap on the same key - I kept this as vanilla as possible whilst still utilising the layering capabilities provided by the ergodox. I am probably going to keep changing and improving this layout, but for now, I am pretty happy with this layout.

My experience getting used to this keyboard

I just want to preface that I have been typing COLEMAK on regular keyboards for about 2 years already - typing at about 120wpm average. My QWERTY 30 second peak was probably around 160wpm. I also have had experience with ortholinear keyboards in the past (with a keyboard similar to the planck). So if you're reading this and wondering how long it will take to get back to your original WPM, then just maybe double or triple the time you expect after reading this.

There were some specific things that were quite challenging getting used to this layout again. Of course, we discussed the symbols that had to be moved took some effort re-learning - which is why I strongly suggest you keep as many keys in the same place unless you have a good reason to move a bunch of stuff (don't reinvent the wheel!). The b key was hard to get used to. I exclusively used my right index finger for b, but on an ergo split keyboard, you are forced to use left hand as it is technically closer to your left hand when in an ortholinear grid. Actually, the whole left hand bottom row (z, x, c, v, b) is overall hard to get used to, since it feels like it has been shifted over a key to the left (even though it hasn't) Other than that, I found that it was actually pretty easy to get used to. I am back to 120wpm and I feel like I can actually type code WAY quicker too!

My suggestions when it comes to learning these wacky keyboards

LEARN TO TOUCH TYPE!

Please. There is no point in buying one of these ergo keyboards and expecting instant benefits if you are not willing to put in the effort to learn (or re-learn) touch typing. Most people learnt how to type just by typing, and never learnt the proper techniques to type. It will be very hard to correct this, but it's possible. Luckily for me, I corrected most of these bad techniques and habits when I learnt colemak. Proper technique includes:

• Fingers on home row when resting.
• Using the correct finger for the correct key (using the closest finger to actuate the desired key)
• When using shift, use the opposite hand shift to the key you want to press. For example if you want to type A then you would use rshift+a.
• When using spacebar, use the opposite hand space to the key you want to press (I actually don't do this but I've heard this is what you are meant to do).

There is probably more, but these are the ones that pop up immediately.

Use a keyboard layout you are comfortable with

Don't go into this learning a new keyboard layout AND ortholinear layout. It's hard to learn both at once.

Keep your keymap mostly the same

I touched on this earlier, but it keep the number of things you are changing to a minimum if you want results quick. Change the keys that bother you the most on standard layouts.

Be Patient

It didn't take me long, since I have already learnt COLEMAK and have had prior experience with olkb. It will take the normal person without these experiences probably longer? I would guess maybe 2-3 months with regular practice.

If you plan on changing your workflow/setup completely...

It is understandable if you want to dive straight into things. You want to try a completely new layout, you want ortholinear, columnar stagger, split keyboard, you want tenting and all those ergo features. But honestly, I think you should gradually fall into these features. My first experience with these keyboards is with a planck-like keyboard. That taught me how to use colemak on an ortholinear keyboard. Then I slowly built up towards using this keyboard - which adds the split and columnar stagger elements. I strongly recommend, while it will probably be a money and time consuming, to slowly ease yourself into these keyboards. It makes the learning experience way more approachable and enjoyable. I think in the long term it could maybe even be faster to learn this way. For me, I want to eventually try keyboards like the Dactyl Manuform and the Kinesis keyboards, which add tenting and curvature to the mix. I'm not sure if I will like it, but taking a gradual approach lets me better realise the parts that I liked/disliked about each keyboard more accurately. I also don't feel discouraged because I feel like I can improve at a much more noticable pace.

Thoughts after becoming somewhat proficient

So, after all this talk, what are my thoughts on the board?

I love it! I feel like I can comfortably and effortlessly type away, without getting fatigued after writing for long periods of time (writing this in one session...) or even when I am programming. For me, I sacrificed maybe a week and a half to two weeks to get back to my original speed, which feels great.

The customisability offered by the online configurator is awesome. You can always compile directly using QMK, but for me, I appreciate the ease of access of a user interface - especially when you are starting out and changing your layout 5 times a day. The online configurator oryx zsa works really well, although for me, I had a bit of a learning curve with all the tap vs. hold keys and also the amount of settings you can configure if you are using tap/hold keys. Probably my initial uncomfortability is because I am very used using VIA Configurator when I do custom mappings for me keyboard.

Even if you don't want to customise your configuration that much, the keyboard working immediately right out of the box with few parts and cables required is a huge plus for people like me, who are interested in keyboards and keyboard ergonomics, but aren't super keen on 3D printing a whole keyboard and handwiring it. I just want a keyboard that is hotswap and doesn't feel janky to use.

I have some small complaints about the keyboard, mainly to do with the thumb cluster. I find that I have slightly smaller hands, and that the thumb cluster is a bit hard to utilise. I would appreciate if the thumb cluster was shifted a bit closer to the alphas. In hindsight, knowing this I might have went with an alternative like the moonlander or the dactyl manuform, something that addresses having multiple keys on the thumb cluster, without being hard to reach - these keyboards both address this by using some sort of elevation change / curvature.

However, the total build cost was around $350 AUD. While on the expensive side for your standard keyboard, it is actually extremely reasonable when you consider you get a solid acrylic chassis that is fully customisable. The only real competitor to this niche is a kinesis keyboard (but those are INSANELY expensive), and maybe some of the iris or sofle keyboards. Other ergo keyboards are often homemade with 3d printers and handwired, so they just don't match up to the same quality that is provided by these kits.

TLDR: Should I buy this keyboard?

If you are new to olkb/ergo keyboards in general, and have some sort of injury you need to address (or you just want to try these keyboards), I strongly suggest this one as there a customisable kits for you to make your own keyboard unique, as well as just being an overall approachable keyboard start getting familiar with olkbs.

If you have already tried more exotic ergo keyboards (like ones with curvature or built in tenting) and liked them, I'd probably stay away from this, as the ergo benefits of this keyboard are a lot more subtle. Like for example the columnar stagger is barely noticable, so it feels counterintuitive if you are regressing back to this keyboard if you've already gotten comfy with a kinesis or a dactyl.