HHKB

I tried many different keyboards at the peak of Covid, ranging from the KBD67 Lite all the way to the Keycult No. 1/60. While all of them are amazing keyboards — and I still own a couple — my daily driver has now become the HHKB Hybrid Type-S.

The Happy Hacking Keyboard is a small computer keyboard produced by PFU Limited of Japan, co-developed with Japanese computer scientist and pioneer Eiiti Wada. Unlike most boards, the HHKB does not use standard MX switches — it uses Topre switches. When I first tried them at a keyboard meetup, something felt right.

I went home, watched some videos, and the keyboard won me over. I quickly ordered it on Amazon for around $450 CAD.

Another factor on my mind was that I had just joined the workforce, where I use the CLI heavily. Every time I was troubleshooting or watching videos, I noticed that a lot of people had an HHKB. As a CLI user, the HHKB layout made perfect sense — the hands travel less, the wrists stay straight, and after learning a few shortcuts, working in the terminal reached a new level of efficiency.

Around the same time, I started dipping my toes into Neovim BTW — and I finally understood why there was a cult around the HHKB. The unique layout, durability, sound, and the Topre feel all won me over.

I still try new keyboards to this day, but I keep coming back to the HHKB as my daily driver. As a CLI and TUI user, this is peak.

“Cowboys in the western United States leave their horses when they die, but never leave their saddles — regardless of how long they need to walk in the desert. Saddles are interfaces that are deeply adapted to our bodies, whereas horses are consumable items. It should not be forgotten that computers are consumables nowadays, but keyboards are interfaces that we can use throughout our lives.” — Eiiti Wada, Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo