The best travel keyboard for digital nomads – Buyer’s guide

Finally, the fourth and last key item to put in our nomad kit is a digital nomad keyboard. The laptops we discussed in the digital nomad laptop guide all have great built-in keyboards. However, to be honest, after testing an ergonomic keyboard, you might want not to look back… To give you a practical example, when I use an ergonomic keyboard, my typing speed actually increases by 50% (it’s true, I just did the test at typingtest.com again right now…)! In addition, an external keyboard is the key companion to your laptop stands. So, no excuse!

What to look for in terms of buyer’s choice for our future keyboard? Weight, like always, compactness, connectivity, and ergonomics will be our criteria:

  • Weight, because we at the end of the day our backpack should still remain as light as possible.
  • Compactness, because staying carry-on is just awesome, and you want to fit all this in your 35 liters digital nomad travel backpack.
  • For the connectivity, Bluetooth would be perfect. RF (i.e. based on a USB dongle) would be good enough, but we would prefer to avoid using that additional USB port on our laptop.
  • And finally, the ergonomics, because this can boost our productivity and will have a positive impact long term on our health .

So let’s dive into it!

Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Wireless Keyboard

microsoft sculpt ergonomic keyboard

Our top pick is the Microsoft Sculpt ergonomic keyboard. In terms of use, this keyboard is just great: it is very ergonomic, has a nice touch feeling, and a good autonomy. Its structure made of aluminium make it quite robust, and it is nice to use. The connectivity is done with RF, through a USB dongle. You will therefore need a free USB port to plug.

To give some additional feedback, I had never used an ergonomic keyboard before this one, and I must say that the impact on my typing speed has been impressive. As soon as you start using the keyboard, you feel that you are typing faster. And when I actually measure my typing speed, it is 50% higher with this keyboard than when I type directly on my laptop… Also, when using the ergonomic keyboard, you also immediately feel that the position of your wrists and your hands is better, less constrained. This is really nice.

The only drawbacks of this keyboard are its shape and its weight. It’s shape, because it is built with an inversed V shape that actually gives it its ergonomic features. However, this means that it takes a lot of space when we pack it. The second issue is the weight, at near 800g. Indeed, the aluminum structure which makes it strong and sturdy also makes its heavy. It is still easy to carry around, but it starts to add up to our backpack load.

However, despite those two disadvantages, it ended up being the keyboard of my choice, and the one I actually use to type those words. The comfort of use and the typing speed improvement were the things that drove the decision for me. Overall, I really recommend that you give a try to the Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard, you will like it!

Logitech K380 Bluetooth Multi Device Keyboard

Logitech k380 wireless keyboard

The runner up in our list of digital nomad keyboards is the Logitech K380.  This keyboard has an interesting balance between weight, ergonomics and compactness. With 420g, it is reasonably light, while far from the ultralight models that can be found at close to 100g.

However, the added weight gives it more strength, and it is also a bit wider than the lightest and most compact options available. The shape of the keys is round, which makes it a bit different, but is not a problem to adapt to. On the connectivity side, it will link easily to your laptop using Bluetooth, and can actually remember to up to 3 devices simultaneously. It is quite compact and robust.

It still believes it should be lighter, but this is still a great digital nomad keyboard option. Check out the Logitech K380 Bluetooth Keyboard.

 

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