KINESIS Gaming Freestyle Edge RGB Split Mechanical Keyboard | Cherry MX Linear Red Switches | RGB | Ergonomic | Detachable Palm Support | Fully Programmable | TKL | Available Tenting

I got this and a vertical mouse and together they have alleviated my severe forearm pain. This keyboard allows me to not have my wrists bent out at 45 degree angles all day and night. Now I can have then in front of my shoulders (well, a little inside because theyre also lifted and tilted). As a bonus, the many many macros let me store common work commands that is used and saves a lot of keystrokes.

Lets get this straight: Right now, the Kinesis Freestyle Edge is the best relatively-conventional ergonomic keyboard you can buy. No exceptions. Yes, its expensive, as keyboards go. But it is tentable, adjustable, programmable, comes with your choice of three types of Cherry mechanical keyswitches (not cheap Chinese knock-offs) and actually useful palm rests. Its solidly constructed and has the good key feel youd naturally expect from Cherry switches. It is customizable in many ways, almost all of which can be done right on the keyboard itself, but if you prefer to do it from a configuration application, Kinesis has you covered there as well. (The Smartset app, available for MacOS or Windows, does everything you can do directly from the keyboard as well as a few things that you cant.) The Edge RGB adds fully addressable RGB backlighting, for the loss only of the Scroll Lock key which honestly NOTHING EVER USES ANY MORE ANYWAY. Like the Caps Lock key, I dont know why it still even exists on modern computer keyboards. Its no longer relevant, and its no pain whatsoever to lose it. I mentioned MacOS above. Yes, you can use this keyboard with your Mac. To do that, youll need to do two things: 1. Youll need to order and install https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B085PWG291/, a set of four replacement keycaps for MacOS. 2. To make the keyboards actions match the new key caps, youll have to remap four keys, swapping the left and right Windows keys with the left and right Alt keys. ALT on the PC and ALT/OPTION on the Mac send the same key code, and WIN on the PC sends the same key code as the Macs COMMAND key, but their positions on the keyboard are swapped. Remap each WIN to ALT and likewise each ALT to WIN, and youre good to go. (This is easier and less confusing to do from the Smartset app.) Every time you run it, the Smartset app will also check to see if your keyboard needs any firmware updates. YES, THIS KEYBOARD GETS FIRMWARE UPDATES. Updating firmware is simplicity itself: Copy the update to the keyboards firmware folder, unplug the keyboard, plug it back in, and thats it. DONE. Your grandmother could do it, after you show her how the first time. So what makes this better than all of those $20-$60 ergonomic keyboards? Well, bluntly, theyre all cheap, dumb crap with no adjustment, no programmability, and with cheap, bad membrane switches (and usually with even cheaper screen-printed keycaps). Theyll wear out quickly under heavy use, and theyll never approach the key feel or tactile feedback of a proper mechanical key switch. Why is tactile feedback important? Because it prevents you from damaging your hands by hitting the keys harder than you need to. So if you have any semblance at all of RSI issues, and you want to protect your hands and wrists, buy this keyboard. Seriously. Im not kidding here. Your hands and wrists will thank you forever. UPDATE ====== Since writing the above Ive bought a third of these, for use with a work-issued Mac. If youve ever typed on a recent Mac keyboard, you know why. The first two are original-version Edges, one with Red switches, one with Brown. For the RGB I went back to the Reds because I think I slightly prefer them. All three have silicone damper rings installed. I personally give the RGB color control on the Edge RGB a resounding meh. I do NOT like the changes to the keycaps; shifted keys are upside down, which is to say, the shifted character is BELOW the unshifted character, not above it or to its right. This can be confusing. I have never seen any other keyboard do this, EVER, and it is a BAD IDEA. It doesnt even work well with the illumination, as the light is mostly blocked from the shifted character. Kinesis should change it back. Since they are standard Cherry keycaps, you could of course work around this by replacing the keycaps with a more conventional set of backlight-compatible Cherry keycaps. But on a $200 keyboard, you shouldnt HAVE to.

