I don't want carpal tunnel syndrom, thanks.

September 2, 2006 12:12 PM

What is the most comfortable (for typing) computer keyboard?

I guess wireless is nice, but not required. What I'm looking for is a keyboard that is going to make doing a lot of typing and document editing easier/more comfortable. Keyboard width, key spacing, key action, what are the things that have made your typing chores easier?

I'm interested in comfortable mouses as well (but not as).

posted by sic to Computers & Internet (18 answers total)

It's almost cliche at this point but I'm still a Model M fan. Good tactile and audible feedback, lasts forever, geek mystique, ugly as sin, etc.
posted by datacenter refugee at 12:16 PM on September 2, 2006

The manufacturers of Das Keyboard put a lot of time into making them as enjoyable to use as possible. As long as you're a touch-typist (and you remember to never look down, because that screws me up every time) they're pretty enjoyable.

I find that keyboards don't really matter all that much, though. Putting it in the correct position, however, matters a ton. And getting a good chair, and having a big, properly-positioned monitor. Google 'computer ergonomics' or the like.
posted by blacklite at 12:22 PM on September 2, 2006

My wife prefers the split key ergonomic type, but I have a great love for the old IBM 42s.

For the uninitiated, (or those that don't want to follow the link), The old IBM keyboards use a buckling spring for each key that gives a very definite 'click' when you press the key. It's a great form of feedback to let you know that you didn't miss key by not pressing hard enough.

Also, they are absolute tanks. One of the 42s I have is probably better than 20 years old and still works perfectly.
posted by quin at 12:23 PM on September 2, 2006

I'm a programmer so I type all day, I recently switched to a Microsoft Ergonomic Keyboard 4000, and I love it. I've even managed to convince some of my co-workers to start using it, and they all love it too.

Yes, split-key keyboards are a little wierd at first, but once you get used to them they are orders of magnitude more comfortable.
posted by KirTakat at 12:24 PM on September 2, 2006

Microsoft makes an Office keyboard with specialized Cut/Copy/Paste keys, a scrollwheel on the keyboard and whatnot. Those might be good features for document editing.

And there's a whole wide world of ergonomic keyboards--Kinesis is one of the bigger names, and DataHand is another. Most all of them claim carpal-tunnel-preventing superiority.

Comfort is subjective, though. I don't like laptop keyboards, but plenty of other people swear by them. I like IBM Model M keyboards, although plenty of people find them fatiguing.

There have been quite a few AskMe threads on keyboards, including questions which seem very similar to yours, and reading them may prove helpful.
posted by box at 12:28 PM on September 2, 2006

Also make sure your general enviroment is ergonomically friendly, although you might be doing that already. Non-dramatic things like getting a keyboard tray and wrist rest helped a lot for me.
posted by dreamyshade at 12:51 PM on September 2, 2006

I've been using the Kinesis Ergo (Classic QD) for the last five or so years. I do heavy document editing (grad student; English) and ever since the switch I haven't had the slightest twinge of wrist fatigue. This is far and away the most comfortable keyboard I have ever used, including earlier versions of the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic. I type in Dvorak, but I don't see that this would make the keyboard any different for a qwerty user.

I'm sorry to give a negative answer for mice, but I have to add this: I've been using the Logitech MX Laser mouse for the last year, and it's a serious disappointment. It's massively comfortable (solid but easy to move, etc.) and of course extremely accurate, but its battery barely lasts a day and a half before needing a (long) recharge.
posted by Mmmmmm at 1:10 PM on September 2, 2006

Oh, right, mice. Now that they don't make the Trackman Marble FX any more, Logitech's Trackman Wheel trackball is my favorite.
posted by box at 1:38 PM on September 2, 2006

you've probably already done this but if not, switch to dvorak- its a lot easier on the wrists
posted by petsounds at 2:04 PM on September 2, 2006

I have an old Microsoft Natural Pro (the split kind), which I love and everyone else who's ever had occasion to use the computer loathes vehemently. For a "mouse," I prefer using the stylus on a Wacom tablet.
posted by cmyers at 2:40 PM on September 2, 2006

