My favorite thing when I was on Reddit was ambushing people with r/mechanicalheadpens. Keyboards AND nice headphones AND nice pens. A perfect maelstrom of niche financial ruin
The key to actually benefitting from a mechanical keyboard hobby is to move past the fancy expensive clickety clack and get into ergo mechanical keyboards. Still costs way too much money but now my thumbs have reached their full potential and my wrists no longer hate me :)
I really tried to like my various ergoboards, but I never did. I sent them off to better and more appreciated homes now.
They are really difficult to get into. I remember my first ergadox and it took me most of the summer to start getting any measurable amount of speed.
But then I caught up and got even faster than before. Started remapping buttons and adding layers.
I’ll never go back. With a simple modifier, I’ve got open and closing symbols. I’ve got media controls. Mouse. Numpad. Etc. All without ever moving my hands.
It is sublime.
What are your main boards? I’m using my battle worn Kinesis Advantage from 2002 for typing and coding, and a Keychron V1 Max for gaming.
I had the ZSA Moonlander and loved it. I now have a Charybdis from BastardKB and I love it even more.
That’s accurate. The hobby can get expensive.
?
My guess: They’re very nice, some people think (myself included). But they’re also a very expensive hobby, and if you really like them, it can be difficult to go back.
- Bidets
- Mechanical keyboards
- Monitors above 60 Hz
Let’s keep this train rolling for “true level”-style things.
Another one: barefoot shoes.
Warhammer.
Keyboards without row stagger. Also keyboards that don’t have only a single key shared between both thumbs.
Traditionally headphones and pens were used as other examples because people that were into one frequently were into one of the others. It ended up true for me, I’ve spent about the same on headphones and headphone related gear as I have mechanical keyboards. It took me a long time to find the perfect “end game” setup for both, though I still keep a bunch for variety.
Which headphone was your true level? (your answer will be judged)
I have a bunch that I love, but my go to is an OG Hifiman HE-6 that I have modded with less annoying connectors, new grill, new cable, and some ZMF pads. I just love the sound from it. I usually only pick a different pair if I need something closed.
Monitors above 60 Hz
You are now at war with Playstation fans.
I discovered bidets when I was living in Japan for a few years. I eventually bought my own for my home. Now I feel gross pooping anywhere but my home. Leaving my house for more than a day is absolute torture.
Why do Americans just use toilet paper? If you spill chocolate pudding on the floor, are you just gonna use a dry Kleenex to clean it up? Do you trust it to actually be clean without water at a minimum to scrub with? What if that floor happens to be carpeted? You’ll never get it out with just a dry tissue paper.
Bidets are definitely my “true level” experience. I’ve upgraded every toilet in my house. I can never go back to just toilet paper.
My interpretation was that it’s because they’re very loud.
For many, mechanical keyboards are a massive upgrade they have trouble going back from, due to the precision and tactile feedback being much better than regular membrane keys.
On the other hand, cheap mechanical keyboards can easily be 3 or 4 times as expensive as a basic keyboard, and if you’re the type to want different setups you can quickly end up spending hundreds on boards, switches, and caps.








