Journey to splits

As you can see from the image above, I use many peripherals besides the keyboard and trackpad. Depending on the task, I add, swap, or remove a peripheral. The majority of time, a Wacom tablet is used for almost everything; drawing rectangles in Figma, selecting code blocks in VS Code, or retouching images in Photoshop.

Using a Wacom and its pen has its perks. It feels natural to use (just like a pen or pencil) and fits comfortably in your hand. The stylus consists of a tiny tip, a rocker switch, and at the reverse end a large eraser tip, making it easy to do fine-grained precision work. The tiny tip and the two buttons on the rocker switch act as mouse clicks.

However, extensive and daily usage of the stylus puts a huge strain on my right wrist.

My right forearm locks up and stiffens, excruciating pain radiates from my wrist joints, forcing me to pause work the following days and book a couple of sessions with my physiotherapist to loosen the tension.

Based on my physiotherapist recommendation, I adjusted my workspace, bought a sit-stand desk, an ergonomic chair, and applied the physio lessons my physiotherapist gave me. But to no avail, the pain came back rapidly and frequently.

I had to look somewhere else for a remedy.

A couple of years back, I had subscribed to a newsletter called Keyboard Builders Digest 

It showcased niche mechanical and split ergonomic keyboards that hobbyists would build for themselves, and document their process on GitHub where you can download files to 3D print the cases. Some would sell their keyboards pre-assembled or as a kit in low quantity to fellow enthusiasts. 

Occasionally, there would be a short interview with a keyboard maker or a small post that a new ergonomic split keyboard was announced on Reddit's ErgoMechKeyboards community.

Once such post, The ergonomic design of Glove80, caught my eye. In it, it highlights the ergonomic features of the Glove80 being a split keyboard, and reducing wrist and forearm tension which stood out for me.

I ordered one a.s.a.p hoping this might be my salvation.

I delved right in and tried to integrate the Glove80 daily. The curvature of the case was a blessing for my wrist and forearms. Finding new keyboard layouts was fun, aside from QWERTY and AZERTY, I had never heard of Colemak, Dvorak, Workman or Engrammer.

I settled on Aptmak Blue and adjusted the keyboard layout to my needs; the other layouts were straining my fingers too much due to overreach.

The keycaps are slightly curved and smooth making typing on a Glove80 a delightful experience. Who knew that keycaps and switches could make such a differrence.

However, mouse keys are not as responsive as a trackball or a Wacom tablet so I still needed to use a mouse for most of my tasks. Which triggered my wrist pain due to my hands travelling between my ergo mouse (using the mouse in weird way) and the keyboard.

While there are unofficial mods available to integrate trackballs or a trackpoint with the casing I feel that peripherals are an afterthought and not an integral part of the keyboard

I'm 100% sure that I'll give the Glove80 another go in the near future because this is still one of the best ergonomic split keyboards out there.

While I was testing the Glove80, I totally forgot I had ordered a Dygma Defy split keyboard through their kickstarter campaign. The build is excellent and the custom software to adjust your layout is top-notch. 

I did “play” with it for some time but abandoned it due to the same limitations the Glove80 has. No trackball.

On to my quest to search for a fitting split keyboard with integrated trackball / trackpad. I was sure that there was something out there that would cater to my needs.

I glanced at the Svalboard but couldn't stomach the price yet. Maybe someday when my desire takes over. The Killer Whale from Holykeebs was the next contender but again not ready for that.

And then I found my solution, not too much, not too little, just perfect.

Browsing through Reddit's ErgoMechKeyboards community I came across Vincents post about his Crosses split keyboard.

This was what I was looking for and I wanted it asap. I have been trying to slowly integrate Bridges into my workflow and hope one day that it becomes my daily driver.

I'll be writing a lengthier post detailing my findings in a couple of months.