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

I was hoping this might help my writs and forearms, but its seriously weird to use. I realize new things take time to learn, but Im way too busy to fumble around all day typing gibberish - especially in code . I like the soft wrist pads, though I question the durability. Those have to go away when you add the risers (sold separately). The letter key placements were really awkward for me. Normally, with the fingers on the home row, a C is mostly under the D. With this keyboard, reaching for where C should be hits both X and C (favoring the X) because the positions are off. I have used split keyboards for over 20 years. I just couldnt make this work well. The keyboard does seem mostly well-built, and Cherry MX keys are nice (brown in my case) but I need something that lets me stay productive and moving quickly. That pays the bills. I also dont think its worth $200 plus $25 for the risers. This gets a lot of 5 star reviews, so people must love it, but Im not feeling it.

Programmer here, writer of design docs, etc. Not a gamer. My old Microsoft Natural 4K encountered some coffee one day, and I had to get another ergonomic keyboard. This was one of the few ergonomic & mechanical keyboards on the market; one of the extremely few from a reputable company. I chose the Blue variant, along with the lift kit, etc. This keyboard is very nice. I do miss the curvature of the MSN4K, but other than that, it provides almost the same experience. The feedback provided by the Blue keys is much nicer than most of the membrane keys on the market; I dont regret purchasing it at all. I did have a customer support issue (PEBCAK, turns out), and their Twitter rep was very helpful. I appreciate that, a lot! The RGB system is mostly tacky, I found a reasonably pleasing pattern. I havent gone deep into the macro system: its not something I care about generally speaking. I do note that the split design is a bit funky, I have to adjust both sides of the keyboard just so, or I wind up with a host of illegible characters. The primary ergonomic issue with this keyboard is the location of the arrow keys; my hands have to force down to manipulate the arrows. Ive appropriately remapped my editors to handle key actions, but its pretty frustrating having keys that arent sustainable to be regularly and at speed. I anticipate that this will be my daily driver for a long time.

I have been using a Microsoft Sculpt which I have liked but they always crap out on me. My latest MS Scuplt keyboard crapped out after just 4 months. I was in the middle of a meeting where I needed to be typing into a document that I was sharing and it was awkward to have to switch out the keyboard in the middle the meeting. This keyboard had high marks for ergonomics and thought I would give it i shot. I like the idea of having my arms out straight in front of me as opposed to scrunched and huddled over a single integrated keyboard. It feels much more natural. However, flip side, it is messing with my brain a little trying to get used to remembering which keyboard to hit, if that makes sense. I actually play piano and am a touch typist so the notion of hands operating independently isnt a foreign concept. But still -- for typing, it is still a little discombobulating. However, Im confident Ill adapt. I went with the brown switches because the red were unavailable and it seemed based on my typing style, that these might be more akin to what Im used to -- typing with purpose! However, these are loud... much louder than I expected. So loud, in fact that Im going to have to go back to wearing a headset during conference calls so as not to cause interference with the speaker. I do like the wrist rest -- very comfortable. However, after spending so much on the keyboard itself, would it have killed the manufacturer to throw in the riser system? I guess that will be my next purchase. The cables are heavy braided cord and build quality feels solid. Wish it was bluetooth so that I didnt need to have a cord on my desk but thats life. I dont game so not really going to be using those capabilities too much. Also, the funky technicolor backlighting is not really my taste. Hopefully I can make it just a regular color. My touch-typing accuracy has gone down -- getting my fingers lined up on the home row is critical. However, once again, hopefully, this will bounce back once I have more hours with the keyboard. [LCAR]

