This $600 Keyboard's Best Feature
Is Also Its Biggest Flaw
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I always felt like my keyboard was missing something.

First, it was the ergonomic split that my wrists craved.

Then, when I got my Moonlander, it was the awkward reach for crucial keys (what's up with that thumb cluster ZSA?).

Until one day, I stumbled upon a keyboard that seems similar, but is very much different: the Dygma Defy, a keyboard that promised to turn my thumbs into power users.

The Defy arrived like a treasure chest. Inside the box wasn't just a keyboard – it was a statement about respect for the user.

Extra keycaps, spacers, O-rings in three different thicknesses, a barnded cloth, and even eight different switches to test. It felt less like buying a product and more like joining a movement.

But amid all these thoughtful extras, one feature stood out: a massive eight-key thumb cluster on each side that promised to change how I interact with my computer.

Two months into using it, I discovered something fascinating: having too many options can be just as limiting as having too few. Those eight thumb keys per side were like having an entire keyboard just for your thumbs.

I mean, think about it - 16 different options reserved for your thumbs, and that's only on layer 1!

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While I could now map every imaginable shortcut within thumb's reach (heck, with layers, I could probably cover the entire alphabet just using my thumbs), I found myself playing a daily game of "find the right key" – especially with those bottom row keys that seemed to play hide and seek with my muscle memory.

The irony wasn't lost on me. The very feature that made the Defy revolutionary – its extensive thumb cluster – was also what made it challenging to master.

The solution, I realized, wasn't in having more keys, but in having the right number of keys in the right places.

Five well-positioned, larger keys per thumb would have been perfect – enough to revolutionize workflow without overwhelming muscle memory.

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Yet there's something beautifully humbling about the Defy's approach.

It doesn't assume it knows what's best for you.

Instead, it gives you every option possible and lets you find your own path.

Some days, I use all sixteen thumb keys like a piano virtuoso.

Other days, I stick to just the essential few, letting the others serve as a reminder of possibilities yet to be explored. That's the thing about true innovation – sometimes it's not about getting everything right, but about daring to challenge our assumptions about what's possible. (This sounds like I'm making excuses for not reaching perfection, probably good stuff for therapy 😅)

The Defy taught me that the perfect keyboard isn't about having every feature imaginable – it's about having the right features in the right places. And sometimes, in our quest for the perfect tool, we need to embrace the imperfect solutions that push us to think differently about how we work.

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That said, you gotta hand it to the Defy, it's a GREAT DEAL

Yes, Dygma were kind enough to send something that would have cost me more than $600. An expensive premium keyboard by all measures. But, for one, you don't have to get everything: I ordered it with underglowing lights, an attached tenting kit, Wifi available and my preference of switches. Without these You can be easily looking at half the price.

Also, compared to other boards, like the moonlander, with it's Platform that I got separately, we're getting closer to the same price range overall.

Being able to tent my keyboard, control the lights, make configurations that take place instantly without waiting for the board to burn a new layout (ahm ahm Oryx), the dygma is one fantastic user experience!

Typing on it is smooth and enjoyable, configuration is as smooth as butter, my one annoyance with it, is it's battery life, which, considering what it can do, is not all that bad.

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What's next?

As great as the defy really is, I don't think I've reached perfection, at least, I havn't tried enough options to be sure.

I'm going to test the Glove80 pretty soon, to see how a concaved layout, featuring low key switches are going to feel.

And I'm quite worried about getting used to yet another thumb cluster, but we'll be alright.

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Let me know if you've found the prefect board, that can tent, configure, type smoothly and also feature a perfectly positioned thumb cluster that's both reasonable yet provides enough options!

Thanks for reading, see ya next week!