Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop USB Port Keyboard and Mouse Combo (L5V-00002)

After a month of use, I love this keyboard. I had to switch back to an ergonomic setup because of pain in my forearms and elbow. This could be caused by holding my hands over a keyboard for long periods. The raised wrist rest lets me rest my arms and the downward slope of the keys allows my fingers to reach them without extending the wrist. After a few hours of practice, I was typing fast with little effort from my wrists. By the end of the first month, my arm pain is gone.I love the keys. They are very light and soft but still firm enough that you don't press them accidentally and they provide decent clicky feedback. The volume of the clicks is like that of a decent laptop. I feel like I can type faster and with less effort than the basic OEM keyboard I was using.The detached keypad is nice. I like being able to pull it out when needed. GIves me more room for the mouse and tablet.The mouse is okay. I think it is better for ergonomics than a standard mouse. I had to move the USB adapter to the front of my tower's chassis because it was having connection issues. The connection is 100% in the new position. There is a somewhat hidden button in the thumb slot to the left of the windows logo. It is raised so you can feel for it but I have pressed it accidentally a few times. Its default behavior is the BACK button in the browsers. I might disable it.The last ergonomic keyboard I used was a Microsoft ergonomic desktop 4000 which also features a high wrist rest. That one also helped me with some elbow pain. I think the raised wrist is very important for heavy typers but I haven't seen it done better than these two keyboards. The sculpt has much better keys. They take very little effort to press which was my main complaint with the 4000. The mouse on the 4000 was.. not good.I'm a network admin, programmer, IT technician and I use the keyboard a lot during my personal time. I type a lot.I also started using a Wacom one tablet to replace some of my mousing at the same time I got this keyboard. With the two combined my arm pain is gone in under a month.

Back in late 2011, I began having numbness in my right pinky and ring finger, with an internal pain that radiated up to my elbow (who knew you could have numbness and pain all at the same time!?). I was super concerned and I purchased this set back and within a day, the pain gradually began to resolve until never returning.I have noticed that when I have needed to use an alt temporary desk set up, the numbness and pain begins to creep back in and I can't wait to get back to this set. I do use the heck out of it...at least 8+ (sometimes up to 12) hours each work day. The keys are not too loud...when in an office setting, no one has ever complained. The battery life is great, too, about 6 months - but you will want to keep a spare set of batteries in your freezer (or make sure work orders them for you) because connectivity is always unexpected and seems to fizzle at the worst possible moment - when you have that email or report you cannot lose a minute on. Given how much I use this keyboard and mouse, when it starts to wear down (meaning I wear the print of the keys down to a shine and you can no longer detect the letters), when it starts to falter a bit, that's when I bite the bullet and order a brand new one. With how much I use this set, I don't find it unreasonable to order a sparkly new one every 2-3 years - I consider it a treat. :) I am now on my fourth set and I hope they never stop making this configuration for the rest of my work life. Also, added bonus - the set is super transportable because the number pad is separate and streamlines the size of the keyboard so that it fits perfectly in my backpack. I personally love that the number pad is separate from the keyboard, too...I can move it around and use as I like. I would not change one thing!!!

I pick this based on the L5V-00002 model number. I hoped I was getting an updated product. But the box says L5V-00001, which was available from other sellers much cheaper. I had searched for what the difference was between these two model numbers. One, probably bogus, answer was that the 00002 version was an update. Maybe this is a simple typo by the seller, but it is misleading and caused me to pay way too much. Otherwise, this is a great keyboard. I've used one for years. To me, the mouse is poor ergonomically, but my wife likes it. I use my mouse left handed (even though I am right handed) so that is a non-starter since the mouse is right handed. We have 3 of these. We have had one mouse fail. Be aware that the keyboard and mouse communicate with the dongle using encryption. Because of this encryption, you cannot replace any one part it if fails. You must replace all three. The encryption key is hard coded into dongle and keyboard and mouse and cannot be updated. So if the dongle fails, the keyboard and mouse are useless. And if the mouse or keyboard fails, you can't get a new keyboard or mouse and pair it up old dongle. It depends on your use. This is very secure -- nobody can read you keystrokes by sitting next to you. But also sad to throw away all the hardware if one part breaks. This is a trade-off you have to accept. But if you like ergonomic keyboards, this is the best one I've ever used.

This keyboard is really expensive and I can understand why. The layout, etc is prefect for your hands and extremely easy to adapt to. Love having the 10 keypad separate and the mouse is amazing. Having said that, however, the unit tends to be pretty fragile and I've had more than one keyboard flake out, a button or two not work, or perhaps the ten key keypad stops connecting. They also do not pack well. On more than one occasion I've packed them just to find the battery dead when I arrive etc. I've taken the battery out before and obviously that spares it but they still tend to conk out after a couple of years so I've taken to simply setting them on top of everything else and gingerly taking them to my destination. Very high maintenance for a keyboard but so far I've never found anything else that I like as much so I deal with it.