KINESIS Freestyle2 USB-A Ergonomic Keyboard w/ VIP3 Lifters for PC (9" Separation) (KB820PB-US)

It took a little bit of time to get used to this layout, but this is a very good keyboard for those looking for ergonomic equipment. It takes a bit of time to get used to the design, but practice and regular use will make it easy to adjust. The keys feel great and my fingers have never ached after prolonged use. Changing width and tenting angles are both great for adjusting the keyboard for optimizing comfort. I also really like that this keyboard has separate keys for Cut, Copy, Paste, and Undo. They make those actions much easier. I haven't used the web home, back, or forward keys very much since my mouse already has back and forward buttons. My main disagreement about the design is that the B key is on the left section. I strongly think it should be on the right. The Fn key can be confusing because it stays active after pressing it. I'm used to Fn only being active while the key is held down. The Delete key can also take some getting used to because it's the same size as the Backspace key and the keys are very close to each other. I've had a few experiences where I've tried to use Backspace but ended up hitting the Delete key instead. These issues haven't been enough to hinder my experience, and overall I'm very satisfied with this keyboard.

It seems I type all day, and have gone through keyboards, have broken keys, and have particular criteria I need in a keyboard, and specific things I don't want. Important to me: ergonomic is #1. And part of that includes NOT having a numeric keypad attached. It means I have to over-reach and take my hands off the keyboard to use my mouse which slows me down. I've used the Microsoft Sculpt and loved it -- that is, until the doggle (?, the USB thing you plug into your computer) stopped communicating to the keyboard. So I bought another one. Except the new one had the same problem the old one developed after several years of great use. So I returned it. And the search was one. I got another one which had the same problem (the lag time between hitting the keys and it typing was either terribly slow, or the keys I typed never showed up. And then I started reviewing the reviews much more thoroughly, and it seemed NONE of the reviews of the ergonomic keyboards without numeric keypads had unanimously positive reviews. Except 2: one of them was about $200 + an additional $150 or $200 for the lifters. Well, if this thing works best with the lifters (which all reviews say it does), why would that not be included? Plus, it had features I didn't like and didn't really want, including bright red, blue and green lights on the keys, and keys you could program (largely for programmers, which I am not). Another feature I want is for the caps lock key to be backlit so I can tell at a glance if it's on or not. And then a friend sent me the link to this keyboard. It had all the features I wanted, none of the features I didn't want . . . at a fraction of the price. And the reviews were ALL positive. It's still costs more than the average run-of-the mill keyboard. But, when my friend compared it to when he buys a guitar.... he doesn't mind spending the money on a Les Paul. Well, my keyboard is how I make music!, and so I decided to go for it. It's my Les Paul! It was instant plug-and-play, I have the lifters in the halfway position, and am totally in love with it. It took zero time to get used to. So what that it has a cord. This keyboard is a dream. I'm so grateful to have found it!!!!!! You won't be disappointed. Oh, one more little thing. I use the little bumps that remind my fingers when they're on the home keys (or not!). These little bumps were rather little, and hard to sense. So I just added a little thing (a textured tape) to make the bumps bigger, and now my fingers find the home keys without my having to look!

In the brief time I used this keyboard, it seemed like a very good quality, comfortable keyboard with good build quality. Unfortunately, it didn't serve my needs. I previously used a Kinesis Ergonomic Maxim keyboard, and I depended on being able to remap the right Windows key and Menu key for special functions, while leaving the left Windows key as a modifier key. The Freestyle2 only has one Windows key, so I can't do that. I knew that, but I assumed I'd be able to remap the other special keys on the left as needed. But they can't actually be remapped as independent keys; they're only shortcuts for other existing keys or key combinations (at least as far as Linux can tell; perhaps it's different under Windows). For instance, pressing the Cut key sends a left Control key keypress, an X keypress, an X key release, and a left Control key release, so it's absolutely identical as far as the computer can tell to pressing Control-X. I'd just live with it if the keyboard had a distinct right Windows key so I wasn't *losing* functionality over the older Maxim keyboard. I'm very disappointed, because I love the ability to have the two halves of the keyboard separated and I really love the feel of the keyboard. If all the keys were distinguishable I would be very very happy. I'd recommend it for anyone who just wants a good ergonomic keyboard and doesn't want to do funny things with key layouts. This is, of course, a fairly specific use case, and there aren't going to be very many people it matters for. But I wanted to share this as a little caveat for anybody who was hoping to use this with Linux (or, perhaps, anybody who was hoping to remap the additional special-function keys in software for Windows or Mac, although I can't be 100% certain Windows and OS X can't tell them apart from the corresponding key sequences on the main part of the keyboard).

Tall broad shouldered guy and this keyboard helps a ton with ergonomics. Little awkward at first. But quality components. Easy set up. Only small complaint would be that I wish there was more spacebar length on each half but that would also cause more blank area elsewhere.

For a programmer, the transition from an actual mac keyboard to this is rough. Even though it says "Mac" on it, the distance and spacing between keys is closer to a Windows computer, as opposed to a Mac keyboard. For example, the left control key is the leftmost bottom left key on the keyboard, like how it is on windows keyboards.. (not the fn key). The left optionkey is tiny, and the control is double the size. (More like a windows keyboard than Mac). Another very annoying spacing issue: the bottom right alt/option button is massive, and located right where the left arrow key is normally on the mac keyboard. It's strange. It's a good keyboard, but the mapping is just annoying, and they definitely could have designed it be closer to the magic apple keyboard layout. Oh well! At least my wrists don't hurt anymore! (Genuinely, it's definitely more comfortable to type for long periods of time. My brain will adapt. (Writing this comment is helping my brain already adapt, lol). Also, you can slot the magic trackpad between them, which is nice.

I switched to the Kinesis Freestyle2 after experiencing constant forearm strain, and the difference is night and day. The split design is a lifesaver—being able to position the modules at shoulder width immediately fixed my posture and stopped me from "hunching" over my desk. The keys are quiet and have a low-force feel that reduces finger fatigue, while the flat profile keeps my wrists in a neutral position. I also love the dedicated hotkeys for Copy/Paste on the left side. If you spend all day typing, do your body a favor and get this keyboard. It’s easily the best ergonomic investment I’ve made!

An outstanding keyboard!!! I recently broke my wrist but needed to continue working so went looking for a keyboard that would accommodate not being able to rotate, tilt or flex my left wrist. This keyboard was exactly what I was looking for! The construction is as good as the best out there, except maybe the old IBM Model M mechanical keyboards. Mine arrived with the wrist rest and left-right tilt accessory kit installed. I wouldn't buy this keyboard without it. I tilted the left section full (15 degrees) and fiddled with it's rotation until they home keys were under my fingers without having to tilt, rotate or twist my wrist. After a few minutes getting used to the slight variation in the location of some of the lesser used keys I was able to work as quickly as if I hadn't had a titanium T plate and half a dozen screws recently installed in my distal radius bone. I definitely recommend this keyboard to anyone needing a keyboard to adjust to your hand(s) position. I also found it more comfortable for my uninjured hand versus the typical square layout or even the Microsoft Natural keyboard I normally use. After a week's use I can find only two things that might improve it. The first is if there was a way to adjust the tilt of each half from front to back. I did this by stacking 3x5 cards under it but a front to back tilt adjustment would be well worth it to go along with the left to right tilt that is built into the accessory kit. The other improvement might not be enjoyed by all, but I really like the tactile feel of the old IBM Model M mechanical keyboards. If Kinesis offered this keyboard with front to back tilt (in addition to the current left to right tilt) and mechanical keys I'd have to rate it a 10 out of 5!!! But even with these potential improvements left off, this is an excellent keyboard for the wrist movement challenged at a fair price. I'd buy it again and recommend it highly.

I'm sorry for giving a bad review. My parents taught me that if you can't say something nice don't say it at all. But I also rely on Amazon reviews for my purchasing decisions, so I feel this is warranted. From the moment I took the keyboard out of the box I was surprised at the low quality. First, it was packed with no padding, but no biggie, good to protect the environment and save on waste, but made me wonder if it had been previously used. Wouldn't a quality product warrant protection and be packed with care? When I lifted it out of the box I expected it to have some heft and feel solid, but it felt flimsy, like cheap lightweight plastic. The tenting risers were already attached but one kept falling off. It is basically plug and play, so it's easy to set up, and the split keyboard was quick to adapt to. I liked that part of it. What I did not like, and what is causing me to return it is the following: its bulky size was like switching to a maxi pad from the panty liner-size Mac keyboard I'm used to. My hands are not particularly small, but I had to extend my fingers so far and so high that it was causing a whole new set of physical issues, adding to the ones that prompted me to invest in this split keyboard in the first place (and not a cheap investment compared to other ergonomic keyboards out there). Also, the keys, besides being big and high and spaced too far apart for my female fingers, are not quiet. The clickety-clack was driving me nuts. I'm returning it and for now will keep using my Mac keyboard, my wrist brace, and the J-Tech vertical mouse I just bought, which was well worth the money.