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

I have several wrist/thumb issues and this keyboard has been tremendous. I havent fully explored everything it can do, just added the lifts to get the right tilt angle for me (order them separately - not expensive) to angle the keyboard for me and I was good to go. So much less pain and discomfort. Highly recommend

After a month with this keyboard, Im really in love with it. I came from have a Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop keyboard, and this replace that keyboard nicely. However, the 6 key is on the wrong side of the keyboard!!! Its not too bad relearning how to touch type, but man is that annoying and really making that index finger hammer our 666,666,666.666. The second is the tenting costs another $35 dollars, and thats the main feature that makes this competitive with other cheaper ergo keyboards, well and the silver switches which feel nice. I do love how the #6 macro key is close enough to the Caps that my pinkie is close to it. As a big vimmer, the escape key is a bit further away, so Ive mapped the macro key to ESC, which I use alongside Ctrl+[. I swapped Right Ctrl to Caps, but on the OS side, not the keyboard software. That remap seemed to cause the caps lock light to just get stuck on. Normally, I would buy two matching keyboards, one for home, and the other for the office, but at the price this keyboard and necessary tenting accessory sit at, Ive just resorted to shoving the keyboard in my backpack. The fact that its split does slightly help with portability, but its not even close to competing with a 60% in that category.

First thing that was a real headache is that the keyboard didnt work at all through my rather standard IO-GEAR KVM. Checking their own support, they basically say theyre not going to support KVM switches, but do list two dumb KVMs that do work, both of which are VGA based, which is a non-starter for me. Getting told Im out of luck for support with KVMs with a ergo keyboard (most often used for work applications) is pretty crappy. So, I ended up getting a generic USB switcher, which then shows a second failing on this keyboard, it takes between 7 and 9 seconds to start up, which is really annoying every time I switch devices. Second thing is that the build quality seems really cheap for how expensive this keyboard is. All plastic construction. The tabs that hold the wrist guard on dont hold it very securely; just fine if its flat on the table, but moving the keyboard a bit and it can easily pop off. The flap holding the extra cable for the tether cable pops off if I move the keyboard around even a little bit. To be clear, the keyboard feels pretty sturdy, but its just way lower quality than keyboards that cost half the price or less. Additionally there are no tilting (not tenting) flaps at all. I got the tenting kit too, and I wont fully review that here, but it isnt great either. I prefer my keyboard slightly tilted up at the back, and there is no way to achieve that with this, even with the tenting kit. So far I havent really used this keyboard much. Ill have to update my review on how it feels to actually use it, which Im hoping with make up for the shortcomings thus far. This keyboard was pretty expensive after all, and it would be a shame if I didnt like it. Though the experience of install and setup, and immediately being confronted with such serious shortcomings is really unfortunate, and doesnt really bode well. Update: On the ergo side Ive figured out that I can take the pads off the wrist wrests. They are held on with velcro that is glued down. Annoying to pull the velcro up and cleanup the goo, but its fine. Honestly now, I can use the tent kit and it doesnt feel awful, and without the pads the wrist rests actually are long enough to be useful. Before the bulge on them was too far forward making it feel like my hand was always sliding off it. So with this bonus Im a bit happier with it... But it still takes my feelings on it from really closer to a 1.5 up to about a 2.2 stars... So leaving the review unchanged for now. Will update if my feelings evolve.

The good: The build quality and feel of the keyboard was nice. It was all plastic but solid. The cord was long enough and felt durable. Over all it feels like a nice $100 mechanical keyboard. You pay extra because it is split. The bad: I injured my right hand from working on a computer too much. I got this keyboard to try and work through the pain. It feels better than a regular keyboard but there is still too much pain. For this reason I returned it and got the more extreme Kenesis Advantage 2. The advantage too is gradually giving me the pain relief I sought.

I bought this keyboard in desperation after I started experiencing severe pain in my wrists and fingers from constantly typing on regular keyboards or my laptop keyboard. Im a big guy (6 ft 4) with monster hands, so the idea of a split keyboard to keep my arms in a more natural position was extremely appealing. I was wary of spending so much, but decided to take the risk. Took a few days to get used to the keyboard being split in half, but my wrist pain has pretty much vanished within 2 weeks. I cant possibly recommend this product enough, this plus an ergonomic sideways mouse has made work and just general computer use significantly less painful. The programmable displays are gorgeous, the Cherry MX Red keys respond perfectly, and the interface for custom mapping of the keys is easy and intuitive to use. 5/5 for functionality, 5/5 for ergonomic use, my one and only complaint is that the tenting kit (which allow you to angle up the keyboard) is an absolute necessity to keep your wrists in proper position, and at the price tag this keyboard is at should be standard. The fact you have to pay extra for an essential component for the keyboards intended use (ergonomic typing) is a bit outrageous.

