Kinesis Freestyle Edge Gaming Keyboard Split Keyboard Free 2nd Day Air Shipping

I am not a connoisseur of keyboards as such, nor a gamer, just a heavy user who has learned his lesson about the ergonomics of writing on a computer all day. This is the first split keyboard I have tried, and I like it pretty well. I'm going to like it much better when the tenting kit arrives, though. Tenting is necessary to complete the ergonomic correction required to take strain off your wrists and forearms. Charging extra for such an essential feature is just wrong.

The keyboard ergonomics are great, the keys feel great, and the overall build quality is superb. My issues lay in the programming of the board. While it sounds nice to be able to not install any extra programs to your computer and just save everything to the board itself. This has some inherent problems. Most obvious, the macro keys.Because everything is hardware based, there's no way to issue a command to Windows. The keyboard can only send keystrokes. This prevents you from executing applications or sending special commands to windows. I tried to set a key for left mouse click, and it seems to have just ignored the command completely. When I attempted to create a macro for holding ctrl and pressing shift (to change my keyboard layout via Windows) the clunky programming interface of their software just got in my way and was too frustrating to continue with. I haven't tried the built in hardware programming, so no comments on the effectiveness of that, but obviously that would still hold the same issues of only being able to run keystrokes and timing.The lighting is good, very clear and bright. 4 stars because the fn option on the F keys does not glow along with the key itself making it hard to see.The ergonomics, again, are wonderful. I bought the lift kit for the keyboard after reading that it was needed. It really does help with keeping my wrists straight while I'm typing, and preventing strain. I was looking for a RBG mechanical ergonomic macro keyboard. This was the closest thing I could find. (Will probably replace the blue LEDs via soldering, later down the line) I was leaning towards returning the board and finding something else, because of the lack of macro usage, but using a workaround, I've decided to stick with this keyboard. (workaround: assign macro keys to F13 - F20, and AutoIt with a keyboard hook)Would have given this board 5 stars if the macro was software based, allowing extra function. Would buy the next model if they added RGB support.

I got the 'quieter' reds, and honestly this was still louder than I'd expected (listening in my crowded office at work vs bringing it home to my quiet home office ... my fault, not the keys' fault), but it works perfectly. Programmable for macros and light level, very responsive, easy to type on, easy to position where I like it, and no more dropouts from bluetooth cutting in or out like my old keyboard. All around a huge improvement for me.

I've been trying to find a decent ergo, rgb keyboard for years, and am very pleased with this one. The quality is very good and it's nice to have a choice of authentic cherry keys.I bought the lift kit, which also works nicely. Just a suggestion to the manufacturer - It would be nice if they had another accessory to lock the two sides together, so that they would stay permanently in an ideal configuration.Plus one other minor niggle is that the umbilical cord is overly stiff and hence is awkward to manipulate, especially when there's limited space behind the keyboard (mine is in a desk tray). I don't know why everyone now seems to have to use braid cord sleeves. What's wrong with good, old fashioned (flexible) cables?

tl;dr I love it very much, and it does have some quirks if you're a Mac user, but still my preferred solution so far for Mechanical + Split keyboard for Mac over the Matias Ergo Pro.I used a Matias Ergo Pro for two years before it severely bit the dust after warranty. I had repeated key issues with the Matias Ergo Pro multiple times, had to get it replaced once, and I not fond of its bulkiness, so I was looking for something new to replace it. I had the specific requirements of needing a split keyboard that works well with Macs, and after a brief tango with the Kinesis Freestyle2, I was depressed to realize that I am also a person who Desperately Needs the clickiest and clackiest of keyboards to feel like I'm not dying every time I type a letter, and since I type a lot all day for work, avoiding the deathfeelings is pretty clutch. And so, with all these specific needs, my options were limited from the start.Given that I live closer to the Arctic Circle than most people might by choice, I also experience darkness in abundance. The backlighting of this keyboard set it apart from my other option[s], and it seemed like an added bonus, for I would have to learn this subtly different keyboard layout in the depths of winter, when assisted keyboard vision can be necessary. The Kinesis Gaming Freestyle Edge checked all of my boxes in theory, and so I bit the bullet to see how it would roll out in practice. The outcome: I was pleased.For mac users, there *is* the annoyance of key alignment for the Command and Alt/Option keys with respect to the bottom row keys (ZXCV especially), as the placements are slightly shifted from the native Mac keyboard. The X on the MacBook Pro is completely above the Command key, but on the Freestyle Edge, the Z and X share equal space above what will typically be the Command key when you configure for Mac. Also, if you want to swap out those special keycaps to be Macish (as I have done with custom printed keys I found online), you can't easily ...