Does your keyboard make your wrists hurt? A split keyboard may help you like it helped me

Within the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, I confronted a dilemma that could be acquainted to many laptop customers: My wrists had been killing me. I used to be pulling eight-hour shifts at work, then taking part in extra video games on PC than ever on the identical setup to remain linked to associates throughout a bleak time. I hadn’t skilled wrist ache from typing earlier than, however it was so dangerous that I couldn’t go on with out discovering a extra comfy various that had at the least a number of the bells and whistles I anticipated from a contemporary gaming keyboard.

I finally discovered an answer that met my standards for a gaming keyboard in addition to an ergonomic one, a mixture of wants that I supposed would by no means intersect — at an inexpensive value, at the least. I discovered the Kinesis Freestyle Edge RGB, and whereas $199.99 won’t be “cheap” to some, it’s extra reasonably priced than different cut up keyboards which have comparable options.

The primary characteristic that distinguishes the Kinesis from most different keyboards is that it’s cut up into two components, with every chunk linked by a cable. In case you had been questioning, sure, there’s a studying curve to typing on this sort of keyboard. How robust it’ll be will rely on what your typing is like on a standard keyboard. If you happen to use the keyboard’s house rows, such as you may’ve discovered in laptop class as a child, it most likely received’t take you lengthy to acclimate, however when you hunt and peck for keys, the cut up structure could also be extra of a problem.

For the reason that Freestyle Edge RGB is cut up, you possibly can place every half precisely the way you need so long as the 2 sides don’t stretch past the cable’s 20-inch size. So, as an alternative of bending my wrists outward to sort on typical layouts, my arms and wrists will be extra relaxed, typing at a place and angle that feels extra pure. On my desk, the keyboard halves barely contact one another. It’s bliss. If you happen to play video games like Microsoft Flight Simulator, you possibly can even transfer both half out of the best way to make room in your desk for a HOTAS controller.

Picture: Kinesis

Regardless of its seems, the Freestyle Edge RGB is much like different gaming keyboards. It has mechanical keys with the choice to pick out Cherry MX Blue (clicky), Pink (linear), Silver (quick linear), or Brown (tactile) switches in case you could have a choice, and every secret is backlit with RGB LEDs that may be personalized in Kinesis’ SmartSet app. This mannequin additionally consists of removable palm rests that carry your wrists up for a fair cozier typing expertise.

That’s all nice, however this keyboard is a star as a result of it has N-key rollover (NKRO), a characteristic that permits the consumer to press any variety of keys without delay. I discovered the arduous method that my earlier cut up keyboard didn’t help it through the heyday of Halo Infinite’s very enjoyable on-line multiplayer; I couldn’t concurrently maintain down shift to dash, hit area to leap, maintain W to maneuver ahead, and toss a grenade with the G key. NKRO is a fundamental gaming characteristic in lots of reasonably priced gaming keyboards, however you’ve obtained to go looking a bit of tougher for it in ergonomic fashions. Fortunately, it’s accessible with the Freestyle Edge RGB, which is simply as responsive and succesful as the following gaming keyboard, prepared for any collection of key presses.

Photograph: Cameron Faulkner/gamerjive

This Kinesis keyboard helps an add-on ergonomic characteristic that leaves different gaming keyboards within the mud. The $29.99 Carry Package is available in two items, every snapping onto the underside of the Freestyle Edge RGB to offer some carry, so your wrists will be opened (oriented extra such as you’re entering into for a handshake as an alternative of laying flat). These let the keyboard halves be tented independently of one another at a number of angles. The bottom 5- and 10-degree angle choices tilt all sides upward barely, whereas the 15-degree angle gives a steeper pitch that will look unusual, however in my expertise, rapidly felt regular to sort on.

One small criticism I’ve with the Freestyle Edge RGB is that, in comparison with pricier choices just like the ErgoDox EZ and the Matias Ergo Professional, it doesn’t help sloping, which might elevate your palms in order that they’re larger than your fingers. It will have been preferrred if the add-on V3 Professional Lifters equipment enabled this. Nonetheless, for the cash, the Freestyle Edge RGB presents simply sufficient for full- or part-time avid gamers and desk staff who need to catch a break from wrist ache.