Ducky Shine 3 vs Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard

The Shine 3 has a dual layer PCB, plate mounted switches, as well as laser printed & UV Coated keycaps. Ducky also has the reputation of having some of the highest quality boards on the market.

The Shine 3 comes with fully programmable LED lights under each and every keycap. There are 6 backlight patterns to choose from: Full (100%), Breathing, Wave Marquee, Snake Marquee, Reactive mode, and Ripple mode. When you buy the Shine 3 you have the option of picking the color of the backlighting LEDS from Red, Green, Blue, White, Magenta & Orange.

The mechanical Cherry switches have been known for 5 decades for their tactile quality and robustness. With the Shine 3, users can choose between Brown, Blue, Black or Red.

The Ducky will remember all your customization settings for the lighting and other profile settings even if you turn it off or use it on another computer.

Some people prefer the design of the Cherry Stabilizers over the Costars as they are arguably quieter (no rattle and less sound when you bottom out). They are also better for frequent keycap swapping as it's easier to remove/add keys. On the other hand, they can be described as "mushy".

The USB cable is detachable and comes with cable routing guides to let you control where the cable comes out of the keyboard.

Without the numpad it takes up less space and allows you to place the keyboard and mouse closer together in a more natural position for your body which can help avoid injuries for people using it all the time.

The spacebar features a unique logo from the year when the keyboard was manufactured to celebrate various animals on the Chinese zodiac. Pictured is the YOTS variant or known as Year Of The Snake. The Ducky comes with a replacement spacebar with no design if you don't like the snake version.

Our hands naturally rest angled when in front of us, and this keyboard has been built to conform to that, rather than having us awkwardly trying to straighten our hands on a regular flat keyboard, putting strain on our wrists. The keyboard is also curved into a dome shape, which contributes to its ergonomic shape.

Thanks to the scissor switches used, this keyboard is very quiet.

The Sculpt's keys absorb impact quite well, avoiding injuries related to repetitive movements.

This keyboard has a comfortable, cushioned palm rest.

This keyboard connects wirelessly to the computer. This offers many benefits, such as a clean, tidy look (no cable mess) or a flexible positioning (greater use range). On top of that, it doesn't occupy one of the ports.

Since the number pad is a separate part from the main keyboard, its position can adjusted and it can be moved out of the way when it isn't being used. This allows for a more ergonomic mouse use, since it can be placed closer to the keyboard, just like in a tenkeyless design.

Using this keyboard with vim bindings you can sometimes nearly forget there's a keyboard between you and the editor.

Rather than the usual Fn key that needs to be pressed in combination with other keys to activate said key's secondary functions, the Sculpt has a slider switch that does this. This makes it easier to default to those functions.