Mechanical Keyboards

There’s a lot more keyboards without the numpad and the block of middle keys - whatever they’re called - or with the middle keys reduced or squashed up awkwardly on the side, than full-size plain old 102- or 104-key layout keyboards.

I don't like reduced-size keys or reshaping the block of six keys. My guess is that reshaping the block of six keys (Insert, Home, etc) is to mirror laptop layouts, so one doesn't have to switch between different layouts mentally. No real need on a desktop, but on a laptop, space is often at a premium.

But getting rid of the numpad is something that I am definitely enthusiastic about.

There aren't that many uses for the numpad. In my experience:

• You actually do a bunch of numeric entry. I think that very few people do this, but for those people, sure, it's useful.

• A few games use it, largely because it happened to be there for numeric entry. Because laptops don't generally have a numpad, shifting to keybinding schemes that use it have become far less common.

However, the numpad sits right where the mouse would ideally be if the keyboard is reasonably centered.

In general, I'd rather have my hands stay on the home row. If you have to use keys off in neverland, like arrow keys or F-keys or the like, you need to relocate your hands. Preferable to use modifier keys and chord them with regular keys in the "main block" of keys. If you're a vi or emacs user, you likely don't use the arrow keys for cursor movement.

There was also a trend back around, oh, early 2000s to have a bunch of extra keys added to the keyboard, stuff like Play, Pause, etc. That seemed to kinda fall out of favor.

I've recently built and am transitioning to a 50-key split-ergo keyboard. I code for a living so, a bit of getting used to, to be honest. The big advantage is in ergonomics and portability. Fewer keys means that fingers have less travel distance.

Gamers generally want more room on the desk so their mice can travel further without needing to be repositioned.

I love having a numpad for extra keybinds in MMOs and for number inputs for work, but I've since switched to a TKL and never looked back.

I still miss the numpad but that thing can be bought separately, and not smashing my mouse into my keyboard is a big plus.

Looking into upgrading to a Wooting 80HE once that launches; it's like a TKL that wants to be questionably special, but given Wooting's reputation I'd wager it'd still be better than anything else on the market.

I use keyboards in the 40%-65% range. For me it is about reduced travel. Almost no travel for typing any key and minimal travel for the mouse.

I wouldn't use a keyboard that small if it wasn't for QMK, the open source keyboard firmware. We essentially have dedicated layer keys. A key when tapped or held remaps the keyboard. For myself that is usually caps lock and a couple keys on the bottom row. I select keyboards that have the space bar split into 3-4 keys for this to work. 4 is preferred to put backspace next to space.

With 40 keys and 3 layers that's (40 keys - 3 layer keys) * (1 base layer + 3 activated layers) = 148 keys within reach of home row. A full size is around 120 keys.

I'm used to software using "leader" keys like vim and tmux, so it never really bothered me to use layers. I don't get why anyone would want their hands always moving to reach keys since I started using layers.

I like having more real estate for the mouse. If I need the numpad, I just reach for it.

I can live without the nav cluster. I can just Fn+arrows for pgup/dn/home/end. But can't live without arrows.

I love using 65% boards. Main reason being that I get more desk space, more space for my mouse, more ergonomic as my mouse hand doesn't have to be as far to the right (this is particularly better for gaming), it's easier to travel with if the need arises, and I just think they look neat.

The avarage user doesn't need all the buttons accessible at every moment as such are willing to trade convenience for space saving and cost reduction. Some people though mainly professionals with hyper specific niches go the opposite direction and trade space and cost for oversized keyboards in the name of efficiency.

Trading terminal keyboards are the easiest keyboards to point to utilizing their additional keys for more streamline trading in an era before algorithmic trading

Belive it or not just like click switches, large keyboards still popup within the mech keyboard community. Hyper 7 being the most well known (and has a group buy currently going) but there's also the wombat 200% which features twenty rotary encoders. Some people have been getting the best of both worlds by utilizing a modular mindset. A 75% keyboard with an external numpad and macro pad has the same functionality as a battleship.

User getting younger and keyboards smaller.

I type on a Cooler Master Masterkeys Pro M. It's very slightly reduced from a standard 104 key ANSI layout. It has a numpad but is missing the three arrow key columns (what I've taken to calling the nav group as most of those keys are for navigating a document) All that functionality is in the numpad, like it always was, except on this keyboard it's not laid out like an old Model M, they transferred the arrow keys, home-end-page up/down-ins-del keys and such into the numpad in a way that makes sense if you're used to them. Takes a second to get used to, and I actually ever use the numlock key on this keyboard, but it works. The alphanumeric key section is more or less perfectly normal ANSI layout (there's a fn key between right Super and Ctrl) so it's perfectly ordinary to type on.

Narrowing the keyboard a bit like this does two things for me:

1. Moving my hand from the home row to the mouse is ~4 inches shorter. A full 104 key is so wide that either the mouse ends up way off to the right, or to reach the home row I have to reach my right hand to my right. My right wrist spends less time at extreme angles.

2. It frees up room for my space mouse to the left of the keyboard on my tiny little keyboard tray.

I really don't get the folks who not only did away with the F row but also the number row and have to deal with layers to get to stuff like that.

I have a 40% ortholinear kb because it's more ergonomic. My fingers are never have to travel more than 2 keys away from home row. There are enough built in layers that I never feel like I'm missing a key. All keys are remappable. Beyond that I think it looks neat - folks always ask about it when they see it. When using a mouse and keyboard, my arms are kept at a reasonable distance apart (overall hands are closer together), so I can work or game longer without feeling like my shoulders or back are strained.

It probably feels more ergonomical, I would also have a smaller if I were to buy one tbh

As a small keyboard user myself, I made the switch because I wasn't using those keys anyways and the few that I were could easily be handled with layers. I have one of those desks with the sliding tray where the keyboard sits, so being able to free up space so the keyboard fits comfortably is nice.

I'm a severe numpad hater but I hate when they also steal the arrow keys.

I have a Glorious GMMK2 that I took to the office. It has arrow keys and the page up/down and end keys. (Home is fn+end). I find this to be the happy middle for me. The tiny boards with no arrows were frustrating. Big boards I get uncomfortable after a while due to the mouse being so far away. A smaller board that has the keys you regularly use is more ergonomic since you can keep your arms and hands closer to your core. I don’t mind using fn to access function keys or more rare use case keys. This very much comes down to what you do on your computer. When I had to type in user IDs non-stop working on a help desk…numpad was important. I don’t type strings of numbers as frequently now so it is not as important.

I rock a full size realforce r2 at work AND and home because I feel more productive with a keypad and other helper keys. It's less mental overhead. I'm not using the mouse much when I type (modal editor)

I was team numpad all the way, but then I received a 60% as a gift and I have to say, I'm quite impressed with it.

It's pretty decent for gaming, you get more desktop real-estate for your mouse which is a huge plus. I'd also hazard a guess and say that the smaller size is more attractive for the average computer user.

Now that everything seems to take USB-C it's really easy to swap out your board for something more suitable for your task. So if you really need a numpad, you can just swap your full size board back in.

Depending on your use case, you might be surprised how far you can get with a 60%. I thought the lack of arrow keys and F1-12 was really going to bite me, but I can use them easily enough for most cases - but not always. For instance, I wish I could still select text with Ctrl + Shift + arrow/home/end, but that's out of reach now. But for 99% of my usage, it gets the job done.

I rather have my keys closer to the mouse. I don't miss having a num pad at all.

I don’t get it either, but I also with with AS400s daily and therefore need f1-24 and I’m not going to deal with all the layering setup needed for that when I can get a normal keyboard and hit shift+F4 for F16 instead of shift+left ctrl+F4. It doesn’t seem like much but when you’re using F13-24 a lot then it gets annoying.

I also want numpad, I don’t want to type IP schemes on the number row

I've never used the numpad when I did have a full sized keyboard, and I want a smaller keyboard because the distance from the mouse and the WASD is smaller, which is more comfortable for me when gaming, but also when switching between typing and navigating with the mouse, the shorter distance is more pleasant.

I use a 75% keyboard because I don't want a numpad, but I do want the arrow keys and F row without needing a function layer for them.

Less keys = less finger movements. Also for travel. And finally it’s like camber on cars it’s just a flex.