Over the years fingers get sore or sometimes even numb in the tips from spamming hotkeys.
I think my keyboard is too firm, interested in a rubber dome or membrane keyboard. Anyone in a similar situation and have any recommendations?
I’d consider mechanical as well, but it would have to be effortless almost to press down and not a super hard plastic for the key
I don’t know too much about membrane KBs, but a friend of mine had just bought a membrane keyboard with rubber domes just days ago and she’s enjoying the soft keys and silent operation - the Logitech G213. It’s 36.99 on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K48R5V4?tag=pcworld02-20&geniuslink=true
The three main factors that determine how “hard” a keyboard are:
In prebuilt keyboards, you can find models that use switches with light actuation and little rubber bumpers to “cushion” each keystroke (look for boards using Cherry MX Red Silent switches, the silent part being what adds padding), but with practically all of them you’re stuck with a hard steel plate that has almost no give to it. This problem affects even rubberdome boards.
To get a softer plate material you have to get into the realm of custom keyboards, which offers a range of material options ranging from titanium (harder than steel) to aluminum (softer than steel) to circuit board material (softer than alu) to polycarbonate/plastic (super soft). There is one type of prebuilt that’s quite soft because it uses enhanced rubberdomes and a plastic plate, but they’re expensive relative to your typical gamer keyboard so I won’t post it here unless there’s interest.
If shallow chiclet/laptop keys aren’t off the table, it may be worth considering a well reviewed scissor switch keyboard. They typically take very little force to actuate, and with some training to not hammer keys (so your fingers aren’t slamming the plate after bottoming out the key) can be decent.