Celebrating a Milestone
Or how a search for a specific item coincided with a significant breakthrough.
I've been looking for a mechanical keyboard for the past four years. Actually, I've been looking far more earlier than that. But ever since I've gotten a split-type keyboard with a tenting feature for ergonomic reasons (I have chronic wrist pain), I knew that if I really wanted one, it had to have that too.
But it was difficult to find one when I started, at least one that's readily available to me. I scoured a lot of forums and e-commerce sites, but a lot of the keyboard makers are abroad, and would require a hefty shipping fee on top of the unit price. I couldn't afford anything beyond a certain price range. Even the ergonomic keyboard I did have was funded by my workplace.
That didn't stop me from checking out a lot of stuff. The ErgoDox EZ, regardless of looking like it has a steep learning curve, was definitely in my wishlist. I saw a similar looking one that you can customise as well, the Iris Keyboard, but it also involved me having to custom the tenting feature. And the rest of my search were either DIY kits or keyboards that only have the layout, but not actually split!
Every now and then, my regular monthly trawling of local sites lead me to possible options, but no dice.
Until that search a couple of months ago gave me the RAKK Duha. At first I couldn't believe it. An actual locally-made mechanical keyboard that ticked almost my boxes?
- A mechanical keyboard that actually splits. Check.
- A premium looking keyboard that is actually in a reasonable price range for me to get? Check.
- I can customize the keycaps if I wanted to? Check.
- Tenting? Not so much. But I already had a workaround in mind to fix that.
This local review with a typing test sealed the deal for me.
I had to wait for a certain paycheck to come in, but I knew I had to get it. And hoped that it doesn't go out of stock while it sat in my cart. I also hoped the my wrists could wait since I'm using a regular keyboard the last few months when my original split type became buggy.
I've only had it for a few days, and I'm really loving the feel of it when I type. It reminds me of the old keyboards at my mom's office when she used to take me on weekends when she had to finish work. It reminds me of days playing Tetris 3D or Wheel of Fortune on my very first desktop computer. And it's even easier to use than my aunt's electric typewriter. Sure, it's very limited with the number of keys, and I am missing the numeric keypad. But I already have that one anyway (my Freestyle 2 didn't have it either).
For now, I just need to get a pair of small laptop raisers (I have one in mind already) and I'd be able to emulate the tenting feature I'd need.
I really also want to give a shout out to RAKK though. And I really appreciate them making this even more accessible locally.
As for the mechanical keyboards, I get the hype for these things—even more so now typing with it. Though, I still don't get owning multiple ones. I am, however, enticed to buy keycaps so I can utilize the backlight and read the characters better. And customize the colors.
✱✱✱
I find the timing of this so appropriate though, as I've come to a significant breakthrough personally and I was encouraged to get something to commemorate it. Anyone in my life could attest that I am not good at getting tokens just for the sake of it. Medals, plaques, or even certificates seem great. Even the distinction is alright. But if I was going to get my self something, it had to be practical. And finding this almost perfect item to commemorate was fortuitous, at least to me.
It's both a novelty and also solves some of my ergonomic issues. Pretty and functional. And with how things have gone the way they are, I think it's actually a very fitting token.
What was the milestone, you ask? Well, that's a story for another day, and it's still in the drafts.
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