Maltron single-handed keyboard review (Cherry MX Black)
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- čas přidán 22. 08. 2024
- Skip to 12:58 for a typing demonstration.
Well, I've seen a lot of crazy stuff in my time, but this one is pretty high up on the nuts-o-meter. This is a Maltron single-handed keyboard, an ergonomic keyboard intended for people who have lost the use of one of their limbs. Naturally, curses will start flying.
My keyboard reviews: bit.ly/1TbOtft
My switch teardowns: bit.ly/2C1QGHz
My TOP X videos: bit.ly/2FmpZfd
My XL typing demos: bit.ly/2OoAW3w
My tutorials and featurettes: bit.ly/2OrkLUh
My unboxing videos: bit.ly/2TSrr0m
I'm Thomas and I do videos and reviews on mechanical keyboards ranging from the most sickening modern RGB gaming keyboards to vintage hardware relics, or sometimes keycaps or keyswitches ranging from Cherry MX to Alps SKCM to IBM buckling springs and anything in between.
Follow me on Twitter for updates on my keyboard videos! / chyrosran22
The practice sentence was: "Hello my name is Thomas and I'm typing on a Maltron keyboard right now. What endless and infinite moron came up with this?"
Cheaper when bought SECONDHAND
Oi missed that one , doubt it was intentional but a good one nonetheless
Which one, the right one or the left one?
Cease
nice
Stop! You've violated the law!
I went to a disabled college, and a mate with one arm was given the left handed one to try. He stayed with a normal keyboard.
Wrong hand? :D
I think he means UK college, which is like high school here in the US.
Given enough time, you could type only a tiny bit slower with one hand on a reg keyboard
@@Benzene265
@top.comment.god
Finally someone who loves this keyboard ! I was on the verge to buy one, and you review give me the final push to do it - Thank you, I hope I'll enjoy it like you do - and now I'll be able to told my friends that my keyboard is approved by Chyrosan !
oh no
Masochist.
Uuuhhhh
1:02 how can you buy it second-hand if you only have one hand?
I don't know why this is funny but its been 5 minutes and I've been laughing my ass off
LMAOOOOO!!! 🤣
“Where’s the apostrophe key?”
5:54 next to delete
𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏
marsh Kadesadaurat 13:41
lol watch before u comment
Idk why but “Where’s the apostrophe key?” had me in tears laughing.
@@tokatokatoka i think he was trying to show a clear view of when you can see it
W A N I N G
gotta bring some popcorn.
😂
he probably used the Maltron for typing that.. although he would have to use space 5 times- seems near impossible
He says it the way its spelled
it's like a waning moon, half hidden.
As if we don't have it for every episode.
i love how this guy just straight up says how shit something is. he is so brutally honest and i love it.
How sounds like if Critikal and Elon Musk had a baby.
so moist
@@pingozingoindeed
Paul Zach have you ever heard Elon Musk?
@@glass1540 uuuuhhh ye
*word waning pops up*
oh wow what a typo!
him giving the warning with his accent: “woahning”
oh well, never mind
It's like that on purpose :p .
it's always said "waning"
He typed it with this keyboard
Okay, as someone who no longer has the ability to use my right hand (I have hemiplegia cerebral palsy), I don't really get the idea of one-handed keyboards. I've only used a full-size (or TKL) my entire life, and although I am not the absolute best at typing, I get a WPM of about 50-55, so I'm pretty happy.
If you have any questions on how I type, feel free to ask - I'll be happy to answer!
This is what I came into the comments for, the words of someone who types one handed.
Thanks for sharing!
@@axelbostrom3606 No problem! I think I'm qualified to talk about stuff like this, since I'm exactly their target audience.
@Natalie T Yeah, I get that a lot. It's cool, though - I love answering questions people might have, since I've lived a very peculiar life.
@Lassi Kinnunen There's always sticky-keys to help with that kind of thing.
I'm sorry about your hand. I normally type Dvorak, and wish I learned steno instead. Several years back, I cut one of my fingers and switched to right-handed Dvorak for a week. The key placement seemed somewhat logical, and I was getting somewhere around 30 WPM after a few days. Moving the numbers to make space for more letters seemed logical. Do you think you could get faster with a one-handed keyboard, but 55 WPM is good enough so it's not worth the time learning? Or do you think there really is no advantage?
@@nathanbanks2354 Hey Nathan, thanks for the question! I've *kinda* wanted to learn Dvorak, but I just think that it would be impractical.
As for whether or not I could type faster on a one handed keyboard, I couldn't tell you. I'm pretty happy with my current speed, and although I appreciate companies that are trying to make typing accessible for anyone, I don't think that I would benefit all that much from it.
