Another happy Svalboard user is crushing it on day 1! I'm really amazed at how quickly most folks are adapting, users of split ergo boards seem to be getting the hang in a week or so, and transitioning to full-time use after 2-3 weeks!
Took me way longer twenty years ago on Datahand, but I had atrocious touch-typing form ;P
Context: Svalboard is my evolution of Datahand and lalboard into a production device. I build them myself here in Pacifica, CA.
It surrounds the fingers with magnetically actuated keys in 5 directions, with total anatomical customizability through novel fitment mechanisms that can suit any hand size and finger anatomy.
20g force is standard, and the profile is insanely tactile/clicky, with instant actuation and very fast breakaway of forces (1/x^2).
It runs QMK-Vial, and is totally modular. Replacement parts can be printed on a Prusa MK3S or equivalent.
Lots more detail at https://www.svalboard.com
Come join the Discord, it's pretty lively and I post lots of the day-to-day design and fabrication experiments as I evolve things! :D
Cool project, seems like something that I would like to try out, but that price point just isn’t realistic for something so niche. It may well be fantastic, but a nearly $800 gamble is too risky when the market is flooded with keyboard alternatives I can build for an eighth of the cost.
Why not sell the hardware kit for something more reasonable and then let us print our own casing?
I offer a pretty generous return policy for a built-to-order device -- returns are honored up to 6mo with a $100/mo refurb fee assuming good condition -- you pay return shipping. So yeah, there's the upfront cost which pays for my time, but you still get the white-glove service I offer because I'm so confident that you'll fall in love with it :D
But... if you can build something for an eighth of the cost that works for you and makes you happy, you should definitely do that! I hope you DON'T need a Svalboard! Nobody should have to struggle to do their job pain-free, and the proliferation of cheap Cornes and rad BKB kits and everything else is totally amazing and warms my heart 😍
Niche products are expensive for precisely the reasons you note -- they serve a narrow market with specific needs, and they generally cost a lot to build, or can only make the business work with higher margins due to modest volume. And when they're from outer space, like Svalboard, that is extra true. Maybe the business model doesn't work, but me and about 10,000 other people thought Datahand was good enough to pay 3X this much in inflation-adjusted terms ;)
That said, I love self-builders, and there is a beta self-print kit coming in the next month or two ;) Join the Discord to follow along, the build guide is still totally WIP and mostly in my head, so it's gonna take some time. I'm hoping the community will contribute to that aspect since I'm trying to focus on core dev right now.
Beware, though -- this is not an easy print or a simple assembly. ~275 parts if you count all the hardware, tiny-ass magnets -- super tight single-wall tolerances, etc. It's 100% doable on an MK3S but it's not the best FDM starter project.