Svalboard - Datahand forever

this is how to ensure you get bullied even harder lol.

That sounds like an odd environment. People who have seen my svalboard (engineers and otherwise) have been pretty interested even though they don't plan on using one themselves.

I've been using Datahands in the office since the late 90s. People are often curious, I must have done my 30 second spiel a hundred times (see, it's qwerty so not that different, 5 keys under each finger plus a bunch under the thumbs, small finger movements, took about 2 weeks to get up to speed) but was never laughed at. It gets less attention nowadays since there are more funky keyboards around.

I brought a Azeron Classic into the office once, similarly strange input device. There were weird looks, but mostly astonishment and curiosity. Three new Azeron customers emerged that day, and half a dozen converted to split mechs.

It was a good day, can recommend taking similar actions.

It's made a huge, huge difference for me, with episodes of pain/stiffness going from almost daily to maybe once or twice a month. It's 3D-printed plastic so not invulnerable but mine's stood up to almost two years of use and a couple of accidental drops just fine. People do break keys especially now and again, but if you have access to a printer you can always run new parts off since that 800-1k includes ongoing access to the template repository. This also means you can print yourself any upgrades that don't require a new pcb.

The feel is like nothing else I've used. All the resistance is at the start of motion, then you break the magnetic attraction and the key travels. It takes very little force; the main firmware dev has a board he's tuned even lighter and can trigger keys by blowing like it's a birthday cake. The default has enough backbone to rest your fingers on the keys, but lightly since the goal is to minimize not just finger travel but exertion as well.

There are quirks. The "switches" are actually optical (the magnets hold keys in place, moving them exposes the sensor) and errant sunbeams or lighter shades of plastic can cause unexpected triggers. The undersides of keys usually need to be covered with metallic sharpie to guard against this. Trackball motion on the side not connected to your computer is lower quality but still usable. My trackball is held on with duallock tape, although I gather Morgan's worked out improvements since. But overall I'm very happy with it and think it was worth every penny.

Same - I've had good and really bad experiences with ergonomic tech, where it might make things even worse. The price tag is at a value where I don't just throw the money after it and hope for the best.

I’ve competed in powerlifting, strongman, and Highland Games and I find ergonomic keyboards beneficial. Not sure why you feel the need to disparage people that use ergonomic input devices or think that back pain is the only reason to use such things — hand RSI is probably a much more common impetus to use these sorts of keyboards.