I guess any one-handed person who has to use this contraption will soon be zero-handed after chewing off the remaining one in desperation.
svenax lmfao
And then they will have to buy the mouth and stick version from the same brand 😁
@@Bata.andrei And subsequently gain cavities and bite their tongue so they won't have to use that too
@@Bata.andrei ahhh it all makes sense now. "Maltron".
During the typing demonstration, clock ticking sound in the background is also a nice subtle detail :)
I have never laughed so hard about a keyboard ever in my life 💀💀💀
it's my favourite WANING video
Ikr. This guys is just so hilarious
That lone Windows key is so adorable, like a lost puppy
Maybe the original plastic case was designed before Windows keys were added to keyboard layout?
If anything, this key seems like an afterthought.
Puppy get out of the street
It looks more like a tumor than a lost puppy
looks more like they slapped it on after forgetting to put it on the keyboard.
The typing is so slow you can actually make what he is typing lol
I know, right? Finally we can keep up with Thomas' typing.
Except for the fact that this layout is so disorienting i cant tell what key he's hit half the time, i gave up trying to follow but it does help give a feel for the viewer how much of a monstrosity this thing is.
I just got the "on a MALTRON keyboard." also "right now" after the leyboard.
@@bryanleiporsado6845 I'm too lazy to go back and read what he was typing. lol
I came to the comments looking for someone who had done it lol
I've never been this entertained watching a typing demo.
love how you can hear the clock ticking in the background during the typing demonstration
It's was both laughable and painful to watch the typing demo.
Tic, toc, tic, toc, tic, toc, tic, toc.. the clock in the background really makes it.
"Where's the apostrophe key?"
Its anxiety inducing when you cant find a key
I really expected the keyboard to go flying out of frame with a loud crash at the end
This seems like it's a missed opportunity. Throw RGB lights all over this ass cancer, flip it around so the left hand can use it, slap a Razer or Corsair logo on there and you've got something people would pay big bux for.
Maybe add a scroll wheel and make the housing thicker plastic.
Maybe add the guileful gentleman's sausage to the side... err... genius knob!
At least it would make a fun Porn keyboard, this is just shit.
Maybe remodel the whole thing into an actual keyboard and then people would buy it
dont forget to change the key font into that disgusting gaming font!
@@NotPython ooh, this with the Razer font would be hilarious.
OMFG
BTW, this costs $700 new.
I love the cheesy aluminum foil logo.
$700!!!!?????????
700$?!(It's a lot in my currency), I would rather buy a set of pc, than buy this Shit
@@saturnpeax it's a lot in anyone's currency my man, it's a new PC in America too
700 bucks for a cheaply made, handwired PS2 keyboard that's somehow even further from ergonomic than a normal qwerty keeb? How delightful.
This is absolute GOLD at 3am when you're just innocently looking up what a one handed keyboard looks like. 👌👌👌
The first time I saw a photo of this keyboard way back when, I remember thinking:
I don't see how you use this, but I am not one-handed, and presumably the designers created this layout and form factor based on decades of expertise in ergonomics and a knowledge of the needs of the disabled.
I guess I was wrong.
Lassi Kinnunen
I understand your sentiment, but in some cases, there is a justification for "ergonomic" devices.
The one that jumps to mind are knives and forks for elderly people. They have huge balls on the end of the cutlery to make gripping them with arthritis easier. Those look horrible and deformed compared to regular cutlery, but they have most definitely a valid use case.
Surely they put those buttons S-A-T-E-H-N purposefully for at least a reason.
That might already described itself how evil this abomination it is.
that's hilarious, i didn't see that.
any take on the "u" key?
@@calinguga Its in the cluster for thumb with Space, Enter and I...
The left handed version has it mirrored N-H-E-T-A-S
I’ve never watched this channel but after a minute in, I was pleasantly surprised by the hilarious commentary. Subscribed 😂
This keyboard design reminds me of one Simpson episode where homer designed a car....
It's a keyboard so bad that you said something during its typing demonstration.
I remember he slammed the Smith Corona keyboard before but nothing like this lol
Now imagine for a moment... If it had mitsumi minis in it.
I got chills
Imagine if it had Smith switches.
@@XanthinZarda The one handed god of spoons?
@@hjalfi And let's give it some mice switches just for the extra annoying factor.
watching you attempt to use these strange keyboards truly warms my heart. i'm not even sure why, but it's seriously entertaining. i'm just sitting here smiling like a dirtbag watching you struggle.
thanks for taking another one for the team.
There is power behind your voice when you swear and I love it.
