Kinesis Advantage2 LF Ergonomic Keyboard (Cherry MX Red Switches)

EDIT 2 months in: well, mostly the keyboard still feels good. However after using it for 2 months, I still have trouble with using arrows, brackets, and a few other keys not in their normal location. I am a bit disappointed that my performance on this keyboard still isn’t as good as a normal one. So still very frustrating to use at times after 2 months. I also found another rather larger limitation. When you plug this device into a hub or kvm switch, the programmable key settings get wiped out after a few days. Their tech support even confirmed that I should plug it directly into the computer and not use a usb hub or other device. That’s great if you have one computer desktop, not so much if you have a laptop or 2 computers. Pretty sad for a $350 keyboard.First off, the design of this keyboard is brilliant. Once you use it and see the way it is built you will wonder why this keyboard is so unique and not the standard. Use of the thumbs for a variety of keys works so well. The bowl shape for the keys and different heights for each finger work very well. This also makes it so the keys are closer together top to bottom. Number keys are easier to hit as a result. I column orientation of the keys makes so much sense and feels so good, you'll wonder why most keyboards are done otherwise. The movement of my fingers and knowing which key to press with which finger is so much more intuitive now.The keyboard feels great the very first time you use it, although it obviously takes time to get used to it. I normally typed about 80wpm using 10fastfingers online test. My very first use of this keyboard I got 18wpm, then the second use right after was 27 wpm. By the next day, I was up to about 60 and now 10 days later, I am at around 70wpm. This is with fairly limited typing each day of only an hour or so. The hardest adjustments to make are using spacebar, backspace, and enter. Although you'll be using the backspace a lot early on. Next in difficultly are the arrow keys. Then adjusting to using the CTRL key combos. I use a lot of shortcuts with my text editor that I write code in, and this has taken a bit of adjusting. I hope after another 1-2 weeks to be feeling pretty good with the arrow keys and ctrl/alt keys. Right now I would say after these 10 days, that the keyboard use has smoothed out a lot. There are moment where I feel very fluid with it, but still others where I want to scream. This is right in line with the estimated adjustment period of 2-4 weeks to get back up to peak proficiency.Using a 'normal' keyboard feels painful to me already. I do not plan to ever go back to them. Everyone should buy one of these keyboards. Once you use this one for a few weeks, you'll wonder how you suffered so long on the old standard keyboards.

This is a pretty fun keyboard, the key remapping functionality is nice and the finger keys feel pretty good. The thumb cluster isn't as great - my hands normal sized (I wear M or L gloves) and I still don't find it comfortable to stretch to the Control or Alt keys. I actually started noticing some pain in my left wrist from trying to press Control-C, but ended up remapping control to fix that.In terms of typing speed, definitely don't expect this keyboard to help there. With the Microsoft Sculpt, I can usually get 75-80 WPM in online typing tests. With this keyboard, I'm around 70 WPM (after a year of using it). I find myself using my Sculpt over this keyboard most of the time. The Advantage2 is definitely more fun, and I'll use it often when I'm not in a rush, but for productivity, Sculpt is way better.The other really big problem with this keyboard ergonomically is how tall it is. Because of that, I can't have a comfortable desk height for both my keyboard and mouse, so I started to have shoulder problems from the mouse being too low. I have the mouse on a book now, and that helps, but it is inconvenient. I'd need some kind of in set desk unit to make it truly comfortable.Recently, the keyboard has been losing my mappings whenever I unplug it from the laptop. I know that you should be able to save the mappings, but it seems something is wrong with the storage unit - whenever I try to store the current mapping to a custom layout, the "current keyboard config file" in the status comes up blank and it doesn't actually save. When I tried mounting the keyboard as removable storage, I'm unable to access the 'active' directory that stores the configs. So that makes this keyboard pretty useless, having to remap my keys each time is a show-stopper and the defaults aren't usable for me. And Kinesis warranty is non-transferable and doesn't cover Amazon warehouse deals, so even though I bought this keyboard new (in damaged packaging), I can't get any support. One of the worst warranty policies I've seen and not what I expected for such an expensive keyboard.Overall, I will not be recommending this keyboard to my friends, its not worth the hassle. Which sucks, the bowl shaped key cluster is nice, but everything else needs improvement. Hopefully we see some other manufacturers coming out with the countoured keys, until then I might try to build a dactyl and see if it solves my issues.

Bought this keyboard for work use, as I do far more typing there than home. Have used multiple styles of keyboards over the years. The latest two are the Wave for home and the Microsoft 4000 split design for work.Have been using the Advantage2 LF now for a total of 15 or 16 days. The first 2-3 days the 4000 had to be kept plugged in, to be used when work was time sensitive. Had to add a separate Kinesis “10 key” pad (in quotes as the component includes more than 10 keys). The habit of typing numbers on that part of the keyboard is far too ingrained at this point to change. The Advantage2 does have an imbedded 10 key pad integrated accessible via touch of a button. However, switching back and forth proves to be too time consuming, and increases the chance of mistakes. I must say that I am still getting used to the Advantage2 LF. The use of the 4000 was definitely a help in preparation for this keyboard. The biggest challenge is teaching the left thumb not to hit the space key, as that is now the Back Space, as well as getting it used to the Delete key.My only wish is that the cost was less. But knowing the economic rules of supply and demand, I understand what drives the cost of this keyboard. The intent of this not to insult either the manufacture or the public. But the fact is that less than 10 percent of consumers who purchase keyboards would choose this kind. And not all of those would get used to the layout. This last makes it possible to say, “lucky me”. :-). Amazon asked for a review, and probably received far more than they bargained for. LOL

Wer ein noch ergonomischeres board will, der muss sich selber eins bauen (z.B. Dactly Manuform). Auf dem Markt gibt es aber nichts besseres.Positiv:- sehr ergonomisch: angenehme Bauform für die Finger (kegelform), split Design, ortholinear, ...- leichtgängige Tasten (red switches)Negativ:- firmware ist enttäuschend... ohne den stapleberg qmk mod käme ich nicht damit klar- pseudo split: anders als beim Ergodox zb sind die Handhälften nicht tatsächlich getrennt, so kann man den Abstand nicht selber entscheiden- Höhe: das board ist schon sehr hoch... das kann zu Schulterverspannungen führen. Also die Höhe des Tisches anpassen und eventuall die Maus auf einer erhöhten Ablage benutzen

Was delivered quickly, good quality, awesome product.