The Ultimate Hacking Keyboard Review: A Truly Unique, Truly Expensive Keyboard for Pros
by E. Fylladitakis on March 12, 2020 10:00 AM ESTConclusion
Unlike the vast majority of mechanical keyboards nowadays, the Ultimate Hacking Keyboard truly is a unique product - a wholly unique design that is being marketed almost exclusively towards IT professionals. The developer of the keyboard designed it to be reliable and easily customizable, without the extraneous bells and whistles that would be unnecessary for a professional.
As a keyboard targeted towards professionals, the UHK is based on a 60% layout in order to maximize productivity and reduce fatigue. However, this is going to actually work only with professionals who use a single keyboard every day and will tailor the UHK to their specific work needs. For everyone else, having to result to multi-key combinations for virtually anything else but basic input will probably have a negative impact.
The customizability of the UHK is its greatest selling point. Its Agent software initially seems simple but can be used to create very complex layouts and layers, making it a true weapon at the hands of an experienced professional. Users can also expand/customize their keyboards with additional modules that are available from the manufacturer for about $60 each, allowing the tailoring of the UHK to their specific needs.
The only real issue with the UHK is its unreasonably high price tag. It is currently retailing at $275 plus shipping, and this is without any of its accessories. The palm rest alone costs an additional $75, which is more than a whole mechanical keyboards using Kailh switches retails for nowadays. And the complete price tag for the UHK system can go higher still, as the future expansion modules will another $60.
Meanwhile, although the pricey keyboard is appropriately extravagant in some ways, it's also not very impressive in others; at it's core you're still looking at a keyboard built using Kailh switches, and lacks even basic backlighting. While we cannot deny the excellent quality and customizability of the UHK, it lacks enough features to fully justify such a price tag.
To summarize, we believe that the market potential of the UHK is significantly limited. It is, at the same time, both the smallest mechanical keyboard and the most expensive mechanical keyboard that we have ever reviewed. But its feature set, while impressive at times, just can't justify such a humongous price tag. The UHK is a product designed strictly for a small percentage of IT professionals and experts – it may be a real toolbox at the hands of an IT expert, but also is an unreasonably expensive choice for practically everyone else.
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phoenix_rizzen - Thursday, March 12, 2020 - link
I use a split keyboard (Kinesis Freestyle 2) and would prefer if B and 6 were on both sides. I find my self wanting to use my right index finger for those two a lot, which always trips me up. :)I'm a touch typer, but not a "proper" touch typer (I don't use my pinkies and mainly use my index/middle fingers for everything, only occasionally using my ring fingers), but can still type around 80 wpm.
Voo - Monday, March 16, 2020 - link
Well the Freestyle 2 doesn't have mechanical keys so not really in the same league (it's significantly cheaper though).That said, Kinesis offers the excellent Freestyle Pro with either Cherry MX Brown or Reds for $180 and I have no idea why anybody would pick this keyboard over that one.
s.yu - Thursday, March 12, 2020 - link
Funny though I use my left index to type Y, another issue with these boards split in two.Old_Fogie_Late_Bloomer - Thursday, March 12, 2020 - link
Yup, me too. I'll never buy a split keyboard unless they put both B and Y on both sides. I think I'd probably need a duplicated 6, too (yup, just hit 6 with my right hand both times), but the B and Y are non-negotiable.eastcoast_pete - Thursday, March 12, 2020 - link
Interesting! One thought, one question. I think that a higher cost of the major input device might be quite worth it, as that is more often than not a key limiting factor for speed/productivity. I am sometimes amazed how people with HEDT or even professional workstation setups skimp on their keyboards and mice. Unless one spends only minutes at a time inputting data and then hours processing them without user input, a high quality keyboard will be the cheapest way to boost productivity.My question about this and similar keyboards is how secure are these "smart" setups? If they are as easy to compromise as many IoT devices, I would hesitate deploying them.
1_rick - Thursday, March 12, 2020 - link
My guess is that the Agent software is based on QMK and isn't IoT. Many modern alternative keyboards use QMK, which produces a file that gets directly downloaded from your PC to the keyboard.qit - Saturday, March 21, 2020 - link
"a high quality keyboard will be the cheapest way to boost productivity"Will boost the comfort of using the system for sure. Productivity? Maybe as a typist or "data entry specialist"?
Lots of professionals that input a lot on a keyboard (writer/coder/sys admin/etc) also need to think about what they are typing rather than "blindly" typing like a human copier. That thinking process, instead of the computer that they use (let alone the keyboard), is what's limiting productivity for most of them.
shabby - Thursday, March 12, 2020 - link
Is this suitable for content creators? Asking for a friend...s.yu - Thursday, March 12, 2020 - link
The build looks like it's worth $10, honestly.edzieba - Thursday, March 12, 2020 - link
Ah, the irony of a 'productivity' focussed keyboard in the 60% layout.