Driver

There is no software driver support for the Evoluent Reduced Reach Right Handed keyboard, with all functionality being hardware-based. As such, I have chosen to combine the driver and performance pages into one.

Performance

There is six-key rollover USB here, as Aqua's test confirms. 6KRO is native to USB and is fine for what this keyboard is aimed at considering that does not include modifier actions in the count (CTRL, Shift, etc.). No key chatter was detected using Switch Hitter, so all is good on that end.

There is some getting used to with the keyboard's layout being what it is, and it took me longer than I would have expected. But then again, I deal with so many keyboards following the same old QWERTY, ANSI, or 104-key form factor that my fingers immediately went in expecting the usual, and muscle memory is a pain to deal with. I took it to work daily, and the increased portability helped a lot here, with satisfying results after eight days of writing at about 3-4 hours each day. I was also working on a project that involved a lot of spreadsheet work, so the dedicated Num Pad on the left came in very handy here once I got used to it. Ditto the Windows task shortcuts at the very top, and I would say the working professional in an office using a similar setup would find it just as handy.


The primary feature of the keyboard, as the name itself suggests, is the reduced reach. I am using Evoluent's own images to help demonstrate this, as they did a good job of it. A conventional full-size keyboard works great when you have both hands on the keyboard, but the repeated need to stretch away and back again when handling a mouse will tire wrists, arms, and shoulders alike. I can personally attest to this after spending years typing for 6-7 hours most days with a standard layout keyboard. As such, I went to a TKL keyboard before then, getting a separate Num Pad for when I had to use it, and I often just ended up leaving the Num Pad on the left anyway. I then shifted to the ErgoDox EZ (covered here previously), which is a more specialized ergonomic keyboard, but what Evoluent did here would definitely have come in handy before. Indeed, there are other options available or coming to market now that either have the Num Pad on the left or come with a detachable Num Pad that can be moved to the left or right for connectivity, but this happens to be the first one I tested, and I am glad I did.

Scissor switches are not my favorite type of switch necessarily, which is a matter of personal taste. My superior at work, for example, would not give up his scissor switch keyboard even when I offered him a mechanical switch keyboard. So this is where I will let you judge whether this is for you or not without adding or deducting any points from the score for the switch type. That aside, the keyboard functions exactly as you would expect it to. You do need to bottom out to actuate here; however, the low-profile nature of the scissor switches means that bottoming out (and also actuation distance) is a matter of 2 mm, which is on par with the actuation distance of most mechanical switches. The switches do not provide the best tactile feedback, especially given their height, and it was slightly inconsistent on this sample, so do not expect anything other than bottoming out to be the only real indication of a keystroke having taken place. The average bottoming out/actuation force measured in at close to 60 g, which may sound heavy, but does not really feel so.


As always, the sound of a keyboard is based on more than just the switch type. So when comparing sound clips, consider the keyboard as a whole. In this case, I have provided above an example sound clip of me typing on the Evoluent Reduced Reach Right Handed keyboard sample at ~85 WPM, but note that the microphone gain was turned up slightly more than is usually the case to even be able to hear these, hence also the background noise. For context, you can find sound clips from other keyboards here, including those with membrane and mechanical switches. I did bottom out here, of course, but the combination of the rubber domes and low profile/travel means this is a very quiet keyboard to type on - nearly perfect for a busy office!