Kinesis is a computer peripherals manufacturer solely focused on the design and manufacture of ergonomic input devices. They were one of the first companies in the field, with their earliest ergonomic products released nearly three decades ago. That makes Kinesis one of the oldest peripherals manufacturers, with the brand establishing a solid number of followers over the years.

Until recently, Kinesis designed and released products exclusively targeted towards professionals that work long hours in front of a computer. Despite their peculiar appearance and the narrow target group, virtually every one of their products has been a memorable success. Last year Kinesis took a huge leap of faith and started a crowdfunding campaign for an ergonomic mechanical gaming keyboard, giving birth to the Freestyle Edge, the world’s first ergonomic gaming mechanical keyboard. This summer Kinesis is giving the Freestyle Edge an upgrade via the release of the Freestyle Edge RGB, which we'll be looking at today.

Though before we even start, we should note that Kinesis did not merely add RGB lighting, as the keyboard’s name suggests. It is true that most companies just added an “RGB” suffix next to their keyboard’s original name and released virtually the same keyboard with RGB lighting added to it. Kinesis, on the other hand, took their time correcting issues and making improvements to the underlying Freestyle Edge design, making the Freestyle Edge RGB a true upgrade over the previous version.

Packaging and Bundle

Kinesis supplies the Freestyle Edge RGB in a well-designed cardboard box. The artwork is centered on the keyboard and its most prominent features. Inside the box, we found the keyboard very well protected with layers upon layers of cardboard packaging, plus nylon bags. The company has provided us with the optional Lift Kit as well, which we will examine alongside with the keyboard.

Save for the keyboard itself, there is nothing in the box but a simple quick start guide. The guide is very helpful to have handy due to the numerous advanced functions of the keyboard. Kinesis does not provide any other accessories. A keycap puller would have been nice but that is not the end of the world.

The optional lift kit allows for the keyboard to “tent”.  The mechanisms are large and plastic (ABS) but they are well designed, durable and practical. Their movements are very smooth, and their construction is very solid. Still, they are unlikely to survive excessive mechanical shock while the keyboard is fully elevated. Short-tempered users notoriously known for rage punching are advised to steer away from the lift kit (or take much-needed anger management lessons).

The Kinesis Freestyle Edge RGB Gaming Mechanical Keyboard

One quick and rather inaccurate way to describe the Kinesis Freestyle Edge RGB would be that it is “a tenkeyless mechanical keyboard that is split in two”. Much like its predecessor, it is an atypical keyboard that cannot be really compared to typical ANSI or ISO layouts.

Further underscoring this, Kinesis even changed the layout of the keyboard in comparison to its predecessor. One of the most prominent changes is the transfer of the ESC key right above the tilde key, where it should be, forcing the designer to combine the Del and Scroll Lock keys into one key. Scroll Lock is a key that is rarely used, so the majority of the users should not care about having to access it via a two keys keystroke. Meanwhile, there are still no Windows and Menu buttons to the right side of the keyboard.

The original version of the Freestyle Edge featured an array of ten extra keys, eight programmable keys for macros/advanced commands and two for function/lighting control. The new version retains all of these keys, plus a large double-sized “game” key above them. This large key used to be the ESC key, which is now moved to the right.

Kinesis implemented a selectable dual-mode for the Fn key. By default, the Fn key operates as on most other keyboards, requiring the user to keep it pressed for the secondary commands of the other keys to function. However, it is also possible to switch the Fn key into a “lock mode”, meaning that pressing the Fn key just once will lock the keyboard into the Fn layer until the Fn key is pressed again.  It is possible, via the software, for the user to reprogram any of the keys of each layer individually, including the macro keys, meaning that the keyboard can virtually change to an entirely different layout between the Fn and the top layer with the press of a single button and without switching profiles.

Aside from its unique layout, there are no extra mechanical keys on the right side of the keyboard. However, there are four small surface buttons at the top of the right board. The rightmost button is the “Smartset” button and is used to access most of the keyboard’s advanced features. This includes the special commands printed on the F7-F12 keys, which do not belong to the Fn layer by default but can only be actuated by holding down the Smartset button and then pressing that key. The combination of the Smartset button, Shift key, and the F12 triggers a full reset, bringing the keyboard back to its factory default mode. One needs to be careful with that because everything is stored inside the keyboard so, unless profiles were manually extracted and stored beforehand, hours of programming different layers and long macros can be extinguished in an instant.

The left of the four small buttons is the Profile button (renamed from “layout”, most likely because gamers are familiar with the term “profile”). It allows for users to switch between the first three profiles of the keyboard. The Freestyle Edge supports up to nine profiles though, and the rest are accessible by holding down the Smartset button and pressing a number from one to nine, in which case the keyboard will jump directly to the selected layout. The second button, the Macro button, allows for the quick recording of a macro and assignment to any key. It does not require any software to function and works in all layouts and layers, and on any key. The final button, the Remap button, is very similar to the Macro button, but just remaps a button to any other instead of programming a more complex command.

We should also spend a moment to discuss the keyboard’s wrist rests. Kinesis used to have simple foam cushions in the Freestyle Edge, which were comfortable, but they could get really dirty and would need replacement sooner or later. The company went with a major upgrade here, installing leather-like (probably microfiber) cushions on the Freestyle Edge RGB. Moreover, the cushions are now removable, making it extremely easy to clean them.

Each of the keyboard’s halves has five thick rubber feet attached, plus another two smaller feet can be found on each of the palm rests. The grip on a wooden surface is just right – enough to keep the keyboard from moving unintentionally, yet not high enough to be annoying when the user intentionally wants to move one half of the keyboard. A very simple and quick programming guide is attached beneath the left half of the keyboard.

The left half of the keyboard has a hidden compartment that can be used to extend or reduce the length of the cable connecting the two halves of the keyboard.  A simple but cleverly implemented design allows for the cable’s length to be adjusted in steps of 1.5”. Note that, without the optional Lift Kit, the Freestyle Edge does not support any kind of tilt adjustments. Kinesis intentionally does not place any rear tilt feet on their keyboards. Although the vast majority of people are used to them, having a keyboard slope up from the front to back is actually hurtful for your wrists, and that is something that a company focused on ergonomics cannot have.

As expected, the Freestyle Edge RGB is using original Cherry MX switches. Our sample came with Brown switches of the RGB variant with clear bodies. The Cherry MX Brown switch is tactile but with minimal audible feedback, and Kinesis also offers the keyboard with Red and Blue switches as well. Cherry cross-type supports can be found under the larger keys. A bright white metal plate beneath the keycaps reflects and enhances the backlighting colors.

The keycaps of the Kinesis Freestyle Edge RGB are a tricky subject. Technically, all keycaps designed for Cherry MX switch stems are compatible but the layout of the keyboard is not exactly standard. Most of the main keys are standard but the right CTRL and Shift keys are 1.75x (same size as a Caps Lock key). The Spacebar keys are 3.5x wide and it is unlikely that replacements for these can be found at this point of time.

Much like its name suggests, the Freestyle Edge RGB features full 16.7 million color RGB backlighting – at least theoretically, as no human being can differentiate that many colors. Cherry MX RGB switches still have the LEDs at their top side but their translucent bodies diffuse the light around the keycap. The lighting still is brighter at the top of the key, where the main character is, making the secondary characters at the bottom of the keycap barely readable. That is an inherent limitation of the Cherry MX RGB switch design and is not something that can be easily fixed while using these particular switches. 

The optional Lift Kit allows each half of the keyboard to “tent”. It is a tilt mechanism but, instead of tilting the keyboard from the rear up, it lifts each half sideways, towards the hands of the user. It has three tilt angles, from five to fifteen degrees in five degrees steps. We should also note that the palm rests are a requirement for the lift kit to be attached. As the lift kit virtually locks on the wrist rest itself, it cannot be used without the palm rests.

Removing the plastic covers of the keyboard reveals two thick steel frames that support the main PCBs and the keyboard’s switches. Everything is very well secured and cleanly routed, without any design or assembly job imperfections that we could spot. A glance on the stamped date reveals that Kinesis had these in the works for quite a while now.

It is also worthwhile to mention that the four short buttons have caps directly attached onto them, much like the keycaps of the standard keys. They are not free-floating or supported by the plastic frame. This approach makes them feel much better to the touch, as the buttons do not wobble at all and they have a respectable key travel, mimicking that of the main mechanical keys.

The heart of the Kinesis Freestyle Edge RGB remains the same as its predecessor. It is the Atmel AT32UC3B0256 microcontroller with a 32-bit, 60 MHz RISC processor. Kinesis probably selected it for its large 256KB integrated flash memory. It is not a very popular microprocessor, but it is more than adequately powerful for an advanced mechanical keyboard. There is also a 4MB onboard memory that stores all of the keyboard’s data, including profiles and macros.

The KinesisGaming SmartSet App

As with any really advanced keyboard, one of the primary features of the Freestyle Edge RGB is its software. Kinesis named their software SmartSet. What is truly unique about the software is that it is a completely portable application – no installation necessary – and that it lives on the keyboard itself, via the keyboard's integrated "vDrive" USB flash drive. After enabling vDrive (Fn + F8), the SmartSet application becomes available, and it in turn stores everything back in to the keyboard’s internal memory. In short, it is nothing but a tool that assists the users with programming their keyboards.

Every change that is saved while using the SmartSet app is permanent, meaning that the keyboard will retain all of its programmed profiles, commands, lighting effects, macros, and everything else, regardless of the device is it plugged in. Once it is programmed, it requires no software to perform any of the programmed functions and even the host device’s OS is mostly irrelevant, save for any programmed OS-specific commands (if present).

The flip side of this portability, however, is that it limits the advanced programming capabilities of the software. Simple actions, such as multimedia functions, special characters, and even mouse clicks can be tethered to any key. But advanced commands, such as launching third-party applications, are not supported. That is because no external device can actually “tell” the OS what to launch. An installed application can do so, which is why most of the competition supports this function, but that is not something one can implement on a device that requires no software at all.

Kinesis has significantly refined the SmartSet application since last year. It now is a two-page configuration screen, split between layout and lighting programming. The interface is cleaner and there are more configuration options. There are also buttons that can initiate a tutorial, updates, profile import and export commands, and global configuration changes.

Users can reprogram any key, both on the “top” and the “Fn” layers of each profile. The keyboard supports nine profiles and, with two layers each, that is quite a lot of possible layout variations. Aside from simple layout changes, users can also tether advanced functions, keystrokes, or even complete macros to every single key. Advanced functions may be limited by what the keyboard can actually do without having to use any installed software but Kinesis does offer a hoard of options, ranging from multimedia controls to multi-modifiers. Mouse clicks also are available, but mouse movements commands are not.

Kinesis also has semi-automated layout changes implemented into the software. These options allow the user to program a full keypad on either side of the keyboard, or even change the entire keyboard’s layout entirely (such as to Dvorak, Colemak, or Workman). This makes it possible to switch the keyboard’s layout without affecting the OS’s native setup.

The Macro recorder is relatively basic. The initial version of the recorder was limited to simple keystroke combinations but Kinesis evolved it a bit and it now supports delay programming. There is also a repeat option but is limited to nine iterations. The playback speed of the macros can be either individually adjusted or set to follow the “global” setting.

One of the unique aspects of the macro programmer is that the user can select a “trigger” key per particular macro. The trigger key is one of the Shift, Alt, or Ctrl keys. Launching the macro requires the trigger key to be pressed prior to pressing the key that the macro is tethered to. This way, it is possible to store up to three different macros into any single key, as long as they use a different trigger.

The second page of the software allows for lighting programming. It is relatively simple to program the lighting effects per profile, with several pre-programmed visual effects already present. If a pre-programmed effect is selected, the user can adjust its direction and speed. Per-key manual programming is also possible.

At this point, we must emphasize that one must not forget to click on the “save” button after making any changes. Everything, from layout changes to lighting effects, is stored in the keyboard’s internal vDrive memory. If the software is closed without saving the changes or if the keyboard is disconnected from the system, any and all changes will be lost.

Per-Key Quality Testing

In order to test the quality and consistency of a keyboard, we are using a texture analyzer that is programmed to measure and display the actuation force of the standard keyboard keys. By measuring the actuation force of every key, the quality and consistency of the keyboard can be quantified. It can also reveal design issues, such as the larger keys being far softer to press than the main keys of the keyboard. The actuation force is measured in Centinewton (cN). Some companies use another figure, gram-force (gf). The conversion formula is 1 cN = 1.02 gf (i.e. they are about the same). A high-quality keyboard should be as consistent as possible, with an average actuation force as near to the manufacturer's specs as possible and a disparity of less than ±10%. Greater differences are likely to be perceptible by users. It is worth noting that there is typically variance among keyboards, although most keyboard companies will try and maintain consistency - as with other reviews, we're testing our sample only.

The machine we use for our testing is accurate enough to provide readings with a resolution of 0.1 cN. For wider keys (e.g. Enter, Space Bar, etc.), the measurement is taking place at the center of the key, right above the switch. Note that large keys generally have a lower actuation force even if the actuation point is at the dead center of the key. This is natural, as the size and weight of the keycap reduce the required actuation force. For this reason, we do display the force required to actuate every key but we only use the results of the typically sized keys for our consistency calculations. Still, very low figures on medium sized keys, such as the Shift and Enter keys reveal design issues and can easily be perceptible by the user.

Due to the special physical layout of the FreeStyle Edge RGB, we had to test most keys individually and manually. We only tested the main keys, omitting the extra macro keys and game key, as well as the control/cursor keys. Only the result from the left Spacebar key is being shown.

Cherry is known for their strict quality control and it is common for keyboards carrying original Cherry MX switches to showcase excellent performance figures. The Kinesis Freestyle Edge RGB is no exception, with the keyboard’s Cherry MX Brown RGB switches showing exemplary consistency and performance. Just a look at the disparity, which is below ±2.2%, indicates exceptional quality control and product consistency. The average force at the actuation point (not the maximum pressure point) is at 44.9 cN, which is just perfect for a Cherry MX Brown switch.

Hands-on Testing

I always try to use every keyboard that we review as my personal keyboard for at least a week. My typical weekly usage includes a lot of typing (about 100-150 pages), a few hours of gaming and some casual usage, such as internet browsing and messaging. I personally prefer Cherry MX Brown or similar (tactile) switches for such tasks, making this particular version of the Freestyle Edge RGB theoretically ideal for me.

As expected, using the keyboard at the same speed as a typical ANSI layout keyboard required a learning curve. However, this learning curve was quite short for me – I have used similar keyboards in the past, including the previous version of the Freestyle Edge, so my brain adjusted in a matter of hours. The movement of the ESC key back to its long-established position helped me a lot too, as I do not accidentally press F1 anymore. That said, this will not be the typical experience for typists who have never used a split keyboard before. It takes a few hours for your hands to initially get accustomed to the keyboard. And for people who are accustomed to pressing keys with the hand that now sits on the other half of the keyboard, it might take days, even weeks before your “muscle memory” fully catches up with how the keyboard works.

But once you become accustomed to its different layout, using the Freestyle Edge RGB is, simply put, fantastic. The keyboard is exceptionally comfortable, even after hours upon hours of continuous use. With the Lift Kit and both arms sitting right on the chair’s supports, the comfort feeling is just perfect. At this point, I should point out how comfortable the wrist cushions of the Freestyle Edge RGB are. Although I am skeptical regarding their longevity, these truly are by far the most comfortable wrist rest that I ever placed my hands upon. Using the keyboard even for a little while makes you quickly appreciate resting your palms on them instead of avoiding them and, even after long hours of typing, they always feel soft and cozy.

