--- title: "My favorite keyboards" url: https://daily.dev/posts/my-favorite-keyboards-mbg3lrkvm source_url: https://fabiensanglard.net/keyboards/index.html type: article source: "Fabien Sanglard" published: 2026-06-29T04:42:33.203Z updated: 2026-08-07T21:25:44.581Z reading_time: 4 upvotes: 0 comments: 0 language: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # My favorite keyboards **[Fabien Sanglard](https://daily.dev/sources/fabiensanglard)** · 4 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary A personal retrospective on favorite keyboards spanning decades, from the IBM Model M discovered in 1993 to the NMB ConcertMaster RT-9100W (famously used by John Carmack to write Quake II through Doom 3), the Ergodox EZ which solved RSI problems over 10 years of use, and finally the ZSA Moonlander with its Platform accessory that provides the ergonomic tilt stability the Ergodox lacked. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Community take How the wider developer community reacted, aggregated from 2 discussions and 309 comments across lobsters, hackernews (as of 2026-08-07). **TL;DR:** The community broadly engages with enthusiasm around ergonomic and mechanical keyboards, sharing personal favorites and debating tradeoffs between split/ortholinear boards, switch types, and ergonomic depth — with the Ergodox/Moonlander receiving both praise and pointed criticism, and alternatives like Kinesis, Glove80, and Topre boards getting strong advocacy. **Sentiment:** 45% positive · 35% mixed · 20% skeptical **The case for** - The Ergodox EZ and Moonlander genuinely resolved RSI and back pain for multiple commenters who stuck with the learning curve. - Split, tented, ortholinear keyboards are widely credited with reducing wrist and shoulder strain compared to standard layouts. - ZSA's customer support was praised as exceptionally responsive, with bugs fixed within hours of reporting. - QMK/ZMK firmware flexibility allows highly personalized layouts that can compensate for missing physical keys. - Topre switches (HHKB, Realforce, Leopold FC660C) earned strong loyalty as a distinct and satisfying typing experience. **The pushback** - The Moonlander's lack of dedicated function keys is a real workflow problem for IDE-heavy and BIOS-level users, with layer-based workarounds seen as inadequate by some. - The Ergodox EZ caused permanent thumb RSI in at least one commenter due to its large thumb cluster requiring excessive stretch. - The Moonlander's plastic construction was criticized as cheap, creaky, and unsatisfying compared to premium aluminum/steel keyboards. - Many commenters feel the Ergodox and Moonlander are 'halfway' ergonomic solutions compared to deeply researched boards like the Kinesis Advantage or Glove80. - The NMB ConcertMaster is described as a basic OEM membrane keyboard whose appeal is almost entirely Carmack-derived nostalgia rather than any intrinsic quality. - Model M worship is characterized by some as largely nostalgic meme rather than a genuinely superior typing or ergonomic experience. **By community** - hackernews (mixed): A wide-ranging, largely enthusiastic discussion about personal keyboard journeys, with significant debate over whether Ergodox/Moonlander are truly ergonomic, the pain of missing F-keys, Topre switch loyalty, and strong advocacy for Kinesis and Glove80 as superior alternatives. - lobsters (positive): A smaller, friendly thread focused on practical ergonomic tenting solutions for the Ergodox and a Kinesis Advantage vs. Ergodox comparison, with general warmth toward the topic and some Topre appreciation. **Hottest debate:** Whether the Moonlander and Ergodox are genuinely ergonomic keyboards or merely 'halfway' solutions compared to concave boards like the Kinesis Advantage or Glove80, and whether the missing function key row is an acceptable tradeoff. **Open questions** - Is it feasible to source individual Topre switches and build a custom ergonomic PCB around them? - Will any mainstream laptop manufacturer ever ship an ortholinear or split layout? - Are there good wireless split mechanical keyboards suitable for use with a phone on the go? **Highlights** > My ErgodoxEZ: - nearly made me cry. - solved my back pain. When you didn't learn to type properly, relearning to type can be a very difficult task; re-learning on a split keyboard is particularly unforgiving. Around three weeks into re-learning I was convinced I would never learn properly and that I'd wasted a lot of time and money (I was freelancing at the time) on something that wouldn't help