Kinesis Advantage

Long-term owners

My Kinesis Advantage is only a little bit younger at 32 years old.

Jul 2026 · comment

What hackers pick instead

• MoErgo Glove80Split, contoured keyboard with a large thumb cluster that people find comfortable and ergonomic, especially with tenting and mounting. Most common caveat: a difficult learning curve.29recommend
• ZSA MoonlanderA programmable ortholinear split keyboard that people praise for easy customization, comfort and solid build; the most common caveat is the lack of function keys.27recommend
• ZSA VoyagerWell built, comfortable split keyboard with integrated training, praised for long coding sessions and easing wrist pain. One critic says it is not very ergonomic.17recommend
• ErgoDox EZErgonomic split keyboard praised for long-term comfort, custom layouts and open firmware. Critics say newer boards beat it and it is often too large.17recommend
• Ultimate Hacking KeyboardPeople recommend it for its split layout, built-in trackpoint and mouse layer, and easy programmability, and report it as reliable.15recommend

Every quote

The 40 most detailed of 47 comments. Each links to the original.

1. i have not only fully recovered my typing speed but have even improved on my historical ability

   Recommends · Jul 2026 · in “My Favorite Keyboards”

2. it's absolutely not suitable for travel, even taking it from the desk to the couch is a hassle

   Mixed · Jul 2026 · in “My Favorite Keyboards”

3. These keyboards stopped my RSI cycle decades ago, and improved my speed by roughly half.

   Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “A Beginner's Guide to Split Keyboards”

4. a key feature I've found myself unable to go without is contouring of the keyboard

   Recommends · Jul 2026 · in “My Favorite Keyboards”

5. I've personally found it the biggest gain to reducing strain on my left hand.

   Recommends · Jul 2026 · in “My Favorite Keyboards”

6. the Advantage2 definitely convinced me that it's more comfortable than flat

   Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “Typing and Keyboards”

7. I haven't have a single issue with my hands or wrists since changing over.

   Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “A Beginner's Guide to Split Keyboards”

8. the thumb clusters are my favorite part of using my Kinesis Adv 360

   Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “A Beginner's Guide to Split Keyboards”

9. The disadvantage of the KA though is that it's huge on the desk.

   Mixed · Feb 2026 · in “A Beginner's Guide to Split Keyboards”

10. I like the Kinesis Advantage but it's expensive for a keyboard.

    Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “How I am deeply integrating Emacs”

11. Lead times are long, and Kinesis products are expensive.

    Mixed · Feb 2026 · in “A Beginner's Guide to Split Keyboards”

12. being symmetrical means I can access every key easily

    Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “One Handed Keyboard”

13. The 12 thumb keys on the Kinesis is quite a luxury.

    Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “A Beginner's Guide to Split Keyboards”

14. curved bowls are massively better than flat

    Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “Toucan Wireless Split Keyboard with Touchpad”

15. it did help me immensely with wrist pain

    Mixed · Aug 2026 · in “Ask HN: What's your daily driver keyboard?”

16. I actually developed RSI for the first time using a kinesis advantage because it forced a certain posture that doesn't work well with my long arms.

    Criticizes · Feb 2026 · in “A Beginner's Guide to Split Keyboards”

17. my wrists and hands hurt after using it

    Criticizes · Feb 2026 · in “A Beginner's Guide to Split Keyboards”

18. I'm very happy with it, but have used various iterations of kinesis keyboards for a long time now.

    Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “Toucan Wireless Split Keyboard with Touchpad”

19. Some of the switches are starting to double input, and sometimes a modifier key gets stuck.

    Mixed · Aug 2026 · in “Ask HN: What's your daily driver keyboard?”

20. For a competitive split concave keyboard, see Kinesis Advantage 360 keyboards

    Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (February 2026)”

21. you are doing yourself a disservice by not ordering an actual ergonomic one

    Recommends · Jul 2026 · in “My Favorite Keyboards”

22. My Kinesis Advantage is only a little bit younger at 32 years old.

    Recommends · Jul 2026 · in “My Favorite Keyboards”

23. Kinesis, Glove80, Maltron who have put in real ergonomic research

    Recommends · Jul 2026 · in “My Favorite Keyboards”

24. The kinesys 360 pro I use now made me enjoy keyboards a bit more.

    Recommends · Jul 2026 · in “I Like Small Keyboards”

25. I think its better suited for people with bigger hands than me

    Mixed · Aug 2026 · in “typ.ing”

26. After trying Microsoft Natural 4000, Kinesis Advantage 2

    Mixed · Feb 2026 · in “A Beginner's Guide to Split Keyboards”

27. Plenty of keys, but finger movement feels really close.

    Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “Toucan Wireless Split Keyboard with Touchpad”

28. I've tried to find 2/3 hours a month to progress on it

    Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “My coworker's 36 key Corne open-source keyboard setup”

29. I use the Advantage II with a trackpad in the middle

    Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (February 2026)”

30. For me, the #1 feature of the Advantage2 is ortho.

    Recommends · Jul 2026 · in “My Favorite Keyboards”

31. I could keep using the layout I am now used to

    Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “A Beginner's Guide to Split Keyboards”

32. I find it's the best keyboard I've ever owned

    Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “A Beginner's Guide to Split Keyboards”

33. Get a kinesis advantage, you won’t regret it.

    Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “Ask HN: Where to begin with "modern" Emacs?”

34. I have accumulated a really sweet desk setup

    Recommends · Jun 2026 · in “Rebuilding the Computer Room”

35. I think it's worth including the Advantage.

    Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “A Beginner's Guide to Split Keyboards”

36. dished, but has fewer keys than I'm used to

    Mixed · Feb 2026 · in “A Beginner's Guide to Split Keyboards”

37. Kinesis Advantage 2 being a close second

    Recommends · Jul 2026 · in “My Favorite Keyboards”

38. Kinesis is a legendary keyboard brand.

    Recommends · Sep 2026 · in “Show HN: Kinesis – Control your Mac with the Meta Neural Band”

39. I'm pretty happy with these.

    Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “A Beginner's Guide to Split Keyboards”

40. And they definitely help.

    Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “A Beginner's Guide to Split Keyboards”