[closed] Matias Ergo Pro Tour

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TuxKey
LLAP

03 Oct 2016, 17:36

hi guys wanted to post an update..
So i rotated back and forth between both FC660C (Topre) and FC660M (mx-clears) and the Matias board.

As mentioned before dimming my Macbook Pro with F1/F2 with and without the Fn key would not work. But Fn F14/F15 does work hahaha don’t know why.

Comparing Topre & mx-clears with these tactile Matias switches is hard.
The keys feel a bit more wobbly my mx-clears feel solid like a house no room for any wiggling then comes my Topre board just ever so slightly more movement then mx-clears.
But these Matias switches and caps really wobble it almost feels like typing on my old
Microsof Natural Ergonomic 4000, wel perhaps that’s a bit over the top..
The tactile feel is present and better defined then mx-browns but the wobbling takes away from that great feeling.

one thing i’m noticing is that my hands seem to move less and that’s saying a lot considering i usually type on a 65% keyboard.
having the back-space on the left spacebar really helps, not that i’m using it all the time but still.

There is a definite ergonomic plus to this keyboard.
and going back to my own keyboards just after a couple of hours typing on this board results in a couple typos the first hour, so there is something happening here 8-)
Getting used to this keyboard is way easer than my short experience with the "truly ergonomic keyboard"

i think this keyboard could do with an Ergo-Dox overhall it desperately needs programming features.

User avatar
TuxKey
LLAP

18 Oct 2016, 17:14

Hi guys i'm ready to send the board onward..i'm going to contact the next person in line Chyros.

User avatar
TuxKey
LLAP

19 Oct 2016, 10:36

i contacted next in line Chyros but he told me he wanted to waive his turn.
in his words “I don't think it'll be necessary anymore”
So i’l contact the next person in line “Stabilized”

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TuxKey
LLAP

19 Oct 2016, 12:21

it looks like the keyboard is going to Stabilized..and skiping Chyros..

Communicating with Stabilized ..will post when it's on route.. 8-)

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TuxKey
LLAP

21 Oct 2016, 17:07

So the package is on route back to the UK :) Damm €21 expensives shit hahhaha...i thought it was €10..ahh well..
i tried it for two days and on the third day a friend came over to give it a try..

My final verdict would be . it's fine but not my thing.
i can't recommend it to anyone looking for a split keyboard.
instead i would recommend the Ergo-Dox for several reasons. one being the fact that you can program the keys to do what you want...
Having several keys under you thumb seems to be practical considering thumbs are stronger.

For people that like small footprint keyboards both the Matias Ergo and the Ergo-dox aren't the keyboards for you.
i believe Fortex (or sister company) made a poker3 type keyboard that splits in the middel.. That one could be the split keyboard choice for people that like small footprint keyboards.

Thanks for giving me / us a try i do appreciate it..
i was careful using it, and posted it to the next one in line with Track&trace and insured for €500 in case of calamity ..

Take care all.

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Stabilized

25 Oct 2016, 15:05

Just received the keyboard this morning from TuxKey, thanks for sending it on to me, paying the exorbitant shipping fee and packaging it up nicely!

Will do a typing video and some thoughts at some point down the line.

User avatar
TuxKey
LLAP

28 Oct 2016, 20:52

I’m happy it arrived in good condition.
There are several options for sending packages from The Netherlands and i went with the one that felt best to me.
if and when people put their trust in me by sending me something to tryout i feel it’s my responsibility to take good care of it.

Look forward to your review vid..

Thanks to the community and in general to @Muirium for trusting us to be good members of the community..

i really loved the opportunity to try it out.. it left me wondering how an Ergo-Dox would feel ..currently on massdrop my conclusion..


Adding the Granite set; ergoDoxian $33 + BonusPack $24 + RGB Modifiers $19 +Common kit $40
For the common kit i guessed a price because couldn’t find it.
So that’s $144 for the keycaps and $265 for the keyboard (mx-clear,no keycaps,no keycap puller, with hand on option)
subtotal would be $409 with $25 shipping is $434 adding the %33 customs crap if i’m lucky that’s an extra $143
For a grand total of $577..
Dear god...that’s a bit more than i can afford hahaha but thanks massdrop..


i know i know i don’t need the BonusPack or the RGB Mods but that’s not the most expensive. btw i would eventually need two one for work and one for home usage OMG

User avatar
Stabilized

01 Nov 2016, 13:00

So after around a week with the keyboard, I am ready to post my review on it. A typing video is at the end of the post if you want to hear and see the keyboard in action!

So here goes!

TL;DR: I loved the layout and found it to be a really comfortable keyboard to use, but the switches are the thing which really let it down for me and force me not to recommend it unless you know you like the switches.

Form factor and functionality:
I really like the layout over the other ergonomic keyboards I have tried (Ergodox and Goldtouch). I particularly like how easy it is transition to from a traditional non-split keyboard. This was one of the things that has stopped me using the Ergodox as much as I would have liked: I am a keyboard nerd and like switching between other keyboards too much to really get into the Ergodox.
I really like how easy it is to tent and put the keyboard into a negative angle by the use of the feet at the bottom. It's a better solution than the Goldtouch, and even though it might not be the most flexible solution out there, I think it strikes the balance between ease of use and functionality quite perfectly.
Image
(picture from keyboardco review)
I also love the inbuilt gel palm wrests and the usb hub (always helpful for a macbook user).
I have a couple of small problems with the layout and functionality, they are pretty small and can be chalked up to personal preference. One is the inclusion of dedicated undo/cut/copy/paste keys, I would have preferred these to be user definable or some kind of macro keys. The other is the fact that you can't use the left hand unit by itself as the usb circutary is all in the right hand keyboard. On the Keyboardco review they say it's pretty good for gaming, and this would have made it really shine as you could use only the left half independently as most of the functions in games that require both mouse and keyboard are on the left side (judging from experience).

The Matias switch and typing experience:
This is my first experience with the quiet click key switches: they are marketed as feeling "amazing", and also being the "world's quietest mechanical keyswitches". They use a tactile leaf and rubber dampeners to reduce the sound of the switch on the up and down strokes, and the tacile leaf offers, well, tactility. I have used Matias click switches before, and I had mixed views on them after falling in love with old complicated white alps: there is no doubt that they are a better click switch than (the quite abysmal) Cherry blues and greens, but they didn't have the same deep sound and smooth but very tactile click that the old complicated whites had. I noticed that when I did hit them off centre or toward the bottom of the switch, the feel of the switch would change. This inconsistency is amplified with the quiet click switches (as it is not as masked by the loud clickyness and the clack of bottoming out): I found sticky tactility when striking the key near the top and much less towards the bottom. On top of this the rubber stopped also adds resistence and makes it feel very rubber dome like: in fact, it felt like I was typing on a poor quality rubber dome keyboard instead of a $200 expensive mechanical keyboard!
I am also unsure of the qualty of Matias switches as I have had a number of problems with them on both of the Matias keyboards I have tried. On my Matias click keyboard, I noticed that the right arrow key stopped working untl took the keycap off and wiggled the switch around a bt. On the Ergo pro the i key does not work unless you bottom out, and the n key sometimes chatters. Also even more so with the quiet click switches, I have notced that some of the switches do not register at the tactile point. I assume this is a problem with how the tactile leaf and the actuation leaf are two different parts, unlike Cherry switches where they are one in the same (ths last paragraph has not been edited to omit the errors caused by the keyboard, also check out my typing video where I have to hammer on the key sometimes to get it to work).

Final thoughts and pricing:
This keyboard is not cheap at all, it retails on Matias’ store for $200 and sells in the EU from keyboardco for £186 at the time of writing. Of course, you do pay for a premium when buying ergonomic keyboards due to the smaller market and higher development cost.
To compare it to other ergonomic mechanical keyboards on the market:
  • Ergodox EZ currently retails for $295
  • The Ultimate Hacking Keyboard is selling at $220 in the pre-order phase with a $250 planned retail price.
  • Infinity Ergodox (DIY option) often reaches the lowest price of $200 on Massdrop.
  • An Ergodox DIY kit can be as low as $60 for a kit without keycaps and switches (bought from China), then Gateron switches can be bought for around $20 and keycaps for about $40: so around $120-$150 (accounting for shipping) for the whole thing (speaking from personal experience).
So for a pre built ergonomic keyboard it’s actually well priced, and you do get a good amount of features for the money. If they had chosen to use Cherry switches or Topre switches, I would say that it’s a good price and worth it in my eyes. Considering the poor switches and typing feel, I would not recommend it at all at any price unless you have tried one and you know that you like it.

Typing video:
Spoiler:

User avatar
TuxKey
LLAP

02 Nov 2016, 20:58

Nice review Stabilized :D

Sounds like you would be better served with the "Poker 4" or "Mistel Barocco" Keyboard.. :ugeek:
First time i saw the Vortex split keyboard was last summer in a TekSyndacte vid you can watch it here i queued up the vid here.

And here is Keychatter talking about the same keyboard.

A couple months later i saw a quick look of the same keyboard rebranded by Mistel.
This is the first vid i saw about it asking the you tuber about it revealed the relation between Mistel and Vortex wasn't clear yet, at least that's how it seemed to me (read the comments on the youtube film)..

So the keyboard looks great and there is even a product page for it here .
looks like a winner just missing a dedicated arrow cluster
looks like a winner just missing a dedicated arrow cluster
511af5_d06f51c1d3e548ccb2294eb061422efb~mv2.png_srz_909_370_85_22_0.50_1.20_0.00_png_srz.png (137.55 KiB) Viewed 20408 times

Seems like the ideal alternative for the Matias Ergo Pro if you want Cherry-mx switches
I wonder what kind of wrist rest one would use :lol:
i have no idea what the price is and if its for sale yet ???

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Stabilized

07 Nov 2016, 17:54

TuxKey wrote: Nice review Stabilized :D

...

So the keyboard looks great and there is even a product page for it here .
Thanks for the compliment and the keyboard recommendation! I will definitely keep an eye on that, thanks again :D

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scottc

17 Nov 2016, 13:20

Could the board take a quick detour via London before it makes its way back up to Scotland?