I have problems with my hands going numb. I too use an old Microsoft Natural keyboard. I love it and my husband hates it. It is so worn that several letters have worn away. I also pefer my trackball at work to the one at home. The one I have at work has a ball that I move with my thumb and the one at home is one I move with my index/middle finger. I use a wrist rest for the natural keyboard and one for my trackball (but I rest my elbow on it).
posted by nimsey lou at 3:03 PM on September 2, 2006

My favorite is the Smartboard: the keys are arranged in wedges wider at the tops than the bottoms, i.e., how your fingers splay out, so you don't have the long reach from j->y and f->b that every other keyboard I know has. It's clackier than I consider ideal, but this virtue makes up for it.

The Microsoft natural keyboard isn't bad.

Note that one size does not fit all -- a keyboard that's wonderfully ergonomic for someone with different size hands can be horrible for you.

I'm also very glad to have learned Dvorak. (If I were doing it over, I'd at least consider Colemak.)
posted by Zed_Lopez at 3:12 PM on September 2, 2006

Just about any decent split-key ergo keyboard is an improvement over the normal keyboards, at least in my opinion. Though I am not a fan of Microsoft, I have to admit they make very nice ergo keyboards. (If only they'd stick to keyboards and mice...) Logitech also makes decent ergo keyboards, though some of the newer models seem to have spongy key action.
posted by jzb at 5:00 PM on September 2, 2006

I prefer a split keyboard to a conventional one. My gripe with the majority of ergonomic keyboards is that they have the number pad and arrow keys on the right; while the keyboard itself is ergonomic, the extra space for the numpad puts the mouse just slightly too far to the right, which was giving me problems with my right shoulder.

I've used an older MS split keyboard for some time, but when I noticed that I was developing some problems with the mouse I looked for an alternative, I've settled on a Goldtouch keyboard. Unfortunately it was AU$240 (the employer paid), whereas I would happily settle for a $30 keyboard if it didn't have a numpad.

Third for dvorak.
posted by Tixylix at 8:48 PM on September 2, 2006

Response by poster: Tixylix, I have problems with my right should as well, probably for the same reasons.

Thanks for all of the suggestions so far, it seems that keyboard preferences are pretty personal since I don't think the same keyboard is mentioned more than twice!

I think I may give a split keyboard a shot.
posted by sic at 4:27 AM on September 3, 2006

Best answer: Keep your wrists elevated, use one of those wrist bars if necessary, and never use those legs at the back of the keyboard. With that you can pretty much use any keyboard without risk.
posted by furtive at 7:59 AM on September 3, 2006

As someone who was treated for 11 years for DeQuervain's syndrome (tendinitis in thumb/wrist) plus tennis elbow, I recently got a new diagnosis, osteoarthritis in both wrists and a new keyboard and mouse, the Microsoft set mentioned above. I find them far more comfortable than standard keyboards and mice.
posted by Lynsey at 4:23 PM on September 4, 2006

Best answer: You want to be able to keep as much of your body neutral as possible: your wrists shouldn't be bent up or down or left or right, and they shouldn't be resting on a hard surface. In many settings, a wrist bar and not using legs at the back of the keyboard will aid this; in some, they could make it more difficult.

There's an easy approach to the whole number-pad making the keyboard too wide to use the mouse on the right thing: put it on the left. And ditch the mouse for a big-ball trackball like the Kensington Expert Mouse that you can operate with the ball of your hand (absolutely not any of the little-ball ones you operate with your thumb or one finger.) And learn all the keyboard shortcuts for your applications so you minimize pointer use altogether.

As I usually rant when this comes up: equipment cannot make up for bad habits. You can have the world's greatest, most painstakingly ergonomically designed equipment, and still injure yourself if you use it with bad posture and for long hours without breaks. Here's an article I wrote about RSI for a writer's magazine.

The best way to avoid RSI is to keep yourself healthy in general, and that's a more complicated issue than a keyboard choice.
posted by Zed_Lopez at 10:00 AM on September 6, 2006