I like how right control is on the left and left control is in the middle.
It’s really hard to imagine how this would be more comfortable than 80% or 60% even if you only have one hand.
I have two working hands, but have used one hand to type while navigating via mouse in games like Second Life, that is awkward, but perfectly doable and I almost don't have to look down. This thing is huge pile of sunbaked bricks of poodle turd piled into a Zuggarat to the god of Dogshit keyboards, WTF.
"PS2 on a translucent cable" -- They must have been using all the throwaway cabling from "cool" keyboards in the late 90s / early 2000s.
If the label inside is any indicator, this keyboard seems to have been made in 2005.
This is THE BEST review of anything on the internet. Truly staggeringly brilliant.
dude, bad review. I'm a pro csgo player and I frag out on this thing ;)))
Hax
@@fademan77 yeah, I do be using that ahk in valorant
Being a CSGO pro just means RNGesus loves you :p .
@@Chyrosran22 he sure didn't like this keyboard
@@Chyrosran22 hahaha, was kidding m8. cheers though. very entertaining vid
TFW you see a Chyrosran22 video thumbnail and IMMEDIATELY hear profanity in his voice before you even click....
"What in the pill sniffing christ in heaven"
The sound of the clock ticking just adds to the effect of how long it is taking you to type on this monstrosity
Amazing.
Love your content!
I didn't know you were a Chyrosran22 fan as well! See you around Discord!
Didn't think I'd see you here
do more flashlight videos
This like the previous Maltron just reinforces to me that early ergo keyboards probably didn't give two shits about ergonomics. It was all about novelty, and for many contemporary designs, it still is.
Never heard so many random swear words
He's invented a new language with profanity
Fritz
Fused with blasphemy.
He reminds me of the mid-to-late 2000’s youtubers who thought that the more “creative” swear words they stuff in a sentence the funnier it is. This style of humor has not aged very well.
@@alexg111 I disagree
You single handedly made me laugh so hard that I nearly passed out from shortness of breath! I both liked and subscribed keep up the good work brother.
3:18 where is the “I” key??? Am I blind?
I didn't find it either
It's above the space key
i assumed it was the down arrow when he talked about it, until i noticed the cluster. but yeah it's above the spacebar
I think this would be my first time hearing someone go "Where's the apostrophe key?" in a typing test
Chyrosan: warning.
The video: W A N I N G
I love how the new “WANING” screen still retains the deliberate typo! As for the keyboard...how do you expect to even use it quickly?
"hand built usually mean shoddy quality" - Jeremy Clarkson
"This was built in a shed... by a man in Sheffield."
I'd advise against linking to this video on your eBay page when you come to sell this thing.
When there's a literal warning before the video starts, telling you that there's going to be harsh language, you know you're in for a good time.
I saw the typing demonstration and thought to myself : "That's not so bad".
Then I remembered that I was watching at 2x speed.
Sorry for the probably-a-silly-question, but what model IBM keyboard is that at 3:08 ...?
czcams.com/video/r5H58uudo1Y/video.html
@@Graham_Wideman Keyboard channels have the best comment section and the most helpful people. Thank you!
I love strange ergonomic stuff. I was planning to sell my kidneys to get one of those single hand maltrons. Just for the kicks of the ultimate Hellraiser moment "full pain and pleasure"...
But Tommy, for Christ ever cloning fish and sticks. It took me 45 minutes to watch this video! I laughed so much, cried. Not to mention that your voice reminded me those great BBC narrators... HUAHUA you could make a video of bad keyboards mating and giving birth to the Maltron Abomination! I could sent you my Dr. Frankenstein impersonation of the "it's alive" sceney
I need to transcript the cursing. "Jesus stapled ass?" HUAHUAHUAHAUAHUA in these Voldemort world human malware era, this video made my year! Thanks.
Haha cheers mate xD .
I’m a long time Kinesis Advantage user, and have wondered about the Maltron from afar, but this definitely digs into some truly egregious flaws in the design that I cannot imagine justifying.
The Kinesis Advantage isn’t perfect, and is no gaming keyboard, but it absolutely has relieved my hand strain for 15 years, as well as increased my typing speed as a programmer, so the only temptation I’ve had is with Ergodox which is no cheaper and seems less helpful in terms of hand strain, despite offering nice advantages [sic]. The bowl shape on the Kinesis is much better spent and accessible, and the default QWERTY layout is totally fine and I’ve stuck with it. I’ve rearranged some punctuation and modifiers to my liking, and the punctuation takes a good week of training, but these things are built well and totally habit forming.
