Kinesis Advantage 2

Another vote for the Glove 80: I used the Kinesis Advantage 2 for 10 years (after a few initial signs of finger pain developing), then tried the new 360; and recently got the glove 80 so I could easily travel with it and fell in love with the keyboard. It definitely doesn't feel as solid as the Kinesis or ergodox (which I used intermittently as well) but is the most comfortable keyboard I've used, the LEDs are actually useful (for showing battery life and bluetooth connections), and there are enough keys (including function keys); I don't like having to reason about layers at all, I want to be able to smoothly transition to my laptop's keyboard in a pinch).

I use Kinesis Advantage 2, and have been doing so for about 10 years now. So it's hard for me to relate. But, in a rare event that I need to use a more conventional keyboard, I press right Ctrl with my thumb. In the beginning of my exposure to Emacs I did rebind CapsLock, but that offered little relief. The true quality of life improvement comes from not pressing Ctrl+ with the same hand. Anything that requires Meta or Ctrl -- automatically use both hands.

I've been using kinesis advantage 2 for about 8 years.. I can still use random keyboards just fine!

That is exactly my experience, although a bit earlier. I landed on a Kinesis Advantage 2, at the time as the 360 wasn't even announced yet. Spent entirely too much money on other ones. There's a reason the Kinesis Advantage line has been around for decades. It really is a just a great ergonomic shape without many compromises. And mine has held up 7 years now with no issues. Anyone looking for pain relief should really try the Advantage 2 or 360. If the 360 Pro is too expensive don't shy away from considering a used Kinesis Advantage 2. Don't get an Advantage 1 as they have compatibility issues with newer machines.

I have been using the Kinesis Advantage 2 with brown switched for 5+ years. The biggest advantage is its ergonomic design. It's a fixed split with vertical keys and good palm support. And main key clusters are concave/dished and it feels more natural than flat or normal curved designs. I also like that it is fully programmable. You have all the popular layouts by default and you can add your custom layouts, macros, remaps, and etc all onboard on hardware. So you don't need a software to customize it. It took me two weeks to get used to it even though I was doing touch typing for a long time before that, and it took me a month to get back to my typing speed. I've done some remapping to make it more comfortable for coding. It's definitely not an ideal keyboard for gaming unless you make a dedicated layout for gaming.

I've got RSA Type 2 and Trigger-finger four years ago and I was told if I continue like that I may not be able to use a keyboard for a very long time. It started with lots of pain and discomfort and then got worst with trigger-finger. What a nightmare! I had many years without touch typing and when the pain started, I was already doing touch typing for more than 3 years. But, neither me nor the doctor couldn't blame touch typing for it. I was told any repetitive movement can cause it. Perhaps touch typing does kick in. But, the main cause was lack of any exercise with hands. I was only using my hands on my keyboard for a very long time. I'm still doing touch typing. I actually stopped physiotherapy exercises for my hands shortly. Instead, I started to do sports and normal exercises to keep my muscles healthy. I've also switched to a split keyboard (Kinesis Advantage 2) with some customization on the layout to tweak it for coding. Seriously one of my best purchases ever. Since then I actually invest on my work equipment and office tools. Good monitor, proper desk and ergo chair. They last forever, and it's way cheaper than breaking your body.

As someone who's tried several keyboards, a key feature I've found myself unable to go without is contouring of the keyboard. Keyboards like Kinesis Advantage 2, Kinesis Advantage 360 and the Glove 80 essentially. I've personally found it the biggest gain to reducing strain on my left hand.

Glove80 for me (even have 2 of them) with Kinesis Advantage 2 being a close second.

> I get pretty bad wrist/finger pain (rsi I guess?) First of all, I'm really sorry. Persistent rsi/hand pain was brutal and terrifying for me. I went through a heavy phase where I even considered having to quit my dream job at the time at a financial tech start-up. I had a mentor (software dev) at this company who shared his story - and he had rsi and it flared up so bad at one point he said he took ~6months sabbatical to recover. Treat it seriously and look for ways to improve if it's bothersome and gets worse. Things that helped me: - rest, breaks, stretching, drink water, frequently - less gaming (I played a lot of league of legends) - learning to type with correct force (often overlooked topic). Practice typing slowly and gently so that you're pressing keys just hard enough to trigger the switch. Mindful, typing practice. Don't focus on speed or accuracy - just the force - switching keyboards; I went through a huge phase of various keybaord (corne/crknbd, various other mechanical keyboards, different layouts) and finally settled on a QMK-modded Kinesis Advantage 2. It's expensive but worth it. My mentor that I mentioned had it too and he recommend it a lot. - breathing; something I'm still working on. I learned that as most people type, they don't breathe and tense up. This has negative effects on your muscles/tissues and leads to unnecessary strain. - posture (split, ergo, ortho keyboards help with posture naturally). Good luck - wrist pain is scary but it's really impr…

Oh I moved to a split keyboard as well!! This was my next big step in my typing journey. Started with a crkbd/corne and now ended up with QMK modded Kinesis Advantage 2. I don't type as fast on the Kinesis due to deep keywells and just an insane amount of modded keys, but my hands thank me every day. One other reason that led me down the path of correct typing and ergo keyboards was hand pain

I switched from a Kinesis Advantage 2 to a Glove80 over 1.5 years ago (not custom, I know) and I love it. I also made some Dactyl Manuforms, but their key wells are not as nice as the Advantage, let alone the Glove80. They also have pretty bad thumb clusters (though with Cosmos it's configurable), not a good palm rest, etc. The only custom board I would be interested in (if the Glove didn't happen) would be: https://github.com/wizarddata/Ergo-S-1 Since it also seems to have good palm rests, etc.

