Glove80 Review
The Glove80 gained my attention when I noticed some wrist strain from typing on the HHKB. At my point of purchase, it just completed its Kickstarter and had lots of overwhelmingly positive reviews. As a HHKB owner, let me give you my thoughts on this keyboard after owning it for several months.
My particular model has the Kalih Choc Low Profile Pro Red (35g) switches. I also ordered the Nordic Keyboard Addon Set right away to allow me a smooth transition. It took roughly two weeks to ship from china to germany, no tax fees.
My Impression
Initially, the keyboard felt quite odd. My fingers couldn't really find the rest position, and due to the angled position of the keyboard, I suddenly need to move my right hand quite far to reach the mouse. However, it didn't take me long to start appreciating the ergonmics. The Kalih switches feel nice to type on, but I had to learn not to rest my fingers on the keys - they're so light that I accidentally pressed them.
The wrist rests, while initially feeling a bit less premium compared to cushioned alternatives, also feel nice and are also comfortable during summer. Only downside could be the rather fast signs of wear on them.
While I'm not a fan of RGB keyboards anymore, I appreciate how the glove80 uses this functionality to indicate useful information like the connected client or the battery level.
Accessories
After the initial order, it didn't take me long to crave some of more their accessories.
I have a lot of bluetooth devices on my desk, which led me to believe that I sometimes had minor issues with the signal. Luckily they offer a dual usb-c cable with both power and data on each.
Also, as mentioned in my impressions, I struggled with putting my hands in the correct rest position, so I ordered the additional homing keys for both the index and the pinky on each hand. Since then, I didn't have any more issues with hand placement.
Final thoughts
Paying more than 400€ (that's excluding some additional accessories) together with the shipping from china doesn't leave much room to try things out. For me personally, it has been (and hopefully will be for a long time) a very good experience. Due to the shape and ergonmic, you'll probably need a second keyboard for gaming sessions as well - something to keep in mind! Here are some other good reviews: