this post was submitted on 24 Mar 2025
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Mechanical Keyboards

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Looking for a low-profile ISO mechanical keyboard (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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I want to get my SO a keyboard and unfortunately she uses ISO keyboards exclusively. ANSI is not an option.

The only keyboard I found were the keychron ones, looking for more options :/ Something like the Nuphy Air V2 would be amazing.

Anything out there, preferably TKL or smaller? Wired is totally fine.

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[โ€“] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago (3 children)

ZSA Voyager is great, but it's ergo so neither ISO nor ANSI.

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I'm looking to buy the Voyager and I am boring my wife talking about it while I wait in anticipation. ๐Ÿ˜†

  1. Are you satisfied with yours? Any gripes?
  2. Which color did you get, black/white?
  3. Any accessories you'd like to recommend?
  4. Wanna share your config??

๐Ÿ˜ƒ

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

I've got the Ergodox, so my recommendation is entirely off the strength of that product. If I were buying from them today, I'd probably get the Moonlander, but that's because I use my keyboard with my home desktop 99%+ of the time. If you plan to travel, commute, or otherwise use your keyboard in multiple places, I think the low profile keys will be perfect for that.

As for add-ons, there isn't really anything to add for the Voyager. If you're considering the Moonlander, I would be tempted by The Platform. It's a full third of the already hefty price of the keyboard, but it looks like the dream tilt solution. The legs on the Ergodox, which look to be the same legs as on the Voyager, are serviceable, but the interface that keeps them in place can wear out needing replacement, and they can only tilt so much (the Voyager has less I believe, so you can still tilt it but at less esoteric angles). The platform will let you get nearly vertical with each hand if you want, which is kind of the ergonomic dream. Although, tbf, after using my Ergodox for a couple years, I rarely tilt it at all and just use it flat on the desk along with the included wrist/palm supports

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago

Yeah I'll be getting the Voyager, 100%. It looks like the dream for me. Small, portable (I bring my keyboard to and from work every day I go to the office), customizable.

There are some add-ons you can get for the Voyager, like the Shhhocks or whatever they're called; extra sound-dampening pads you place underneath the key caps. And also the tripod mounts.

I think I'll only get the Shhhocks. I think I'll just place my board on the desk with the tilting feet attached. ๐Ÿ‘

Thanks for the input!

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago (2 children)

ISO is an absolute must have, unfortunately.

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 4 days ago (1 children)

How come? (Just asking out of pure curiosity; I don't have a follow-up tip or anything.)

I grew up with ISO (Swedish layout) but I now have an ANSI us layout because 1) I am a programmer by trade, and 2) I can touch type. So it's much more convenient for me. The Enter key being a little bit wider on ANSI is helpful IMO.

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 4 days ago (2 children)

I'm on the same boat as you, pretty much. I grew up with ISO and moved to ANSI on my 20s. If you own an Happy Hacking Keyboard I'll consider you my long lost brother!

My SO is not a techie person and doesn't particularly benefit from ANSI. She types a lot in portuguese, our native language, and the default ANSI layout has some really bad key placements. The ~ key in particular is in a pretty bad spot considering รฃ is used very frequently in our language. No point in getting used to a layout that is inferior for her workflow.

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

If you own an Happy Hacking Keyboard I'll consider you my long lost brother!

Unfortunately I don't, but we can be brothers regardless ๐Ÿ˜…

The ~ key in particular is in a pretty bad spot considering รฃ is used very frequently in our language. No point in getting used to a layout that is inferior for her workflow.

Ah, I see! What if we told her she could have some tap-dancing customization where she double taps the a key and gets the รฃ? Even better than standard! ๐Ÿ˜

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Depending on how willing you are to set things up for her, you might want to take a second look at either the Voyager, or any other QMK-compatible keyboard. It's incredibly flexible firmware that lets you define fully custom layouts. If she's doing a lot of typing, it might be worth the effort to make (and adjust to) a custom layout with quick access to her most used modifiers and symbols.

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 4 days ago

She stated multiple times that she has no interest in swapping layouts. ISO works for her and she wants to keep using it.

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

as far as I know Keychron is one of the companies that offers ISO layout.

I got an Monsgeek M1 V5 ISO barebone and I guess that I could convert it to low-profile just buying the proper keycaps

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago

is there a european alternative?