This looks awesome but I think I’m paralyzed by all of the possibilities. My Kinesis Advantage 2 has served me well for years. I wonder if anyone has switched from one to a custom board?

Pretty neat idea but the chording seems limited. 300 words to start. How useful is it in practice ?curious to hear any reviews. Right now I am really liking my kinesis advantage 2 Love the form factor.

I've used my Kinesis Advantage 2 for years and am inseparable. I'd like to swap to the Kinesis 360 but my current keyboard is just fine and it feels like a small upgrade

For my issues, the combination of apple trackpad and a proper ergonomic keyboard with a keywell did it: at first Kinesis Advantage 2, then Glove80. Model 100 is also quite good.

Hardware / furniture - Kinesis Advantage 2 keyboard (with QMK Stapleberg mod via Teensy microcontroller). This way I get the advantage of the extremely ergonomic keyboard + plus the benefit of it being highly configurable/programmable via C (QMK) - adjustable desk - ergonomic chair (got it second hand from a furniture store that buys from businesses that are closing down offices; essentially an 1.5k chair for $200 in good condition) Software-wise - learning vim/nvim (long term commitment but after a few years it starts bearing fruit and I’m more productive on it than any other tools I’ve used - raycast (powerful, highly configurable Mac OS launcher) - using a clipboard (I use the Raycast built in one; have a dedicated key for it) - vimium (vim motions in browser) - benefits of vim and vimium is that I don’t use mouse much and so my shoulder doesn’t hurt (from moving back and from from keyboard and mouse) and I don’t use the mouse scroller (biggest killer for hand pain for me)

I use the Kinesis Advantage 2 keyboard and the Logitech Ergo M575 trackball mouse pretty exclusively these days

My favorite keyboard is the Kinesis Advantage 2. It saved my software engineering career. I have them at home and work. Worth every penny. Their support is fantastic too. Also, I use a Logi M575 trackball most of the time. But occasionally switch to my Evoluent vertical mouse if my hand needs a change.

I'm a software developer with no RSI, who originally bought an Advantage (and then Advantage 2) to play Starcraft II better... * it's just vastly more comfortable than any ordinary keyboard. I now consider any "ergonomic" keyboard without key wells to be a joke, including the cheaper Kinesis keyboards like the Freestyle. * you can get a version with "linear" cherry mx red switches for gaming, which is what I did. * no drivers, no autohotkey scripts, nothing. * every key is easily remapped; press a key you want to remap, press the key you want it remapped to, repeat until done. Put that escape key on top of caps lock where it belongs. * there's a crucial "keypad shift" function where you can make one of the keys a modifier that remaps all the other keys. The default functionality is to give you access to numpad and media keys while holding the kpshift key, but you can freely reprogram any of the keys to trigger macros, move hard-to-reach keys to a better position, etc. Basically doubles the available keys. * as many profiles as you want. You can completely reconfigure the keyboard for each activity you do. The other day I wanted to play the original Diablo 1, which doesn't support changing shortcut keys, so it took me 2min to create a profile that moves the uncomfortable F5-F8 spell casting keys to the home row. Again, there's no alt tabbing or mucking around with GUI's or config files; you just remap keys on the fly while playing the game. * other stuff like programmab

I own a Kinesis Advantage 2, a Lily, and a Corne, and tried a Dactyl Manuform. IMO the Kinesis still wins hands down. I’ve tried dozens of keyboards but the Kinesis is the one I will always go back to. Why? To be blunt, I don’t care at all about fancy keyswitches, or wirelessness, or portability. I’m simply looking for the most comfortable input device possible. If non-ergonomic rubber dome keyboards feel like plastic chairs, all of the other keyboards you mentioned feel like fancy wooden chairs. Some of them might be incredibly well-crafted and contour to your body! But the Kinesis feels like a top-of-the-line high-tech massage chair. I’ve tried dozens and dozens of ergonomic keyboards —- and even made one, by designing a PCB and printing it out —- but at the end of the day, the Kinesis is the keyboard I will ALWAYS reach for.

Kinesis Advantage 2. I love its ergonomics & aesthetics. I hate that I have to clip my nails more frequently in order to prevent my fingers from scraping the keys.

I bought a Kinesis Advantage 2. My wrist/hand pain has disappeared completely. Still not typing as fast as I'd like to, but the lack of pain makes up for it. The onboard remaps and macros are amazing.

I did see a recent build on the mechanical keyboard subreddit where someone built exactly what you describe, with an Ergodox. I have nerve damage in my hands from an accident and recently switched to a Kinesis Advantage 2. It's been amazing for me. Not exactly what you're looking for, but I got it after extensive research and it seems to be the best keyboard to get if you have RSI/injuries. Kinesis has several split models too that are cheaper, maybe you could build a side-holstered version if you got one of those.

a caveat about Freestyle2 - it is not ortholinear, meaning keys are staggered like most regular keyboards. Kinesis Advantage 2 on the other hand is split, concave, and ortholiner - highly recommend.