Logitech Ergo K860 review: The ultimate ergonomic keyboard?

If you’ve ever suffered from RSI you’ll know it can be a debilitating, not to mention painful, experience. Spending hours typing and mousing, for many of us, is part of life, but the keyboards, laptops and mice aren’t often designed to perfectly accommodate the human form. There are, however, ways to alleviate the problem. 

Spending time and effort ensuring you’re sitting correctly is key, but you might also benefit from using a more ergonomic keyboard such as Logitech’s new Ergo K860, a new “science-driven ergonomic keyboard to help office workers improve their posture, increase comfort and lower muscle strain”.

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Logitech Ergo K860 review: What do you get for the money?

Just like the famous Microsoft Natural Keyboard, the Ergo K860 splits the traditionally flat keyboard in two, angling each half of the keyboard toward your elbows and introduces a hump in the middle – Logitech calls this the “curved keyframe” – so your hands tilt slightly to the side as you type.

The keyboard also has a broad, luxuriously appointed and padded wristrest that raises your palms up slightly above the level of the keyboard. Plus, there are flip-out legs underneath so you can tilt the angle of the keyboard up at the front and get the ideal typing angle, whether you’re typing from a seated position or at a standing desk.

The idea behind all these features is to promote a more neutral position for your arms and wrists and, by doing so, to reduce overstretching and strain. According to Logitech, the keyboard reduces wrist bending by 25% and offers 54% more wrist support than a regular keyboard without a wristrest such as the Logitech MX Keys.

Beyond the obvious appeal of the ergonomic design, the K860 has a number of other advanced features that it shares with many of the firm’s other wireless keyboards. You can connect the keyboard to up to three devices and switch between them with a button press. 

Likewise, there’s a series of media/navigational shortcut keys running along the top, which you can swap over to traditional function keys with the press of another button.

Power is conveniently supplied by a pair of AAA batteries, a pair of which is included in the box. And the keyboard connects wirelessly over either 2.4GHz RF (using the supplied USB-A dongle) or Bluetooth 5.

Logitech Ergo K860 review: What do we like about it?

Coincidentally, I was going through a bout of pain in my right shoulder (brought about by poor typing posture) when the Logitech Ergo K860 arrived and, impressively, it sorted the problem out for me.

Although it lacks the deep key action and the satisfying mechanical “clack” of my usual gaming keyboard, the K860 immediately felt more comfortable to type on and, after a week of using it, my shoulder pain began slowly to fade.

I also love how comfortable the keyboard’s wristrest is. It’s much deeper than those I’ve encountered on other keyboards and, with its dual-foam construction and smooth, knitted fabric covering, it feels supportive, cushioned and pleasant to touch all at the same time – it’s like a premium memory foam mattress for your wrists.

Although the key action isn’t as deep as I’m used to, it is excellent, mimicking the quiet and relatively shallow, yet positive feel of the superb Logitech MX Keys keyboard. And I’m a big fan of Logitech’s device switching, which is just the ticket if you need to switch between typing on a laptop and PC, or maybe a laptop and a Raspberry Pi, and don’t have the desktop space for a second set of peripherals. 

Logitech Ergo K860 review: What don’t we like?

It seems obvious to me, but I’d ideally like to do away with the number pad on the right. I don’t need it day to day and it only serves to push the mouse further over to the right than I’d ideally like.

That’s another thing you should try to avoid if you’re trying to improve your typing posture and I’m surprised Logitech doesn’t at least offer a tenkeyless option, or split off the number pad as with the Microsoft Sculpt keyboard.

It’s also surprising the keyboard doesn’t have a backlight, with lettering instead printed on each key cap.

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Logitech Ergo K860 review: Should you buy one?

These are relatively small issues, however, and if you’re having issues with RSI the Logitech Ergo K860 is most definitely worth considering. Even if it doesn’t have an immediate effect, it will encourage you to adopt a more natural, neutral position while you type. At the very least, this should ensure things don’t get worse.

The only problem is the price is quite high. Although £110 isn’t all that much, in my opinion, to pay for a keyboard this good, you can pick up a Microsoft Sculpt ergonomic keyboard for £25 less and that comes with a detachable number pad and wireless mouse in the box.