Kinesis Advantage2 Ergonomic Keyboard (KB600), Black top case, Cherry MX Brown Switches, QWERTY keycaps

Product Information

The Advantage360 is the first Kinesis keyboard with integrated tenting capability. It has three settings, the lowest one being the same as Advantage2. There is a button underneath you need to press to change the setting, and it's effortless to change the keyboard's height instantly. The Advantage360 tenting with the highest setting. I've had several injuries to the nerves in my right arm. A lifetime of playing baseball, video games, and just generally having bad posture have led to some real issues in my right shoulder and forearm. I've had both carpal and cubital tunnel syndrome several times, but late 2017 and early 2018 were particularly bad. I could barely straighten my right arm and had to shake it out every minute or two to stop the nerves from tingling or flashing pain. I needed an intervention. In time I guess we will see non US versions of the 360 as well, but it seems that could be some time for that and patience might not be my best ability.

Separating the key-wells positions the arms at shoulder-width to keep wrists straight and perpendicular to the home row. Typing with straight wrists is essential in avoiding injuries because it reduces abduction and ulnar deviation which can lead to pain and injury. What these design choices amount to is what makes typing on the Kinesis Advantage such a great experience: you never have to move your hands away from the home row. Due to the split keyboard design, each hand has its own set of keys which have been split and positioned a short distance apart. The split nature positions hands at shoulder width and perpendicular with the home row of keys. This keeps your wrists straight, avoiding abduction and ulnar deviation. Kinesis themselves have an entire set of instructions for using the Advantage 2, walking you through how they believe you should use the device. They try to encourage you to type the way people were taught in the 80s (or, so my parents tell me): don't bottom out your key presses and never look at what you're typing. I touch type just fine, but still haven't mastered typing force. Still, on the Advantage I feel encouraged to type with less effort.Let's get this out of the way: I have no idea how people get their keyboards so clean for photos. I tried dusting and wiping with a damp cloth but the thing still looks like I rub white Cheeto dust on it for fun. My apologies. And that's kind of it, as far as I'm aware. The only other competitors that I know of are custom-built by enthusiasts. And I only know of 1 of those designs, the Dactyl Manuform, that has concave keywells. Builtin ZMK/QMK support. I don't have to tell, but we shouldn't mod a Keyboard to add ZMK/QMK support. The latest model makes a bunch of detailed improvements, but the basic design has been identical since the early 1990s. The on-board programmability, which has always been a selling point is much also much improved. The Kinesis Ergo keyboard is now in its brand new “Advantage 2” generation, which is an opportunity for a long term review. It looks like something from an alternative (much geekier) universe, but is probably the single best piece of ergonomics I’ve ever bought.

One-touch, onboard key remapping so you can customize the layout to suit your typing style and preferencesThe key wells have been scooped into a concave shape which means hands and fingers are able to relax into a natural posture, curled down towards the keys. Key heights are varied to match differing finger lengths which shortens keyboard reach and reduces over-extension. The home row of keys is colour coded and sculpted so you can find them without taking your eyes off the screen. Press and hold the Program key and tap F11 to enter Program Macro Mode (lights will begin flashing rapidly). The Advantage2 Quiet LF utilizes the newest Cherry MX Quiet Red stem mechanical key switches which have a linear feel, low activation force, and sound-dampening components to make them quieter than conventional mechanical switches. The MX “Quiet” Red is an ideal choice in open work environments where ambient noise is a concern. It seems that the Advantage 360 can be adjusted with remapped keys and by using keycaps from the Advantage 2 Nordic layout, but it seems like this might not be the best experience all in all. At the same time, I can't help but to feel that the Advantage 2 is a bit dated, especially regarding the design and feel and with the 360 to compare against. The Advantage 2 has some advatanges like an extra row of keys, only one unit etc. While being a developer, I don't really see myself going all in on layers and programming, so don't think that missed ZMK of the wireless version is a deciding factor, while wireless in itself is nice. Turns out, they are much happier. Mine certainly are. All the system modifiers that normally require wrist rotations (Control, Alt, etc.) are in the thumb cluster on the Advantage 2. Because of this, your other fingers almost never leave the main cluster of keys and you get to type with more rhythm. It's hard to describe how amazing it is to not reach out for extra keys with your pinky so often.