When comparing Kinesis Freestyle2 w/ VIP3 vs KB Paradise v60, the Slant community recommends Kinesis Freestyle2 w/ VIP3 for most people. In the question“What are the best keyboards for programming?” Kinesis Freestyle2 w/ VIP3 is ranked 29th while KB Paradise v60 is ranked 33rd. The most important reason people chose Kinesis Freestyle2 w/ VIP3 is:
The Freestyle 2 has an ergonomic design, aimed to promote healthier and more comfortable typing.
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Pros
Pro Ergonomic design
The Freestyle 2 has an ergonomic design, aimed to promote healthier and more comfortable typing.
Pro Reduces wrist pain
The wrist support offered by this keyboard alleviates wrist strain.
Pro Encourages "proper" touch typing
By splitting the left and right hand of the keyboard and leaving out a numeric pad it encourages users to use the home row numbers as typically taught in American English typing classes.
Pro Flexible positioning
The left and right side of the keyboard can be positioned independently and tilted as desired.
Pro Backlighting has two color options
The keyboard backlighting color can be set to either green and blue or red and blue. This option can be switched on the fly.
Pro Compact layout
The 60% form factor means your hands almost never have to depart from home row for any reason, increasing efficiency.
Pro Wide switch choice
With this keyboard, there's a wide variety of switches to choose from. From practically all Cherry switches to cheaper, non-backlit Gateron or Matias switches.
Pro Solid
This keyboard is built to last.
Pro Beautiful legend typeface
The keycaps are typeset in Futura, arguably a more attractive option than what many similar keyboards (such as the KBC Pokers) feature.
Pro Customisable layout
The v60 has six DIP switches on the back that allow for a variety of layout customization options, and the keyboard comes with extra keycaps to reflect those options, so that the inscriptions always match the key functions. Some examples include replacing Caps Lock with Ctrl (a popular trick for programmers, as some Unix software was written with such a layout in mind) or swapping left Super and left Alt to accommodate users used to Apple keyboards.
Cons
Con Not very solid
This keyboard's construction is not very sturdy and it feels flimsy.
Con Bad for spreadsheet work
Since it has no numeric pad, the Freestyle 2 is not convenient for spreadsheet work.
Con Too few keys
This might be useful for typing texts, but not for programming, because of no dedicated F-keys, cursor keys and Home/End/PageUp/PageDown keys.
Con Backlighting leaks from beneath the keycaps
At certain angles, the backlighting LEDs are unobstructed, which can become an issue.