Is the Ergodox worth buying and building?

[Halvar]

The new round on Massdrop for the Ergodox has started yesterday, and I wonder if it's worth building one. Did someone here buy it from Massdrop in an earlier round? I'd love to hear some opinions and experiences from people who bought a set in the earlier rounds. "Real-world" experiences after the hype so to speak.

Did you get around to ever build the keyboard? Did you finish it yet, did you give up? Was it frustrating? How long did it take you? As with many things of this kind, it's so easy to buy one, but I wonder if it's hard to follow through if you're no Matt3o.

If you successfully built it -- are you really using it day-to-day? How good is it really? The opinions on this seem to differ greatly on GH, some say it's a revelation, some say it's "not for me" ...

Do you have advice on things that should be changed or just considered when building it? I'm afraid this will drift into detailed discussions about switches and keycaps and cases pretty soon, but what I rather hope for are Ergodox building and using experiences that help me and other to consider if it's worth it to join this round.

Thanks!

[mintberryminuscrunch]

maybe someone could lend you one to try out?

[Muirium]

As I'm sure you know, any ergo design, no matter how good, will not be "for" everyone. So there's only so much you can learn about one by reading. Mintberry's got the right idea: hands on is the only way to tell. Hopefully there's someone relatively nearby with an Ergodox who can let you give it a test drive.

The one thing we inexperienced observers can tell from following threads is that there's lots of politics and squabbling in the project, regards Massdrop, and plenty of people seem to wind up with half assembled Ergodoxen that they want to sell or seek assistance to complete. I'm no Matteo either, so I'd be wary about all that.

But switches caps and cases need no discussion. Correct answers: reds, DSA and wood.

[davkol]

derp

[ماء]

But it's so not split adjustable,unfortunately
but indeed amazing unfortunately,I don't like trackball in the middle

[Muirium]

kurplop's ergodox? The most beautiful keyboard I've ever seen.

Yeah, it's a real masterpiece. Proof there's real potential for honest beauty in the Ergodox design.

But it's so not split adjustable,unfortunately

True. But it doesn't have to be. It's Kurplop's bespoke creation for himself.

[ماء]

True. But it doesn't have to be. It's Kurplop's bespoke creation for himself.

Yeah,I also know
Btw:Other project kurlops amazing too
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kurplop/se ... 289665901/

[Halvar]

Trying one would be terrific of course. I would be surprised though if someone would just lend me his.

I know that I have to ultimately try it for myself to tell if it fits me, but nonetheless I would just like to hear frome more people what their experience with the whole thing was like, positive as well as negative. People tend to come forward actively in forums easier if they had a good experience, but negative or "less-than-hoped-for" aspects are equally valuable if not more valuable for prospective users.

For myself, I can't imagine right now that I would want to build a tray for the Ergodox like kurplop did. It's amazing of course -- the wood part, but also the trackball and the buttons, and I see why he made it this way. But what I like especially about the ergodox design it that it is two independent parts, and you can easily rearrange them independently if you change posture during the day.

Did others feel the need to affix it somehow, or modify it so that it can stand in a more upright or skewed position than the original case allows?

[webwit]

One thing I noticed about the Ergodox I briefly tried at the keyboard party was that the distance to the thumb clusters was slightly more than I would have found optimal. It is mirrored from the Kinesis, but I guess it works out different because the finger keys are not cupped.

[davkol]

derp

[ماء]

One thing I noticed about the Ergodox I briefly tried at the keyboard party was that the distance to the thumb clusters was slightly more than I would have found optimal. It is mirrored from the Kinesis, but I guess it works out different because the finger keys are not cupped.

Yes,I guess they are also too close

How to about Ergo GP
http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=44940.0

anyone know?

I'd like to get the Kinesis Freestyle stand, but I'm OK with the keyboard lying flat. The hand separation doesn't really matter to me as long as it's at least one column. After all, I'm quite happy with the typematrix I'm using these days when I'm not at my desktop (which is most of the time actually).

Create own may be better

[Findecanor]

I was about to write a lengthy post about my custom ErgoDox build, but I think I will post that as a build thread instead ...

There are some quirks in the ErgoDox design. Most of all, the thumbkeys are a bit far away from the main keyboard. Also, the column offsets are not as big as on other columnar keyboards (Key64, flat Maltron etc), which means that your hands tend to orient themselves at a different angle than on them - which also increases the distance to the thumbkeys.

I think that you should also look at the ErgoGP project, which has better column offset and different thumbkeys.
If you do choose ErgoDox, then I recommend that you buy the whole kit from Massdrop.

[Halvar]

Thanks everyone for mentioning the thumb key placement and the ErgoGP. I had totally missed so far that the ErgoGP project is becoming so serious as a future Kickstarter project. It looks like a very legit further development of the Ergodox ideas. I will follow this for a while before I decide.