Simple tenting solutions for ergonomic keyboards

In my previous posts here and here about ergonomic keyboards, it's become increasingly clear that tenting helps make typing more comfortable. The issue is that very few keyboards come with out-of-the-box tenting solutions.

After years of trying various options, here are the two cheapest and most flexible options I’ve found

1) Adjustable Laptop / Keyboard stand

I don’t understand what these were designed for, but apparently lots of people want to prop their laptops up off of a desk. As a result, there are a lot of different adhesive stands that you can find on Amazon that easily allow you to prop things up. If you buy two sets of these, you can actually put them on the inner sides of a split keyboard and you can tent them to a decent angle.

I bought 4 different styles, and found that the Nillkin Stands were the best angle and stability for my needs. On top of that the Nillkin are adjustable and have multiple heigh settings. The Aulumu was a close second, but more expensive and not as versatile.

Stand’s I tried

• Invisible Stand - too short and flimsy
• Aulumu Stand - very tall and slim when packed, a bit expensive but a good option.
• Suntaiho Stand - to short and not stable
• ProRiser - flimsy and too short
• Nillkin - strong with variable height options, very stable

2) MagSafe Mounts and a Super Clamp

The next option I found after seeing a video from Ben Vallack on the new Voyager Ergodox keyboard. I haven’t tried that keyboard because it’s so pricey and I just spent a decent amount of money on the Keebio Cepstrum.

But what I loved was the magnetic tripod mounts. Those mounts are proprietary to Ergodox, but I figured out I could make my own using the MagSafe mounts I use for my iPhone in my YouTube studio. You can put a MagSafe sticker on the back of your keyboard, and then you can attach the MagSafe mount to a small tripod like this one. The key is finding a really small tripod to give you the versatility and keep the whole setup reasonably close to the desktop.

The other variation you can build with this setup uses super clamps and to clamp the entire keyboard setup to the front of your desk. This gives you even more flexibility in terms of angles, but it prevents you from using wrist wrests. I’ve found that my desk chair arms rests can work in a pinch.