I love this keyboard. I bought it to use for home office and for gaming. I dont use a 10-key so I was happy to find one without 10 key that also has on the fly macro keys. The main reason I bought this was for the macro keys. Im always looking for shortcuts to repetitive keystrokes. I had a keyboard with cut, copy, past which was good but wanted to add even more. I do a lot of excel and programming so I often use random keys like CTRL+LETTER... My company is also very restrictive about software so the fact that this keyboard doesnt require software install is great. Having different macro (and color) profiles is great too so I can switch between games or programs. If you do install the software you can customize your key colors individually if you want, and it has some other cool effects. I didnt but it for colors (you can turn them off) but its a nice aesthetician anyway. I dont use the keyboard much separated at all as I thought I might (keyboard tray too small) but its nice to have the flexibility. Having the tented add on (separate purchase) is also great for ergonomics. Highly recommend.

Tried this because its rated best by WireCutter. I have a (cheaper) FreeStyle at work. I love the backlighting and that you can control the colors. Its nice that you can pick the Cherry MX switch you like best, but most people will have no idea which to pick. I chose brown as I use it for typing only. I think the brown is too loud for office work and unfortunately the reds are just as loud (silent red on the Pro model are really silent which is weird in a different way). I think the brown takes a little too much force to type compared to the FreeStyle. But the Cherry MX does provided a crisp feel missing on cheap keyboards. Oddly the keyboard layout is different/worse than the FreeStyle. The FreeStyle has larger ESC and Delete buttons. And as with all Kinesis keyboards, I really miss the numeric keypad. Also the built-in wrist rest is nice but it slopes down too much for my liking.

I got this because I have been experiencing more issues from having my arms angled inward to type. I work as a software engineer and have been switched to full-time from home, so buying 1 keyboard I could use for work and for play (I have a gaming PC) was necessary for me to alleviate my pain. First, the good: This 100% helps the shoulder. I needed to move the two halves further apart than a simple split would do, so I went for this as a test, mostly, hoping it would help, hoping I wouldnt need to go even further up the price chain, and hoping it would be enjoyable to type on. It most certainly is. Anyone who does regular computer usage and suffers from having their hands so close together will almost guaranteed feel relief from using this. The whatever: I dont think its exceptionally different to type on than my former Logitech G910 but I am NOT a keyboard Enthusiast like some people. I do sometimes hit keys I dont mean to (usually its the period when I hit the space bar). I have short fingers. Its not a huge issue. The keys arent too loud but feel good to type with. I can tell when Ive fully pressed a key at least 95% of the time. Sometimes I make mistakes which I do not think are the keyboards fault. The bad: I really dont like the approach for managing macro keys. I get the point of it, to have it all on-board in the keyboard, but. The approach of mounting and ejecting the drive sometimes confuses Win10, and it fails to eject, or gives me an error after appearing to eject correctly, always leaving me wondering what just happened. I am carefully following the provided directions, but it seems not very user-friendly. Im guessing power users might be more ok with it. It begs the question, for this price point, do they expect power users? I use this on a USB switch so I can swap it between my work macbook and my PC. I experienced a very strange issue where an area of the right half of the keyboard was not working properly (a single press of the m key would type a series of letters, for example). I found it really clunky to figure out how to reset the thing (internet sleuthing to find an answer, their site/documentation is not as easy to navigate as Id hoped), and then to actually reset requires finger gymnastics of holding down 3 keys and plugging the keyboard in again. I dont know a single person who plugs a keyboard into the front port of a PC, so for anyone on a desktop/not a laptop, you are going to have to contort your body around to hold 3 keys down while plugging something in anywhere. It was a pain. I have no idea why it happened, it just was borked after waking up from sleep one time. If this happens too much, or at a time when Im trying to hop into a work meeting, this will probably make me buy a new keyboard from another brand. Overall, Im glad I bought it because pain = no work. I needed a split keyboard. Its good for that. I can type a lot without lots of struggle or errors. I dont love the macro key support. The process to mount it, set it, save/eject, is slow and clunky if youre hoping to configure a lot of macros or edit/tweak what youve done. The idea of doing it all without software is fine, but again feels outdated or hyper specialized to me. Average people will expect to have a software interface (which is provided, and I use), not just handle everything from keystrokes alone. I feel like someone whos that into macros for gaming is going to get a higher priced keyboard, or a keypad specifically for that, anyway.

I got this and a vertical mouse and together they have alleviated my severe forearm pain. This keyboard allows me to not have my wrists bent out at 45 degree angles all day and night. Now I can have then in front of my shoulders (well, a little inside because theyre also lifted and tilted). As a bonus, the many many macros let me store common work commands that is used and saves a lot of keystrokes.

I am a remote worker and type a lot. A LOT, loads of reports, facilitation, notes, diagrams.... I really hated this keyboard initially, but after three days, I got more used to it. I began typing faster and even saw ways I can utilize the macros to optimize to daily flow. BUT, the keys are loud! I cannot be off mic during calls, which not feasible for the facilitator of a meeting or even a key participant...so sending it back. I did a lot a research and this makes sense...I would say for productivity A, just get BROWN....bluh bluh...look it up! Just consider typing noise, if it is an issue...this is not the best option. I type loud, I guess and this made me sound profoundly louder.