I bought this keyboard in desperation after I started experiencing severe pain in my wrists and fingers from constantly typing on regular keyboards or my laptop keyboard. Im a big guy (6 ft 4) with monster hands, so the idea of a split keyboard to keep my arms in a more natural position was extremely appealing. I was wary of spending so much, but decided to take the risk. Took a few days to get used to the keyboard being split in half, but my wrist pain has pretty much vanished within 2 weeks. I cant possibly recommend this product enough, this plus an ergonomic sideways mouse has made work and just general computer use significantly less painful. The programmable displays are gorgeous, the Cherry MX Red keys respond perfectly, and the interface for custom mapping of the keys is easy and intuitive to use. 5/5 for functionality, 5/5 for ergonomic use, my one and only complaint is that the tenting kit (which allow you to angle up the keyboard) is an absolute necessity to keep your wrists in proper position, and at the price tag this keyboard is at should be standard. The fact you have to pay extra for an essential component for the keyboards intended use (ergonomic typing) is a bit outrageous.

Two months into healing from two broken wrists I was still unable to use a keyboard and missing way too much work. On the advice of my occupational therapist, I looked into a split keyboard and vertical mouse. This keyboard, when used with the lift kit/tenting kit, has been my saving grace. I can split it as wide apart as needed and usually use it tented all the way up. Thanks to this positioning, I can finally put in a 6 to 8 hr day. I was concerned about the keyboard not tilting up/down at the front but realized that doesnt matter (and actually only makes things worse for my wrists). Im not a gamer and use this exclusively for typing but I love it. The wrist rests are incredibly comfortable and the keys offer the perfect amount of bounce (I got the brown). I do miss having a 10-key pad, but figure I can add an external one if I need to do a lot of number entry. I did look at the kinesis freestyle pro (or whatever--the one designed more for typing) but the wrist rests on this one seem superior and the backlit keys make me smile. Important note- I am a home row typer. If you are not, the split keyboard will be challenging to get used to. It took me a day to get used to it, but when my spouse tried it for a day, he hated it as he doesnt use home row. Otherwise, I highly recommend (with lift kit though....which it does suck you have to pay extra for).

There is so much comfort and reliability with the split, mechanical keyboard, its simply amazing. Mechanical keyboards are much sturdier and have a longer lifespan than standard membrane keyboards. In addition, you can program macros for any application. Ive just gone through 2 Logitech Ergo K860 ergonomic membrane keyboards and saw with hard use the paint coming off the keys, and then keys not working. Less than a year each!!! The Kinesis gives you 2 years warranty, and the mechanical keys are designed to take a beating. And if you want to learn to play online gaming with your grandchildren after work, this brand will do it. Santon Craig, MD

The w and the s keys simultaneously, and randomly, would quit working on my first one. Ive had bad switches before, and that happens, but never two at the exact same moment, so I didnt immediately suspect hardware. Sure enough, cycling the keyboards profiles would bring the keys back for a few seconds. Clearing the keyboards memory (with shortcuts on the keyboard) would bring them back for a few seconds. But theyd always fade back out... indicating this isnt just a switch needing to be replaced, but something within the components of the keyboards PCB/electronics. If it wasnt for this, and the fact the tenting hardware was $20 and separate - and looks like something you could easily 3d print, Id give it 5 stars. As a unit, its amazing. Ergonomics are perfect, especially with the aforementioned tenting accessory. Wrist pad feels great - I ended up throwing out my old one after this one came with its own. I adore this keyboard. I just dont trust it, yet. Few months later update: this ones still doing fine. no repeating keys, no issues. still easily my favorite keyboard, ever. Id love if they had a less glitzy LED splattered version with less crap to go wrong, but whatever. The split design has been fantastic for ergonomics, and Im quite addicted to it. Typing on anything else feels quite unnatural. The key positions DO take some time to adjust to, but once thats done, its just nearly perfect. A slightly cheaper, Cherry MX, non-64 trillion useless color version would be nice, but whatever. Raising from 3 to 4 stars.

