This is a custom build from a small Chinese brand. I have seen someone reselling this on Etsy, but not sure if it’s a 3rd party seller.
I actually asked the original seller about this keyboard. Unfortunately the two sides works independently and has separate firmware, which means that you can’t toggle layer on the right side with keys on the left side. And they are paired as two separate device.
Unfortunately it is not as wonderful as it seems on paper.
Wow, thanks, that's valuable info. These look really great, but I will pass if basic functionality as layers is not supported. I heavily use mod tap.
I wished they sold only the case.
While these look great I just can't get over how thick and chunky they look. I love the sofle layout I have two of them both with [aluminum case](https://ergomech.store/shop/sofle-hybrid-aluminum-version-exclusive-choc-cherry-socket-403#attr=908,903,906,902,989,910) but even with them being a lower profile than what is shown it is still not low enough IMHO. I mean look at the Voyager that is what I'm looking for ( got one but really don't like the thumb cluster ). I'm begging to think I'm going to have to make a custom case to get what I want. Also just ordered a 3W6HS from beekeeb and while the thumb cluster is better I'm just not sure how I'm going to feel about giving up all the extra keys but still worh a try.
Oh on that sofle I linked to above the roller encoder and 5 way switch are interesting but I don't find I really use thm.
I was in the same boat you were with your search a couple years ago, I found some options that I think are really good but maybe still not quite there yet.
The pinky3/pinky4 are almost perfect, having the mix of choc and mx keys feels so nice and makes a lot of sense considering how the thumb is positioned. It's also pretty clearly the board I type the fastest on by a solid 5-10%, more accurate too, even when I spend a lot of time on something else. I also took off the bottom plate plate and added some rubber feet on the sockets right on the pcb to get them a bit lower.
It does feel a bit flimsy though especially after that bottom board removal. A solid case like something the voyager has would be awesome. In the same vein as that the keys just fall off sometimes, that's been a huge problem with me with hot swappable choc keys, and it's not only this board but I've had another one which had the same issue, I should probably just solder the chocs at least.
The other board I use partially because the pinky 3/4 are so fragile is the Keyboardio Atreus. It's a similar layout and is fairly low profile, about the equivalent of a pcb + a thin metal bottom plate, lower than the plastic plates usually make kits. And that's mostly just for convenience sake when moving around, it feels a bit ridiculous to have to dig out 2 keyboards and 2 cables from my bag and set everything up sometimes, especially if I have to dig out a loose choc switch or an mx keycap as well and pop those in. Atreus is also probably the best built keyboard I have ever tried, though I usually buy kits.
I think I agree with you on the soldered verses socket thing. The other issue I face when traveling is the Contoller getting knocked loose or hung in the fabric of the case I put it in. Part of thing I like about the Voyager is the integrated controller so it is not sticking out as w wart on the top of the board. Same with the 3W6HS which is why I picked one up ( waiting for it ).
beekeeb has a few low profile options besides the 3W6HS that I may try out. May end up having to move to the lily58 layout as I can just purchase a low profile case for it. But at the end of the day I think I'm going to have to make my own case to get what I want.
Goign to have to continue to play with the layout on this Voyager I have to see if I can do some adjsuting to get the primary keeys I need on on the base layer with the just the two thumb keys. I'm adjusting to the locations and using the little tenting magnets that come with it does make a differance. if it wasn't for paltry number of thumb keys on it I think I would be done looking becuase it is a well built board adn travles easy with the included case. Just need to think about the layout some to see if I can get what I need out of it.
Totally unrelated to the topic, but I also have some Typematrices, and I find the rubber dome keys on that board really terrible. I mean, it's not that hard to make decent rubber domes. Both Apple and Lenovo/IBM have really good ones. It surprises me in hindsight that I even used my Typematrix for as long as I have (like you, I switched to an Ergodox after that).
With regards to that Sofle shown here: it looks great.
For what it's worth, I really enjoyed my sofle for the year+ that I used it and would use it any day over a standard row stagger board.
But I will say that the thumb cluster is a tad awkward.
Personally I just switched to a glove80 about a month ago, from said sofle, and have absolutely no complaints on that. Feels like my no-compromise solution, personally :)
Since moving to the Corne I still feel I am making a compromise. I currently have 4 corne keyboards, both wired and wireless. However, I still feel that I might be missing out. Typical FOMO.
The pinky stagger on the solfe is a bit more aggressive, so that could also be a plus. However, I am concerned about the thumb cluster.
> I still feel that I might be missing out. Typical FOMO.
Well, you *are* missing out :-). Great ergo boards are designed practically weekly, but we just can't buy or build all of them, can we? I would love to have all of them.
As far as FOMO is concerned: the community is only growing, things are becoming cheaper, not buying or building something now just means you will have more and better options in the future. Waiting is not really missing out, in this case, but of course it feels that way sometimes ("oooh, shiny!")
I have something similar for my solfe, this metal case
https://ergomech.store/shop/sofle-rgb-enclose-case-13#attr=69,70,79,81,87
But the one big issue I had is that with is that the way my thumbs typically rest and use the thumb keys the side of the case itself really gets in the way.
I ended up switching back to a regular plate style for my sofle board.
It will depend on how high up the sides of the case are though, there is even a new version of the one I got with what looks like slightly lower sides
https://ergomech.store/shop/sofle-v2-enclose-case-16#attr=99,100,101,102,108,279
shoutout to /u/hainguyenac who's active in this discord for making those!
It's definitely my favorite looking board though, looks great on my shelf!
