60HEv2 Split Space in Black/Red (layout and yapping in replies)

[broken mango]

Layout:

So far, the build quality and typing feel are quite nice (aluminium case version). It's a night and day difference compared to the keyboard from a certain glorious brand that shall go unnamed that I was using before, which I have grown to hate for multiple reasons over the last few years. I did have some issues with the friction fitted PCB getting pulled up when I was pulling out some stubborn keycaps, but I just firmly pressed it back into place, and it seems fine. Hopefully it stays tight enough to never become an issue for day-to-day usage.

I wanted to go for a minimal look, especially since I'm using a slightly customized keyboard layout that doesn't match up with standard keycap legends, so I went for blank keycaps. Decent blank keycaps were shockingly hard to find, btw. You'd think that they'd be all the rage because they're easier to make and minimalism is trendy, but Keyreative was pretty much the only site I could find that had what I wanted. Initially, I was just gonna go for all black, but then I saw the crimson ones and decided to experiment with using those on the sides.

Unfortunately, since this keyboard needs 1 more 1.25u, 2.25u (Left Shift), and 2.75u (Right Shift) than standard for the split spacebar, and since the Keyreative mod key add-on set doesn't include a 2.75u key, I had to buy an entire extra full-size keycap set just to get those 3 keys, which sucked. At least I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out in the end.

My only issue with the keycaps so far is the shape of the Left Shift and Right Shift keys that I'm using for the split spacebar (Cherry profile). The ridges are in a pretty uncomfortable spot for my thumbs in the normal orientation. Flipping them upside down (like many people do with regular spacebars) feels much better, but the angle is slightly steeper than I would ideally want. It's not a deal breaker, but it is an unfortunate aspect of using 3rd party keycaps on a split spacebar keyboard.

As for my layout, I wanted to prioritize comfort and general, everyday usage without having to swap profiles back and forth every time I play games. I mostly only want to switch layers in order to access the Arrow keys, Function keys, and Print Screen (for screencaps), so putting the Fn 1 key there and setting it as a Toggle key makes that really convenient. I can still press and hold it with my pinky to quickly press an Arrow or Function key before snapping back to the base layer, or I can press and release it to toggle into the layer when I need to.

I also definitely wanted to play around with the split spacebar, as I've always felt that traditional spacebars are really space inefficient. I think having Space, Delete, and Backspace in a row like that is efficient, intuitive, and allows for one more convenient keybind by your thumb in games. Getting used to the Backspace placement is gonna take some time, but I do like it so far.

For actuation distance, I set the alpha keys to a safe 1.5mm (I don't want hair trigger actuations), non-alpha keys to 2.0mm, and the Fn 1 layer and Escape keys to 3.0mm so that I don't accidentally activate them with my palm when gaming. I'm also being pretty conservative with Rapid Trigger for now, only applying it to WASD and Spacebar at a 0.8mm threshold, so that I can spam those keys a bit more reliably in games and still get some of those Rapid Trigger benefits, but without getting double inputs while typing normally.

If my layout looks strange for games and you're curious, for reference, in FPS games I like to put Crouch on Spacebar for easier crouch spamming, then I put Jump on Shift, and put Sprint or an Ability on Control (the Caps Lock key).

TBH, my one gripe with this keyboard thus far (which I already expected when I ordered it) is that I wish that it had the Function row. If it did, I could put Escape back up there, move the Win key back to its usual spot for Win key shortcuts, and easily access the Function keys from the base layer. I use the ~ key for keybinds in games, so I'm not willing to give that up either. Adding a Function row brings back so much functionality to the base layer while minimally increasing the effective footprint of the keyboard on a desk. To me, a keyboard with a split spacebar and a function row would be superior to both this 60HEv2 and the larger 80HE, so I will continue hoping that Wooting makes something like that someday.

[brisk abyss]

Seems like you got both spacebar upside down

[sinful harness]

Cant tell if that's trying to be rage bait

[dim stirrup]

how do the space keys feel to type on when slanted like that

[broken mango]

as I mentioned above (understandable if you didn't read the wall of text)

it's a lot better than right side up, since that way the ridges of the shift keys dig into your thumb a bit
but it is still steeper of an angle than I would ideally want
the top is a bit too high, and the bottom is a bit too low