me eat, never mind sleep. Two weeks later I was back up to normal typing speeds, a month after that I was faster than ever. Two months or so after that, my back pain was gone. Of course, my back pain was caused by sitting lopsided - something an overdominant hand on a standard keyboard pushes you towards. No amount of exercise and posture correction was solving it - but when the true cause was resolved it cleared up (with exercise) very quickly. I'd buy this keyboard again in a heartbeat. > — [Normal\_gaussian on hackernews · 5 comments](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48759399) > Countervailing story: the Ergodox (EZ specifically but that's less important) gave me permanent RSI in my thumbs, because it was too big for my hands, and to this day I pretty much can't use a keyboard layout that relies on lots of thumb involvement. Even just hitting the spacebar throughout the day or using my thumbs to type on a smartphone is enough to flare it up, almost a decade after I stopped using that keyboard. YMMV, ergonomics are highly personal with respect to your body size and proportions. We didn't have the proliferation of keyboard layouts then that we do now. Perhaps if the Iris or Corne had existed then, I would still be using my thumbs for modifier keys in a 40% layout. I never got the hang of tapdance or hold modifiers. The Atreus layout is the only one I can still use somewhat, because the thumbs are held closer to the hand rather than splayed out. > — [gwerbin on hackernews · 2 comments](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48759593) > First generation powerbooks, the 140/170, were amazin keyboards. The 100, not so much. > — [wiredfool on hackernews](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48765966) > Typing this on a Moonlander right now. Love it to pieces. The tenting kit is pricey but incredibly stable and, to me, is worth every penny. I've gotten used to the ortholinear so much so that I hate other layouts now. I've looked at some other more minimal boards and, while they look nice, I actually make good use of pretty much all my keys and I would not like going down to a smaller layout. In my mind, the most important pieces of a good keyboard are, in this order: 1. QMK/ZMK firmware so you can add stuff like mod-taps and whatnot 2. Split & tented to avoid bad wrist angles 3. Lots of buttons for your thumb to press: it's your strongest finger so you should put it to work 4. Ortholinear layout for more natural finger movement ZSA (the maker of the Ergodox, Moonlander, and Voyager) is a great company—I've had incredibly positive experiences with their support team whenever I've needed help. One time I was having trouble using their online configuration tool (https://layout.new) and so I emailed support. I got an email back within the hour from a developer asking for more details. After I supplied this, it was just another hour until I heard back saying that they had found a bug and that the fix was live. So awesome!! > — [ashton314 on hackernews · 1 comments](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48763373) > I find it strange that people who start caring about ergonomics settle for Ergodox, Moonlander and other halfway there solutions when Kinesis, Glove80, Maltron who have put in real ergonomic research exist.. > — [throwawaySimon on hackernews · 3 comments](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48759277) **Source threads** - [lobsters](https://lobste.rs/s/i7klfz/my_favorite_keyboards) · 34 points · 13 comments - [hackernews](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48714884) · 146 points · 296 comments ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [50 keyboards from my collection](https://daily.dev/posts/50-keyboards-from-my-collection-5dww4pcnb) · Hacker News · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Thoughts on Mechanical Keyboards and the ZSA Moonlander](https://daily.dev/posts/thoughts-on-mechanical-keyboards-and-the-zsa-moonlander-jce1g1ts8) · Hacker News · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Keebin’ With Kristina: The One With The Cheap-O Keyboard](https://daily.dev/posts/keebin-with-kristina-the-one-with-the-cheap-o-keyboard-1nvpgguld) · Hackaday · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Modular Mechanical Keyboard Transformed Into A Compact Workstation](https://daily.dev/posts/modular-mechanical-keyboard-transformed-into-a-compact-workstation-kwqsqd8ax) · Hackaday · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/my-favorite-keyboards-mbg3lrkvm)