Closer Examination

The Zergotech Freedom is not your typical keyboard, if you didn't get it thus far. It is a split keyboard composed of two halves, if you will, each of which comes with a plastic wrap to keep it dust-free and pristine out of the box. The keyboard is on the larger side of things too, with each half weighing almost as much as some full-size keyboards. This thing is a tank, at least if your tank were split into two parts connected by a long tread. This is in part because of the integrated palm-rest compartment, which is a conscious decision as the company knows that it is part of arguably their biggest design feature here. But more on that soon enough, and we also have another implementation of keys aboard that makes it near-impossible to compare to other ergonomic, split keyboards. This is especially true with the bottom rows, where the larger keycaps make the provided double-sided keycap puller all the more useful.

Typically, a split keyboard cuts a 68%-TKL form factor keyboard in half, with the alphanumeric section usually split right down the middle. Keys on either side are a lottery in guesswork, and Zergotech uses what is closest to a 75% keyboard as far as dedicated keys go. We have the Fn row, for example, but the arrow keys and Ins-Pg Dn column is integrated into the rest of the keyboard, especially on the right half. However, the modifier keys are not typically where you'd expect them with the company giving Enter the position of the left space bar, if you will. This is an interesting choice, and just one among many we will cover more as we detail the rest of the keyboard. There is a tri-color setup for the keycap legends, which is actually quite handy in pointing out the secondary and tertiary layered functions, but these colors are also used for primary modifier legends, so it seems arbitrary until you realize the colors correspond to the associated layered functions. The cutout aside, the design is quite minimalist, although I suppose removing parts from the case adds to the minimalism literally. This is most definitely a keyboard you can use at work as long as you are prepared for the inevitable questions about its split form factor.


Flipping the keyboard around, we see a lot more going on than usual. For one, the left side of the keyboard is Zergotech's favorite child. It gets the keyboard sticker, and presumably the hardware drivers as well. There are four small circular rubber pads at the corner of each half, which I would have preferred larger and in the middle of the sides. We also see screw holes here, which bodes well for disassembly, but more on that later. Lastly, there are four keyboard feet per half, which are all made out of plastic to match the case, but with the thinnest rubber padding on the bottom. This, combined with how tight they are when closed, is another small issue I have with the keyboard design as the feet may now pick up scratches when the lining wears out.


That last part is all the more aggravating considering you are likely to use any one of several feet combinations, which allows for a variety of elevation, tilting, and tenting of the Zergotech Freedom to suit your specific ergonomic needs. Indeed, if you are among those who thought the default 5° angles are insufficient, be as aggressive as to go with the 12° angles on display above. As many other competing solutions instead prefer to sell tilt/tent kits as add-on accessories which broaden the ergonomic feature set, this is a big deal.


Ah, and here we have the sliding palm rests from before. Zergotech has three palm-rest options to choose from, with the default being the slim sliding palm rests seen above. Those with a taller profile are probably not what you want to use here since the recess is cut to near-perfectly fit the slim ones in terms of height. Somewhat jarring in use is that the rectangular nature of the palm rests means you will only hit a corner at the side walls of the recess, however. A trapezoidal profile for the sliding palm rests would have been better. The fixed palm rests, the third option from Zergotech, are trapezoidal and just fit in the recess completely to allow for a more traditional design.


Another strong indicator of the left side being the primary half is with the cables, where we have two attached cables coming out the top of the left half. One of these connects directly to the right half, which allows for up to 50 cm between the two halves. Here, I would have changed things by having detachable cables, especially for those wanting to add some flair with aftermarket cables, but also practicality with shorter or longer cables for another peripheral between the two halves. I will say, though, that 50 cm is generous enough for most users. The USB cable itself is the standard 6' long and goes to a USB Type A port on your computer/USB hub, and USB 2.0 suffices for power and data alike.


The take on the OEM profile for the keycaps has the first five rows sculpted and angled as with your average pre-built mechanical keyboard. Then there's the bottom row that shifts things downward—this row is clearly meant to be used with the thumbs. At the risk of going through my thoughts for the performance page here, this is a very smart decision given the rest of the keyboard. The choice of keys is a different matter, though. We also see here how the bespoke keycap puller comes in very handy—removing a keycap, we see thick PBT plastic for the keycaps (average wall thickness of 1.33 mm) with what appear to be pad-printed legends. There is definitely no backlighting support here, which is fine; however, it does mean that these are not as durable as, say, doubleshot injected or dye/thermal sublimated legends. Once again, given the non-standard layout and form factor here, I can understand Zergotech not wanting to pay for a dedicated keycap mold. The provided O-rings may be used in conjunction with the keycaps, and are easy enough to install and remove.


There are two switch options when buying the Zergotech Freedom, and given the ergonomics and typing emphasis here, it makes sense that one happens to be tactile and the other tactile and clicky. As such, I was happy to see both were all Kailh BOX switches, which are among my favorites from the major manufacturers. The BOX White is on my sample here, with the walled switch design adding dust and spill resistance to the white-stemmed switch that has a translucent base for backlighting in keyboards that support it. That walled design is not what the BOX refers to, and you can read more about it in this other review. The larger keycaps here are still small enough with the split nature of the Zergotech Freedom not to feel mushy, which the Cherry-style stabilizers used here tend to suffer from on other keyboards.