Let me begin by saying that Ive been using ergonomic keyboards since 2011. I have used both the wired and wireless Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000, and then the Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard. I do like the mechanical keys, wrist rests, and optional tilt mechanism of this keyboard better than the Microsoft keyboards. However, this keyboard has some pluses and minuses to it, and for the price, I was hoping the minuses would be much less. Pros: 1. Nice key-feel 2. Backlighting 3. Good quality USB cable that can be tucked away if you dont need the full length 4. The ability to program the backlighting exactly how you want it and other programming features. Cons: 1. The keyboard backlighting turns off when you press the FN key. Why do they think I dont need to see the keys any longer when I press the FN key? 2. The keys with multiple glyphs on them (e.g., number keys) only allow the backlighting to shine through one of the glyphs. 3. The glyphs are in the wrong order on the individual keycaps. I have been using a computer almost daily since 1988, and used a typewriter before that, and in all my years of using keyboard, I have never seen this done. The shift character is on the bottom of the keycap. In other words, the 5 key has the % symbol below the 5. The period key has the > below the period. I am a touch-typist, but there are many times when I am using both the trackpad and the keyboard that I need to quickly press one of these keys and it breaks my brain every single time I look at one of these keycaps. 4. The space bars extend too far to the left and right. I am a touch-typist and the finger I normally use to press the command key cannot reach it. This has broken my normal use-case so thoroughly, that I have remapped the caps lock key to command. There is absolutely no need whatsoever for the spacebar to be as wide as it is. My thumbs rest on the part furthest to the center naturally. On every other keyboard I own, the spacebar ends up to a full key and a half before the spacebar on this model does. 5. The forward-delete key is way too far away in the top-right corner. It is impossible to reach without moving my hands far off of the home row. It doesnt even make any sense how far away it is. 6. The tilt kit should come standard. 7. The weird software system that you have to load by pressing a key combination

I type faster and make less mistakes with this mechanical keyboard. The split design is comfortable (despite a wrist injury) and the satisfying sound says, “I am getting Lots Of Work Done.” It is great except for one thing: the illuminated keys don’t live up to the advertising. I wanted the illuminated keys because the keyboard is on a drawer under the desk, resulting in much of the keyboard being in shadow, plus I do have to look at the keys when using special characters such as “%” or “{“. The special characters that I need to light are exactly the characters that do not light. The photos that Kinesis uses to sell this keyboard misrepresent how the illumination of the keys actually looks. One of those photos is attached. Also attached are more photos—two showing how the keys look when illumination is on, and the other showing how the LED is positioned under the key cap. After this investigation I’d be surprised if ANY mechanical keys available today can be made to illuminate both characters because parts of the mechanical key (metal and otherwise) are opaque, and the light can’t get around those parts to illuminate the second character. Maybe a design change for future keyboards would be adding a second LED light for the other half of the key. Cool if that circuit were activated by the “shift” key… So the choice seems to be either crisp/accurate/more fun mechanical keys that don’t illuminate completely, or mushy/membrane keys that do illuminate completely. Next Ill try an LED light strip to stick on the underside of the desk above, and turn off the keyboard lights.

Overall, this keyboard is OK. The split design is nice, but thats about it. For over $200, I expected something high quality, but this is a disappointment. I dont know if I was expecting too much, or if Im just picky, but this keyboard was a letdown. I have never owned a keyboard with Cherry switches, but I heard great things about them. Are these really Cherry switches? If so, I feel Cherry is extremely overrated. Squeaky, inconsistent switches: The switches on this keyboard (MX Brown) were squeaky from the start. Not all of the keys squeaked, some where fairly quiet, but about 1/3 sounded terrible every time they were pressed. There is a TON of variation in the sound each key makes. Some are solid, some feel looser than other, some are quiet, some squeak. The keys in the center of the board also make a weird Ringing-bell type of sound that is pretty annoying too. Terrible tactile feedback: The tactile feedback on these is a joke. If I press the key slowly, I can feel the bump, but in normal typing, I cant feel anything. When I compared these side-by-side with my $35 Logitech keyboard, the Logitech is much quieter, and has much, much, MUCH better tactile feedback. The travel is about the same, the Logitech feels much more solid, and has a more pronounced bump with no vibration or squeaks. Keys dont always register after the bump: I can carefully press the keys past the bump, and if they are not depressed enough, they do not actuate. What little bump is present is in the wrong place. This makes the tactile experience frustrating when your fingers tell you that the key actuated, but nothing registers on your screen. Again, compared to my $35 Logitech, the Logitech is FAR superior, and actuates every time the key passes the tactile bump without fail. The tenting supports cost an extra $25: Really? This is sold as the ultimate ergonomic keyboard, but without the tenting, it isnt really ergonomic at all. The split is nice (this keyboards only redeeming quality), but for over $200, they could include the $1 plastic pieces to make this function as an ergonomic keyboard. Instead they charge $25 for them, and they dont work without the wrist rests, so if your desk has rests already, you cant use the tenting supports. I had high hopes, but I cant justify the cost of this keyboard, and I cant stand the squeaky, inconsistent keys.