I found the Freestyle Edge RGB very versatile and comfortable for gaming use as well. The split keyboard adjusts to any situation with ease – you can push the right half away and enjoy your mouse in a straight line with your shoulder while playing an FPS/ARPG game, then pull the right half back in place for some typing or keyboard-based games. The programmability of the keyboard is versatile enough, allowing for text/chat commands and simple macros to be programmed and tethered to any key, as well as for very quick profile/layout switching. The Fn layer is particularly useful for online gaming, as macros and advanced commands can be programmed into one layer and a standard layout can be retained into another, allowing the user to switch between gaming and chatting/socializing with the press of an easily accessible button.

Conclusion

Kinesis took a huge leap of faith last year with the Kinesis Gaming brand, focusing on ergonomic peripherals designed exclusively with gamers in mind. Following a crowdfunding campaign, Kinesis released the Freestyle Edge, the first mechanical keyboard that combined ergonomics with advanced gaming. Despite the fact that most users do not react positively towards products that stray from the standard designs and layouts – and this is especially true with gamers – the Freestyle Edge did quite well on the market. Now, over a year later, Kinesis has introduced the successor to that keyboard, the Freestyle Edge RGB, a keyboard that adds a whole lot more than just RGB backlighting.

Getting right down to matters, for users coming from more traditional keyboards, the Freestyle Edge RGB’s split layout definitely requires a learning curve. On the other hand, it is definitely more comfortable for long-term use, especially when using the optional lift kit at a low tilt. Using the Freestyle Edge RGB for just a couple of hours is enough to notice that the strain on the arms, fingers, and tendons is greatly reduced, making the keyboard perfect for both professional use and long gaming hours. Gamers will also benefit from the ability to move the right half out of the way and get their mouse straight in front of their arm and towards their body, which is a much more natural and comfortable position for the arm than extending it to the right. For gaming, the Freestyle Edge RGB is a very flexible device, capable of adjusting to virtually any user and/or situation.

Another advantage of the Edge RGB is the integration of all advanced programming into the keyboard itself. The supplied software reprograms the keyboard at the peripheral level, rather than being implemented as a software package that runs on (and is tied to) the host OS. Once programmed, the keyboard does not require any software to perform any of its advanced functions. It will retain its functions when connected to any other system, even if that other system runs an entirely different OS. Some OS-specific commands may not work but that is it. This feature admittedly comes with a drawback – the keyboard cannot perform very complex macros or commands that have to signal the OS, such as launching external applications – so gamers who use third-party macro programming software will want to take note of this.

In some sense then, it's unfortunate that Kinesis integrated so many improvements into the Edge design and merely called it an RGB model, as that significantly undersells what the company has done. Rather than being an RGB-ized version of the original Edge – as is usually the case with "RGB" keyboards – this is a new and improved keyboard in and of itself. In fact even I didn't initially pick up on this; at first I expected the Freestyle Edge RGB to be the same – just a classic Freestyle Edge with RGB switches on it and that’s it, off to the store shelves you go. Instead, Kinesis took their time and gathered feedback, evaluated it, and then restructured the keyboard to improve it. Little adjustments, such as the move of the ESC key back to where it belongs and the fantastic wrist cushions, make a great difference, allowing me to honestly say that the Freestyle Edge RGB is truly a better keyboard than the last year’s version.

All-in-all, the Kinesis Freestyle Edge RGB is a very high-quality keyboard and is made by a company that listens and seems to care a lot about their customer base. For professional users or gamers who spend very long hours in front of a PC, and especially those who switch between different PCs, the Freestyle Edge RGB is a definitely worthwhile investment. Once accustomed to it, your hands and body will verify just how good of an investment the keyboard really is.

If the keyboard has any real drawbacks then – other than a split keyboard not being for everyone – it would be the $220 price tag. Make no mistake, it's a great keyboard that I think is worth the money, but it's very much a premium keyboard in every sense of the word. This, I suspect, is likely why Kinesis is offering a risk-free customer satisfaction plan for the keyboard, allowing buyers to return the keyboard within 60 days if not fully satisfied. 60 days, in turn, should be more than enough time for someone to get used to the keyboard and decide if it is the right product for them – or at least decide if the keyboard is worth the price. Ultimately, if you are considering the purchase of an expensive gaming keyboard and are willing to entertain the thought of checking out an ergonomic design, we strongly advise giving the Freestyle Edge RGB a try.