The ticking clock during the typing demo is just perfect lol
Am I the only one who loves listening to him curse? Simply because his voice is gorgeous and it’s a shock every time.
I can type decent with just my left hand, which I found out when I had a plaster cast on my right arm. That's on a normal keyboard though, I can't imagine being able to do much with this abomination. That "bowl" with the keys, I'm getting sympathetic sprain just from looking at it.
the insane layout is the worst part, switching layouts bogs down typing speed on any keyboard. if it were qwerty cuddled up in there it wouldn't be that bad.
I've used one for quite a while. It's dead comfortable over 60 wpm for me all day no problem. It's the only serious option for one handed keyboarding other than voice recognition. That's great as well!
Well, I don't know exactly what this "keyboard" inventor's problem is, but I'm sure it has to be hard to pronounce!
I was expecting a nice easy-going keyboard review. This video was SO MUCH BETTER than I could have imagined.
I am not into keyboards but your dark humor is so good I keep watching these videos.
Entertaining as always! I think to be fair, like any proprietary key layout, it would take some good time to learn. I used the Malt (ie dual handed Maltron layout) on the ergodox for a long time and have found it to be the best option for thumb dominant boards. Took a while to learn however but worth it I think. Maltron , Kinesis, Dactyl manuform, all use this idea of a keybowl. Moving keys closer to one another by creating a curve does make sense. I also wonder if some profiled keycaps on the thumb cluster would bring out the best in that area. Some Cherry and SA caps for giving an angle and increasing key cap height on some keys. Surely better than a flat keyboard. Hovering around a flat keyboard with one hand and no wrist rest is a killer.
The moment you realize a seasoned typist is outpaced by the clock tick is when you know you have a hell sent torturing device.
_"Why the flaming spaghetti fuck..."_ I'm crying 🤣
Man, hearing the clock tick by while you slowly seek out the keys is the funniest fucking thing
WHAT is that Red button upstairs?? Direct call to the SATEHN itself?
this is great! so sorry you had to inflict this pain on yourself, but it was very entertaining! kinda disappointed you didn't talk about the red SELF DESTRUCT button on it. what does it do?
I checked the manual. It doesn't even mention it, even though it's visible on the promotional images. Probably a pre-programmed macro key that types out an apology.
@@kshadehyaena hahaha that's great! thanks for checking!
You were too reserved in using this. The vaccumform chasis is meant to flex so that the stabbing/punching motion doesn't injure the user as they express their fustration. It's a way of building in overtravel without altering the switches.
I'd guess that as common computers users started using more keyboard features, instead of creating a secondary bowl, they just stacked them around the typing cluster so that the end-user(s) have all the keycaps needed to fit their custom layouts.
This is *single-handedly* the funniest keyboard review I've ever watched.
There were periods of my life that I would pull up Maltron pics more often than any human female.
Says James.
Whether or not this particular manifestation of "new ideas" in keyboarding turned out well, I'm firmly in the camp of "standard row-staggered qwerty layouts absolutely suck and we only like them because we're used to them," and I'm always happy to see designs that attempt superior layouts, ergonomics, and efficiency. Like split keyboards and ortholinear or columnar staggered designs. This one might indeed be terrible though. I don't know.
maltron released academic papers documenting their design choices and evidence of their keyboards reducing pain over normal keyboards
"Fuck this bucket of atrocious ass juices" has equals chances of being found in a shakespeare text as in an translated anime fanfiction .
I've known about these things for about 10-12 years now, and I always assumed they were bespoke, very high quality industrial-strength keyboards, due to the price and the obvious "made in a shed by a man" design styling. To find out that they're still made in a shed by a man, but are THAT low-quality is really making me question everything in my life. That plastic is SHOCKINGLY THIN. I was like "oh surely with that dimpled texture it's gotta be a good 2-5mm thick, must weigh a ton!"
This man is the Gordon Ramsay of Keyboards
I cracked up when you had to _ask_ where the apostrophe key is. LOL
From a Left-Handed person, I'd like to say there is no way in hell I would type with that
The keys on the left really look like they're meant for your left hand. Is this really supposed to be for one handed people? Seems like pretty poor design choice.
I imagine, it's for one HANDED people. You could use your left arm with a hook, or the mouth stick to peck on that cluster.
There's right handed version of it.
czcams.com/video/cOdEdo2VqUI/video.html
Thomas: If they offer you Poet Laureate, will you accept? Beginning to suspect you may be a Vogon. :)
his calm voice + the cursing is so relaxing
If anyone is curious about a bowl shaped keyboard, look into the dactyl or dactyl manuform. Its meant to be a split keyboard but technically you could just use one side with the power of qmk keybinding stuff if you are missing a hand.
