I finally got my first split, columnar, mechanical keyboard. It’s a relatively cheap one I found on Aliexpress, which you can find here.

Glazing the Keyboard

Ever since I got it, I’ve been working developing a sufficiently comfortable keyboard layout using only the 36 keys I’ve been allotted. Surprisingly, it’s not as bad as I originally figured it might be. Unlike my Alice-style keyboard I bought a while back, I have full Vial/QMK support. This is very beneficial to me since I absolutely require my home row mods and tap dance thumb keys to access all the necessary layers/modifier keys I use on a daily basis. It’s quite comfortable to use since I can slot it on the wrist rests on my laptops and still have room to use the trackpad for longer periods of mouse navigation (if only the mouse navigation layer were even slightly more comfortable!)

Things I Don’t Like

Brief list of things I don’t like about the keyboard as much:

• The keyboard didn’t come with a USB-C cable. Just a pet peeve, so not really worth sparing more than a comment on.
• Weird connection issues: It seems as though when you leave the keyboard plugged in for too long, it bugs out and some of your inputs get eaten for no apparent reason. The only fix that I know of at the moment is plugging the cable out and then back in again.
• The RGB is north-facing: This isn’t a huge issue since I don’t need any RGB for my keyboard, but the fact that it’s north-facing and the keycaps aren’t shine-through means that I can’t see shit aside from a little bit of light.
• The keyboard isn’t low-profile. When I was originally searched for an affordable split mechanical keyboard, I tried to find a low-profile keyboard, but decided on this board as it was the only one within my budget and that would ship to my address. I’ve since begun realizing that I prefer low-profile keys – primarily due to their low amount of pressure required for actuation compared to standard MX switches.

Regardless, I’m happy with this keyboard. I will definitely be doing majority of my typing using this thing – at least until I procure a ZSA Voyager or Glove80.