I bought this keyboard because I was having trouble finding a mechanical ergonomic keyboard that featured RGB lighting. Cherry Blue switches are the cherry on top that makes this board actually fun to type on. TLDR: While some functions are a bit lacking, overall this keyboard is a winner. It is a joy to type on. Setup is fast and easy. The software needs additional features and updating. If youre looking for a mechanical keyboard, with RGB lighting, and is the epitome of ergonomic, THIS is the board for you. PROS: - Easy to go from a regular keyboard to this one. Start with the two halves closer together to get that classic keyboard feel. - Looks and feels great. Keys are responsive, and nice and clacky (if you like that kinda thing). Key travel is right where it should be to feel natural. - RGB backlighting is well executed. The glow is definitely noticeable, especially at max brightness. The lighting is dimmable and can even be turned off if thats your preference. - You dont NEED to download any software. Simply plug it in, let it install itself, and youre up and running. The additional control software is necessary for remapping of keys, macro creation, and tweaking the RGB lighting to your preference. - This has built-in storage on the board itself. Set your profiles in the control software, save it to your board, and take those configurations anywhere. Switching profiles is as easy as pushing the Profile button. Profiles can be set with different key mappings, RGB lighting, and macros. - The onboard memory can be accessed via File Explorer and looks like a small flash drive. The files on your onboard memory are simple text files (.txt extensions) and can be edited in a simple text editor like Notepad, Wordpad, or Notepad++. The files are very straightforward and easy to decipher. - The keyboard looks unlike 99% of other boards out there. I have received SO many comments and compliments on this board when I take it to LAN parties or out in public. CONS: - The software lacks some functionality and can be a little confusing at first. Just know that you have to save profiles before the change is reflected on the board itself. I wish updates on the screen were reflected instantly on the keyboard (lighting, for example). - You can only have one RGB effect/layer at a time. I wish there were a way to combine additional layers to layer the different RGB effects (example: rainbow wave going at all times, but Ripple effect on each keypress). Layering effects is done by other companies already (like Razer), so hopefully Kinesis will add this in later. - At this price point, I would have hoped that the risers used to tent the keyboard would have been included. They arent terribly complex, and simply including them in the purchase price would save a lot of aggravation and expense. (I accidentally ordered the wrong Lift Kit for the Freestyle keyboard instead of the Edge RGB).

I got the Brown key variant, and I have to report that it comically loud. This would be good for (1) deaf people and (2) stage plays where you need a loud keyboard so that the audience can hear the typing. Anyone you live with will hate this noise. And if youre listening to music, youll hear this through the music. Its unfathomable to me that there are key variants that are even louder than Brown. Its a lot of money to spend on something that is so annoying. If you were on a conference call, this typing sound would be RIDICULOUS; coworkers would mock you / know every key that you press. How awkward would that be during a tough conversation (e.g., performance eval)? I dont want to find out. Im ordering a bunch of other keyboards to compare, including a different one with the Red Quiet switches. Ill report back. Hopefully I find a better one and can return this noisy thing. Glare: If you have a window in front of you and you have this keyboard at arms length, the keys are difficult to see. There is great glare on them and its difficult to read the keys in daylight. Presumably it would be better in a dark room, but Im mostly using the computer during the day. keywords: silent quiet noisy loud click clack sound glare Update (May 2021): I am returning this due to the sound and glare. The Kinesis Freestyle Pro with silent switches is quieter, though the space key is still loud. The Freestyle Pros keys are easier to see, because the letters are printed in white and better withstand glare.

I have used mechanical keyboards for a while and really enjoy the feeling. this one takes it one level up with the ergonomics. i havent played with all the customization but i would recommend getting the tenting kit with this. it really helps make it more comfortable.