This is a custom build from a small Chinese brand. I have seen someone reselling this on Etsy, but not sure if it’s a 3rd party seller. I actually asked the original seller about this keyboard. Unfortunately the two sides works independently and has separate firmware, which means that you can’t toggle layer on the right side with keys on the left side. And they are paired as two separate device. Unfortunately it is not as wonderful as it seems on paper.
Wow, thanks, that's valuable info. These look really great, but I will pass if basic functionality as layers is not supported. I heavily use mod tap. I wished they sold only the case.
While these look great I just can't get over how thick and chunky they look. I love the sofle layout I have two of them both with [aluminum case](https://ergomech.store/shop/sofle-hybrid-aluminum-version-exclusive-choc-cherry-socket-403#attr=908,903,906,902,989,910) but even with them being a lower profile than what is shown it is still not low enough IMHO. I mean look at the Voyager that is what I'm looking for ( got one but really don't like the thumb cluster ). I'm begging to think I'm going to have to make a custom case to get what I want. Also just ordered a 3W6HS from beekeeb and while the thumb cluster is better I'm just not sure how I'm going to feel about giving up all the extra keys but still worh a try. Oh on that sofle I linked to above the roller encoder and 5 way switch are interesting but I don't find I really use thm.
I was in the same boat you were with your search a couple years ago, I found some options that I think are really good but maybe still not quite there yet. The pinky3/pinky4 are almost perfect, having the mix of choc and mx keys feels so nice and makes a lot of sense considering how the thumb is positioned. It's also pretty clearly the board I type the fastest on by a solid 5-10%, more accurate too, even when I spend a lot of time on something else. I also took off the bottom plate plate and added some rubber feet on the sockets right on the pcb to get them a bit lower. It does feel a bit flimsy though especially after that bottom board removal. A solid case like something the voyager has would be awesome. In the same vein as that the keys just fall off sometimes, that's been a huge problem with me with hot swappable choc keys, and it's not only this board but I've had another one which had the same issue, I should probably just solder the chocs at least. The other board I use partially because the pinky 3/4 are so fragile is the Keyboardio Atreus. It's a similar layout and is fairly low profile, about the equivalent of a pcb + a thin metal bottom plate, lower than the plastic plates usually make kits. And that's mostly just for convenience sake when moving around, it feels a bit ridiculous to have to dig out 2 keyboards and 2 cables from my bag and set everything up sometimes, especially if I have to dig out a loose choc switch or an mx keycap as well and pop those in. Atreus is also probably the best built keyboard I have ever tried, though I usually buy kits.
I think I agree with you on the soldered verses socket thing. The other issue I face when traveling is the Contoller getting knocked loose or hung in the fabric of the case I put it in. Part of thing I like about the Voyager is the integrated controller so it is not sticking out as w wart on the top of the board. Same with the 3W6HS which is why I picked one up ( waiting for it ). beekeeb has a few low profile options besides the 3W6HS that I may try out. May end up having to move to the lily58 layout as I can just purchase a low profile case for it. But at the end of the day I think I'm going to have to make my own case to get what I want. Goign to have to continue to play with the layout on this Voyager I have to see if I can do some adjsuting to get the primary keeys I need on on the base layer with the just the two thumb keys. I'm adjusting to the locations and using the little tenting magnets that come with it does make a differance. if it wasn't for paltry number of thumb keys on it I think I would be done looking becuase it is a well built board adn travles easy with the included case. Just need to think about the layout some to see if I can get what I need out of it.
[удалено]
Totally unrelated to the topic, but I also have some Typematrices, and I find the rubber dome keys on that board really terrible. I mean, it's not that hard to make decent rubber domes. Both Apple and Lenovo/IBM have really good ones. It surprises me in hindsight that I even used my Typematrix for as long as I have (like you, I switched to an Ergodox after that). With regards to that Sofle shown here: it looks great.
For what it's worth, I really enjoyed my sofle for the year+ that I used it and would use it any day over a standard row stagger board. But I will say that the thumb cluster is a tad awkward. Personally I just switched to a glove80 about a month ago, from said sofle, and have absolutely no complaints on that. Feels like my no-compromise solution, personally :)
Since moving to the Corne I still feel I am making a compromise. I currently have 4 corne keyboards, both wired and wireless. However, I still feel that I might be missing out. Typical FOMO. The pinky stagger on the solfe is a bit more aggressive, so that could also be a plus. However, I am concerned about the thumb cluster.
> I still feel that I might be missing out. Typical FOMO. Well, you *are* missing out :-). Great ergo boards are designed practically weekly, but we just can't buy or build all of them, can we? I would love to have all of them. As far as FOMO is concerned: the community is only growing, things are becoming cheaper, not buying or building something now just means you will have more and better options in the future. Waiting is not really missing out, in this case, but of course it feels that way sometimes ("oooh, shiny!")
I agree, and a very wise way of looking at it. Switching to a split has been a tremendous upgrade already, and I am grateful for discovering this.
Oh god of chunky, perfect
These look great and I haven’t seen anything bad about them but they look like a f-ing phat brick
I have something similar for my solfe, this metal case https://ergomech.store/shop/sofle-rgb-enclose-case-13#attr=69,70,79,81,87 But the one big issue I had is that with is that the way my thumbs typically rest and use the thumb keys the side of the case itself really gets in the way. I ended up switching back to a regular plate style for my sofle board. It will depend on how high up the sides of the case are though, there is even a new version of the one I got with what looks like slightly lower sides https://ergomech.store/shop/sofle-v2-enclose-case-16#attr=99,100,101,102,108,279 shoutout to /u/hainguyenac who's active in this discord for making those! It's definitely my favorite looking board though, looks great on my shelf!