Im going to be honest: I got this to decide if I want to make the jump to (and shell out for) the ErgoDox EZ or ZSA Moonlander. Id never used a split keyboard before, but I needed to try something to deal with the pain I was getting in my back and shoulders and going smaller and smaller was not it (but the Logitech G915 TKL is still my most favorite keeb). I have a company provided basic wave ergonomic keyboard from Microsoft at work thats been helpful to mitigate shoulder/back pain, so I decided to go full split at home and Im glad I did. There is a learning curve to be sure; Im still in it. But the fact that I can position each half to keep my shoulders in a neutral position while typing has made a huge difference for me. I did shell out for the additional tenting kit to help my wrists and I highly recommend getting that too as well as using the included wrist rests. I appreciate that there are multiple switch options ( I love speed silvers) for this keyboard and that it has RGB backlighting. Im not a gamer, but I like pretty stuff and this is pretty. Only negative for me is that its not wireless. For someone who is split keeb curious, this is a good starting option. I will eventually pony up for the ErgoDox EZ or the Moonlander...some day.

UPDATED 4/8/2020 Oh for crying out loud. Back to two stars. The keyboard crapped out on me yet again. This time the suggestions offered by the KINESIS rep did not work. I tried both a Hard Reset and a Rescue Command. I tried multiple USB ports (motherboard integrated, front panel, and add-on card), restarting and turning on and off the computer. It looks like this will be returned. The search for the perfect keyboard is back on. ------------------------------------ UPDATED 4/6/2020 I received a response from a nice KINESIS rep who shared with me a few trouble shooting tips which lead to my keyboard responding again. So Ive brought my rating back up to four stars. If It continues to work without issue, I may change to a five star. ---------------------------------- UPDATED 4/4/2020: Ive dropped my review from four stars to two. After less than one month of use the keyboard is no longer recognized by Windows. Unfortunate as I was really starting to like it. Ive submitted two support tickets with KINESIS and have yet to hear a word. It may be because of the resent world wide issues, but if not then I dont much appreciate their customer service. I will wait a bit longer but if I dont hear anything soon Im afraid Ill have to return the keyboard and risers. Below is my original review. ------------------------------------------ First a little backstory. I bought the KINESIS Gaming Freestyle Edge keyboard with MX Brown switches (and extra tilt risers) after looking for a solid ergonomic keyboard. Traditional ergonomic keyboards just didnt cut the mustard for me. After some contemplation I realized a split keyboard that could also tilt would actually provide a truly ergonomic experience. To give some context, I do graphic design, blogging, story writing, and gaming. So a good keyboard is a must. At first I found a great split mechanical keyboard with MX switches that was highly customizable. However its layout would require relearning how to use a keyboard and its price was a bit higher as well. Finally I came across this one from KINESIS Gaming. This keyboard has some great aspects, but it also has a few issues. The main issue I find is the lights sometimes turn back on after my computer is off even if I turn them off before shutting down. This doesnt matter if I use a profile or the manual turn off the lights key. Additionally the keyboard will sometimes loose its connection. Which is odd since its a wired device. Hopefully these issues can be fixed with a firmware update. To summarize: PROS: - Highly ergonomic - Mechanical (MX Brown) - RGB (could be a con for some) - Profiles - Customizable lighting - Solid materials - Nice wrist rests CONS - Sometimes the lights kick on after I turn my computer off - Looses connection randomly (requires that I unplug and replug the USB) - Wired Despite the cons (unless connectivity gets worse) I would still recommend this keyboard for anyone looking for a solid ergonomic keyboard that can also be used for gaming.

My biggest complaint about this keyboard is that the lights on it only have two settings - rainbow strobe effect, or off. I usually prefer to make my keyboards a dim blue color but couldnt find any settings to lower the color, make it solid, and stop the pulse effect. I also really wish it had a numpad because I like to use alt keys to type in special characters, and while there are buttons on the side that can have those keys bound to them, they arent shaped like a traditional numpad so it doesnt work as well. Mostly a great keyboard, I love using it. I do wish it had those features though. Also, I didnt know when I first bought it but this version has VERY loud keys. Great for gaming since you know for sure if you hit something or not, but you will get yelled at in voice chats.

Only ergonomic gaming keyboard I’ve found, love how much you can adjust it to fit you. Recommend tenting but I just have a book in the middle to produce the same effect haha. Switches feel nice!