Cus the major issue with this maltron one handed one is that its way too bulky and lacks customization. Im pretty sure it was designed and sold in the like the 80s and the design was never changed.
Fun fact: the word *W A N I N G* was typed using the Maltron single-handed keyboard
This is the most foul-mouthed person with britsh accent i've found on youtube. Your top the list pal.
I'll take it xD .
@@Chyrosran22 I would love to see a Sean (jacksepticeye) vs Thomas swear-off. Utterly unmonetisable of course, and you undoubtedly hold the crown for artistic merit, but I wonder if Sean could potentially outdo you in wpm :D
This guy sounds like the National Geographic Wild Life Narrator explaining the natural habitat of these untamed animals and how they survive in their environment.
The quality of the profanity in this video is inversely proportional to the quality of the keyboad. Well done, sir, very well done indeed.
“W A N I N G”
I just realized he’s Dutch! :o
Te gek man!
5:12 the moment I went from curious viewer to dedicated subscriber
Why does there need to be 3 number inputs? Wtf
Just turn the number pad sideways and remap those keys then you almost have a useable keyboard.
“Waning” 😂
dude, i promise that these weird keyboards have functionality for a few people that really need them.
True
yeah that's what kind of irks me about this whole review. the ignorance/ableism on display is maddening
Really? Or are the disabled being sold a bill of goods?
I'm not trying to be needlessly confrontational. If you can find a CZcams video of someone using this inexplicably strange keyboard reasonably, then please drop that video in the thread.
In concept, yeah, but in execution, these things are laughable. It's insane that they've been making keyboards for over 40 years, yet their build quality is as poor as humanly possible. You'd think that in the massive leaps and bounds of improvements in keyboard technology and manufacturing technology as a whole, they'd come up with something like injection-molded cases, mounting plates, PCBs, SOMETHING to justify their ludicrous prices.
@@sweetypuss Not in this case. The criticism on the position of the clusters for one hand and the steep high of the keyboard that maximize one-hand movement in awkward positions, plus the criticism on build quality (seriously, if you are unfortunate enough to drop it you need to shell another 300 euros? That is ableism, designing what should be working tools as if they were children toys just because they are targeting people with one hand), and finally a stiff switch that maximizes the effort of each finger on a hand that is already putting double duty. And I'm not talking about Chyrosram22 hate-on for Cherry, I'm talking for the decision of picking, of all the Cherry options, the linear (max impact) 60 grms (instead of 45) option so the tips of the hand can really feel that load.
Seriously, as someone with lateral epycondilitis (tennis elbow) I am actually saving for a better keyboard, since I'm writing in a generic butterfly 60% thing that I do not like very much, but that press its keys when I sight too near, and thus it's more merciful in my finger tendons (the grip strength drops a lot when the dam elbow tendon throw a tantrum). I would like some other light keyboard but with a bit more key travel to soft the impacts a bit more, and was considering a Maltron or Kinesis to reduce hand pronation and wrist torsion, but with this review I'm going to hope that Kinesis is a bit better. So damn expensive... Sight.
My patience for typos is waning.
12:57 "Hello my name is Thomas and I'm typing on a Maltron keyboard right now. What endless and infinite moron cade[sic] up with this?"
if you’re gonna do avgn’s schtick but for keyboards at least try not to make it so obvious
i wrote this comment before i saw 7:37 i mean come on that sounds like its directly ripped from one of his videos
People can come up with the same ideas for profanity you know and AVGN probably wasn’t the first to come up with that either.
Ethan Mills ok sure but its extremely similar to the exact things avgn is known for sayinf
Logan I feel like you missed the point I was trying to make
Please leave your political option about guns out of a keyboard review !!! Thanks .
I'm a simple man,
I hear a review with swearing,
I subscribe.
Haven't we all been in one handed situations while browsing the web?
I must say I manage quite well with my left hand on a regular keyboard. But thanks, Maltron, for trying to make that experience even more challenging.
Okay so this came up on my recommended, never watched one of your vids, but christ the sarcasm and language fucking hallarious dude, keep up the good work
I imagine some goblin creature hand soldering the switches, cackling manically knowing they are building the ultimate typing torture device about to be released into the world...
It's 3am and I'm watching a guy review a keyboard and eating icecream in bed.
What even is my life.
I thought of making a joke like "Did Kakashi use kamui on this?"
i fucking lost it at "why the flaming spaghetti fuck" lmfaooo
It's like watching my grandpa try to login to his email lmao
12 minutes of POSTAL guy roasting a keyboard. I'm definitely subbing.
i like how this guy curses while sounding so calm