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Muirium
µ

17 Nov 2016, 14:30

I guess. I mean I won't be around to receive it for a while anyway. Might as well extend the tour instead.

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PollandAkuma

21 Nov 2016, 21:39

Coming to london? I WANT TO TRY IT

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hook

26 Nov 2016, 17:10

Is this tour still open?

If so, I’d love to try an Alps (other than the ones we had in the computer museum) keyboard …and a split one to boot! I’m pretty sure I need a TKL or even 60% (with a custom ergo layout) and a split keyboard sounds like a great idea.

Findecanor

14 Feb 2017, 03:20

BTW... Guys, I noticed that there are no pictures of the Ergo Pro in the Wiki. I'm sure that lots have been taken by participants in this tour. Please do upload! :)

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shreebles
Finally 60%

14 Feb 2017, 19:38

Findecanor wrote: BTW... Guys, I noticed that there are no pictures of the Ergo Pro in the Wiki. I'm sure that lots have been taken by participants in this tour. Please do upload! :)
Done, though it's not the one from the tour.
EDIT: Gallery added. My first wiki contribution :D

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Stabilized

10 Mar 2017, 09:50

Urgh, I been off here for a while and just remembered I still have this keyboard while doing some spring cleaning :oops:

Really sorry about not posting sooner, but I'm happy to send it on to whoever wants it next if we are extending the tour, just let me know!

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PollandAkuma

10 Mar 2017, 18:38

Stabilized wrote: Urgh, I been off here for a while and just remembered I still have this keyboard while doing some spring cleaning :oops:

Really sorry about not posting sooner, but I'm happy to send it on to whoever wants it next if we are extending the tour, just let me know!
where are you located?

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hook

10 Mar 2017, 23:02

If this is still open/extended, I’m still interested in giving it a short go :)

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windtaenzer

11 Mar 2017, 00:24

Same for me. If this tour is still extended, it would be real great if I could join in.

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Stabilized

11 Mar 2017, 10:20

PollandAkuma wrote: where are you located?
If you click on my profile you will get a drop down menu that states where I am based, also if you look at the original list it also says where I'm based (to save you the hassle, it's Scotland).
hook wrote: If this is still open/extended, I’m still interested in giving it a short go :)
As it's not my keyboard I am hesitant to extend it on without a clear list of who's next in the list.

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windtaenzer

11 Mar 2017, 14:17

I am probably out, even is the tour is extended. When I discovered the thread, I was so enthusiastic that I over read the conditions in the first post. As a total newbie in this community, I do not fulfill Murium's requirements to participate.
This confirms two rules of thumb: Always read the whole thread before posting, and if somethings looks to good to be true, it probably isn't. :-)
And I was wondering, that I didn't saw any preconditions for participation. Should have looked better. ;-) Thanks to shreebles for the hint.

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Stabilized

11 Mar 2017, 15:19

This is exactly why I don't feel good with just sending it on to the next person who wants a go on it. It's Muirium's keyboard and his tour.
I haven't heard anything from him, and due to my break from the forums, I missed the post above which seems to show that it's okay to send it onto scottc.
So at this point in time I can only assume that I can send it on to scottc, if he still wants it.

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Stabilized

22 Mar 2017, 10:42

So I managed to send off the keyboard this morning to Scottc, sorry again everyone for the delay :oops:

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fruitalgorithm

22 Mar 2017, 14:07

Stabilized wrote: I am also unsure of the qualty of Matias switches as I have had a number of problems with them on both of the Matias keyboards I have tried. On my Matias click keyboard, I noticed that the right arrow key stopped working untl took the keycap off and wiggled the switch around a bt. On the Ergo pro the i key does not work unless you bottom out, and the n key sometimes chatters.
I had problems with key chatter on one key on my Matias Ergo Pro too. Matias' support gave me these tips to address keychatter myself. It was fixed by removing the keycap and applying a couple of drops of alcohol onto the switch and the pressing the switch repeatedly. So the next person who get this keyboard might want to try that on the i and n keys.

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paecific.jr

24 Mar 2017, 21:55

When you get to it I am interested in joining the US interest list.

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hook

22 Apr 2017, 23:59

I’m currently waiting for my Matias Mini Quiet Pro to arrive (courtesy of my new awesome employer, who understands people need proper equipment), so I’m out as well.

tj82

10 May 2017, 11:39

Would it be possible to join the tour please? I'm London based and keen to try the Matias keys out.

I have the Mistel Barocco at work (browns) and I'm planning a replacement for my unicomp M at home.
This is up there as an option along with a mitosis self build - for which I'd need to decide on key type.

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KeepClackingAnd...
Organizer Mechanicon

15 May 2017, 09:43

Oh no, I missed this.. :'( After this thread I would really like to try this out.

Is there any chance I can sign up?

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Stabilized

15 May 2017, 10:36

KeepClackingAnd... wrote: Is there any chance I can sign up?
The user who this keyboard belongs to is Muirium, and he's currently not very active due to family health problems.
I don't think there is any plans to extend until Muirium gets back and tells everyone what's happening. So I would keep an eye on this thread and the one I linked, to see if/when Muirium becomes more active again.

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