Splitkb Elora

Pinky stagger for the win

I spent some time with the Elora from Splitkb, and it turned out to be quite an interesting keyboard. The standout feature was definitely its aggressive pinky stagger design, which made typing feel more natural once I got used to it. The thumb cluster was also really well thought out, following a circular motion that matched the thumb's natural movement.

I found that using tilt kits made all five thumb keys easily accessible, though this was an extra investment. The keyboard came with nice features like underglow lighting and was compatible with Vial software for customization. What really set it apart from many other ergonomic keyboards was that it required no soldering - just a screwdriver for assembly. Price-wise, it was pretty reasonable too, coming in under $200 if you already have switches and keycaps.

Pros

• No soldering required - easy assembly
• Excellent pinky stagger for natural hand positioning
• Well-designed circular thumb cluster, especially with tilt kit
• Pretty affordable

Cons

• Needs tilt kit (sold separately) for optimal thumb cluster use
• Expansion slots are not that useful
• Missing proper palm rest support