I answered to another comment with some details, but long story short, it tends to be the kind of thing you don’t think about until it’s causing you problems in the first place. I never thought about any of this either until the pain started ~8 years ago. I have nerve pain in both elbows that shoot down to my ring finger and pinky, and up to the shoulder if it gets really bad - that is, if I’m not careful, like typing scrunched over a laptop in a meeting room all day… Using a split keyboard alone fixed like 90% of the problem, the rest is controlled with stretches and PT exercises, minding my posture, taking breaks, etc.

I went down the ergonomics route from sheer necessity more than anything. I have ulnar nerve issues in both elbows, meaning my hands and fingers end up tingling, then hurting for days if I’m not careful. I have pretty broad shoulders (used to play on the offensive line in american football) and very large hands, meaning “regular” non-split keyboards inherently create a lot of tension in my wrists and elbows due to the sheer angle I have to maintain. I use a split board just so I can reduce wrist pronation by keeping my arms at shoulder width and having some tenting.

However, I have to say, “large” split boards, like this one or my Iris l, aren’t nearly as weird to use as they look. For the most part, until you have some fancy mappings going on, all that’s different by default is having some modifiers and common special keys right under your thumbs instead of weak fingers or positions (pinkies or having to reach under your palm). Those tiny 3-4 row boards that need 3-4 layers just to be usable are IMHO another game entirely haha.

I feel like this is where the rabbit hole will end up taking me

This is a setup btw, it’s not a real plane. https://youtu.be/xRaiCEzDFKA?si=3V6-XwBzyq_DChov

That other guy seems to think so

I jumped into ergo with the Moonlander about a year ago. I really love it personally. This one scares me but so did the Moonlander at first. But i chose that for comfort as well as for the design choices of customizability and supporting modding and things like that. But that’s where my value was. Just think through what aspects are most important to you.

No, this is actually my first split/ergo keyboard. I considered the Moonlander as well, but figured I’d go straight for the endgame, haha. The keywells really work great. My hands are on the larger side though, so I can reach all the keys with ease.

I recently bought a ZSA voyager for co-working.

Took me a few days to get used to the reduced keyset, but overall was very easy to adjust to. I mapped it very similar to my home keyboard (Maltron 3D).

A colleague just got a glove80 and I was able to type 70wpm after 5 mins with it. I think I’d have bought one of those for home if I didn’t already have a maltron.

Ok imagine you’re my dad and you’re helping me take over the family door opening business…

I hope so

I use Neovim, yes. I’ve actually rotated the trackball about 45° now, feels more natural for the right hand when I shift from the keyboard to it. Needs some adjustments but I think this will be better than with the regular mouse.

I use a Kinesis Advantage 2. Also very expensive, but a bit older and a monoblock design instead of two halves. Despite being only a single piece, this thing alone reversed the developing RSI in my wrists thanks to the superior ergonomics.

The vertical mouse I resisted a lot longer but eventually I got tennis elbow so I caved. But where I love my Kinesis 2, I hate the vertimouse. It’s comfortable, but imprecise, and too tall so I always accidentally knock it over switching between keyboard and mouse. Still, my elbow is healing, so I cannot and will not go back to a traditional mouse. I’ve been seriously considering a trackball though…

For those reasons, I would class these devices as medical requirement rather than luxury. If you have pain from computer work with non-ergonomic hardware, you deserve to spend the money on these things. You’re taking care of yourself.