Mechanical keyboards, the nerd equivalent of obsessing over ferrule weights in golf clubs, are wildly popular, and for a good reason. I've owned and used a ZSA Moonlander for some years now, and here are my thoughts on it and why I think you should literally buy any mechanical keyboard you can get your hands on with programmable firmware. Your fingers will thank you.
I don’t normally review things here, as I find that it’s outside the realm of the blog, but I want to talk about the ZSA Moonlander keyboard, a “mechanical” keyboard that I bought a couple of years ago. But, yeah, in case you’re wondering why I am writing a review: I mean, it’s a keyboard? You type on it. It goes clickety-clack — or maybe not, if you’re an obsessive and want your keyboard quiet. Or maybe you want it loud, like the flexor-destroying IBM model Ms from the days of yore, rat-tat-tatting like a Mac-10. People are into that now: they need to sound right, look right (boba tea colored keys are a thing) and type well. If they light up like a cheap vape stick, even better.
To me, it’s a tool; it’s there to minimize strain and injury. I bought the moonlander because it helps me do my job. It’s no different to me than a hammer is to a carpenter, and yet in using it I’ve realized it does expand on what I can do in ways that I feel compelled to talk about. It is a game changer to any keyboard warrior. ZSA’s moonlander is merely one well-crafted incarnation of millions.
Ricing your keyboard is a hobby. It’s nearly a religion to some folk: like crossfit and instant pots.
One major benefit of this movement is the wealth of opportunity afforded to people like me, and you, who care about finger ergonomy but do not find the old-fashioned options that have long existed on the periphery of peripherals.
The specifics of what makes, or doesn’t make, a mechanical keyboard is, I am sure, a tedious conversation that takes place all the time, so I’ll hide behind the phrase I’ll know it when I see it and move swiftly on. (But I’ll argue that quality key switches and firmware are two of the most important ones.)
It’s interesting how it’s a whole thing now for enthusiasts to solder, assemble, or buy ready-made mechanical keyboards made by other enthusiasts. It’s also a sign of how dire traditional, commercial keyboards are in quality and choice. With a mechanical keyboard you can pick the type of key switch you want your keys to have: quiet, loud, firm, soft. Linear or non-linear. You can mix and match so some keys are weightier than others: your thumbs are stronger, so you’ll want a weightier key for them.
I feel like this movement has sprung up out of nowhere in the last ten years, and it’s resulted in a lot of fun and interesting keyboards. There are novel firmware choices beyond the most manifestly basic idea that pressing a key yields exactly one outcome.
Clacky keys and boba tea colored key caps is not why I bought into the mechanical keyboard hype. I have long wanted to ditch the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic 4000 keyboards (who came up with that name?)
I had two at all times: one at home and another at work. They’d wear out from use after a couple of years. Total flim-flam. The typing experience was never great, either. But I loved the ergonomic design. I’ve owned around 10 in the last 20 years, as the ergonomics of the keyboard (and lack of serious alternatives) kept me from switching.
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