Kinesis Advantage Keyboard
Several years ago, I was at a trade show and I saw and tried an early-generation Kinesis keyboard. I was hooked. As a starving college student, I certainly couldn't afford one then, but once I entered the workforce one of the first things I did was acquire a Kinesis, and I have now been using it for about four years.
I've used a variety of ergonomic keyboards in my time, but none was as comfortable to use as this one.
I’m a decent typist, but once it arrived, it took me about two weeks of hunting-and-pecking to figure out where all the keys were, and another week to get proficient with it. During this time, I kept a standard keyboard close at hand, in case I got too frustrated, or needed to type something quickly. However, once I mastered the keyboard, I found that my typing speed went up by about 15 wpm. The reason for this is that the Kinesis doesn't enforce any unnatural motions on your hands or fingers. Hold up your hand, make a loose fist, and then open your hand naturally. That motion encompasses 95% of the motion required to operate this keyboard. It's a remarkably stress-free way to type; very comfortable, and well worth the investment.
I don’t have any specific pain or injuries associated with typing. Like just about anyone who uses a keyboard regularly, I'd occasionally get tired or sore hands or forearms (and I still do, when I have occasion to use a non-Kinesis keyboard at length). But since switching, I've found that that kind of pain has dropped off significantly.
The downsides are minimal but worth noting as this is, after all, a very expensive keyboard. The keys are a trifle loud for my taste; I'd definitely prefer a quieter version. Also, the default keymappings are a little odd; the left and right curly braces are in a strange place. While I'm not a coder by trade, I could definitely see that being an issue for someone who does a lot of programming. But it's never bothered me enough to do any remapping. Also, one caveat: you pretty much have to be a touch-typist to be able to use it -- one-finger typing on this keyboard will only end up frustrating you.
What I like best about this keyboard is the natural fit of the keys. The curved cups that the keys rest in are shaped just right for my hands, so the uniquely comfortable typing position is consistently reinforced and supported. I would strongly recommend this keyboard to anyone looking for a comfortable typing experience.
Available from Amazon
Manufactured by Kinesis Corporation
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Lowell
You think you like the Kinesis ... try a Maltron. Very $$$, but a lot better even in QWERTY layout (and in Maltron layout I type crazy fast with no fatigue after 10+ hour coding sessions)
MR
Love my Unicomp with the IBM-style buckle spring technology. It improves my typing speed with less fatigue at the end of the day.
Remarksman
Too bad the DataHand people seem to be having business trouble. For a while it seemed like datahand.com was out of business, now they say they're out of stock. DataHands like the one I'm typing this comment on are/were even more expensive, but it's a superior design.
Joe Peach
Nice review!
Like a good bed (many hours spent on it) it seems like this keyboard would be invaluable to someone that spends more then a few hours a day typing, even at the elevated cost!
Haggis
I've bought several Kinesis keyboards over the years - I love them to bits. My wife tried mine at home one day and said "Ick." Less than a week later she sidled up to me to ask, "Where can I get one of these for my office?"
Like others, even though i don't really care about typing speed mine improved substantially without even trying. But the comfort is king.
The embedded numeric keypad is my only Kinesis complaint.
Max Howell
I had one of these, it lastest a year before the crappy membrane function keys failed.
I wouldn't care so much, but the escape key, that I use several times a minute is also a crappy membrane key.
Mostly these keyboards are as good as the review suggests, but the membrane buttons contain several important keys, and membrane keys suck. Terrible design choice there. And in the many years since I owned one, the design hasn't changed one iota.
Jonathan Aquino
I've owned a Kinesis for about 6 years.
Agreed with the above commenter about the "crappy membrane function keys". Those keys along the top (1) are too small (2) sometimes don't register a keypress. It's rather frustrating. And my Esc key (the leftmost membrane key) no longer works.
Another thing I dislike about the Kinesis is the quality of the regular keys. They just go down and hit the bottom hard - they don't have a nice spring or buckling action like, say, a Thinkpad keyboard.
Jake
I agree. I wrote a longish review of the Advantage: http://jseliger.com/2009/07/20/kinesis-advantage . Note the note at the top: my original review was ambivalent leaning toward positive, but when I went back to a regular keyboard, I realized that the Kinesis Advantage is as close to keyboard Nirvana as I'm likely to get.
Dave
I haven't tried Advantage keyboard, but switching to the Evoluent VerticalMouse, also from Kinesis, did an amazing job of aleviating some serious hand and wrist issues I was experiencing from long hours of mousing.
Rusty
I don't doubt the quality of this keyboard or the better ergonomics, but when I can get a wireless logitech curved keyboard and mouse for $80, I have a hard time justifying the additional $200 for the Kinesis. What makes the Kinesis so much more expensive?
Alex
Can I use the Dvorak typing system with this keyboard? That's my main question. I've been a Dvorak typer for years, and certainly wouldn't want to switch back. I suppose you could though, because now whether you use Dvorak or not is usually determined by the computer you are using, not the keyboard.
craig
I've had the same Kinesis Advantage keyboard for over 10 years and I'll never use anything else. I switched to the Dvorak layout at the same time. It was frustrating month, but I've had much less trouble since I made the dual switch. I hardly ever use the membrane keys, so I can't speak for their dependability, but all the regular keys continue to work perfectly. Rusty: I don't know why the Kinesis is so much more expensive, but so far the cost of mine works out to about 10 cents a day. Worth every penny. Alex: I'm on a Mac and I remap the keyboard to Dvorak. Kinesis also sells a qwerty/dvorak switchable version
scott hampton
I'm typing on my Kinesis Advantage right now. With the footpedal plugged in (so I don't have to tax my little fingers with the shift or control keys) I can hit about 70 words a minute without strain. There are some design quirks (the top row of buttons is just weird) but all in all this is the best thing I've found.
And it's also the only thing I've bought for my complete ergo workstation that didn't require hacking or re-making. So far I have just over five years on the keyboard, and it's holding up well. As to comments about the key feel, I like the "pie crust" effect of real switches, there's no ambiguity about when you've actually hit your key. And you can let your fingers rest on the keys without problems.
Lori
It really took hand pain to get me to try this one out as I type so fast, making the change was frustrating but there's no going back. I love this baby. I just wish they made it in a travel size too. I'm still not patient enough to go Dvorak plus I figure if I did, then going back and forth to Qwerty would make typing on my Goldtouch Go travel keyboard frustrating. I got both of my keyboards from the same people - www.thehumansolution.com. Their customer service helped me pick them out. and they took back the Kinesis Maxim I tried first without any hassle.
Ted
I second, third, and fourth the positive reviews of this keyboard. Regular keyboards feel about as good as a vice on the hands-and I use both types of keyboards, daily.
For those DVORAK users who have commented, I use my Kinesis in DVORAK layout and the fact that it feels much different helps me switch back to QWERTY on other keyboards easily.
For anyone worried about the transitions, don't. It may look funny, but your right pinky will thank you after just a few times out.
Glenn
I have two kinesis keyboards that I've used for years. I had RSI and they saved my career as a professional systems engineer. After using these, regular keyboards don't even compare. Like mentioned in other posts, I wish they would convert some of the frequently used function keys to regular keys. I use the keyboards in conjunction with a touchpad, so as to eliminate mouse clicking (a major cause of RSI related problems). I use a touchpad from ergonomictouchpad.com. This is a fantastic combination with the keyboard and if you have computer related injuries, I encourage you to try this out.
Mike
Will this keyboard help if the tips of your fingers tips feel the stress of typing? After a long day of typing, my finger tips are so fried that I don't even want to click a mouse.