Svalboard
Svalboard Lightly
Svalboard Lightly
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Svalboard Lightly is a Datahand keyboard for the modern era, with total anatomical customization and integrated Trackpoint and/or trackball mouse.
Add a Nanuk 910 Case for a killer travel package!
Type Lightly!
- Customized anatomical fitment brings 50 keys just 1-2mm away from your fingertips and thumbs
- 20 gram-force magneto-optical keys with instant breakaway reduce effort and prevent overuse injuries by combining ultra-light forces with maximum tactility
- Integrated pointing lets you stay 100% hands-down while still maintaining high productivity in any OS
Features
- Legendary Datahand 20g magneto-optical key mechanisms
- Infinitely adjustable fitment system for any hand
- Stainless steel mechanisms for super smooth tuning
- Live-programmable keymaps, combos, tap dance, etc with
Vial-QMK firmware - no re-flashing required - Chair-mount and clamp-on desk mount compatible
- Magnetic USB-C cables included
Pointing Options
- Trackball - single or dual
- Trackpoint
- Trackpoint + Trackball - L/R ("pointball") or R/L ("ballpoint")
Colors
Galaxy Black PLA or Black ABS
Custom colors may be available for add'l cost and build time. DM @_claussen on discord to discuss.
Materials
PLA is our default material. It's strong, light, stiff, environmentally friendly, and prints beautifully at very fine layer heights. PLA has a glass temperature of about 50C, so should be treated the same way you'd treat a nice wooden instrument or a baby -- don't leave it in a hot car or put it in the dishwasher. We print PLA keys at 0.12mm layer height.
PLA can be thermoformed with 90C water.
ABS is an optional material for those who prefer a more rugged plastic. It's a bit environmentally unfriendly and occupationally hazardous, producing unpleasant and unhealthy fumes while it prints. It's lighter and not quite as stiff as PLA.
ABS prints a tiny bit less crisply than PLA, but has a higher glass temperature of about 110C. We print ABS keys at 0.15mm layer height.
ABS cannot be hot-water thermoformed.
That said, it feels amazing and has a bit more natural gloss than PLA, and for customers who might leave their device in a hot car, it's more suitable.
All non-key parts are generally all printed at 0.2mm layer height for strength.
Adjustability
- 5 axis cluster position adjustment for each finger and thumb
- Hand size adjustment via 3-axis moveable palmrest carrier
- Thermoformable palmrests
- DIY-friendly palmrest carrier to attach your own custom rests
Accommodates any hand size, including individual finger length discrepancies, with continuously adjustable positioning in X/Y/Z/Roll/Yaw.
Programmability
Use any layout you want, and customize on the fly with 100% free and open source software.
Shipping with QWERTY-ish, Colemak-ish and Dvorak-ish layouts by default, you may never need to touch it, but Svalboard is built with customization in mind, using the powerful open source QMK firmware project and the amazing Vial configuration tool.
Svalboard runs on the Raspberry Pi RP2040 MCU, with an abundant 8MB of program memory, for even the most complicated keyboard FW requirements.
- Live, powerful keymap customization with Vial
- QMK under the hood
- 100% Open Source Software - free as in speech, free as in beer - always
Wireless-adapter Compatible
Modularity and Repairability
We are committed to repairability and the right to repair. If you break something, we'll help you get it fixed.
Every component can be swapped individually -- and if you break something, replacement parts are available.
Want to print your own keys? STLs/STEP files are available to customers, to print or modify for your personal use, and we stock the magnets you need. Need a replacement PCB? We've got those too.
Pinouts for all connectors and the full 0.1" header breakouts are available too, so you can expand and integrate anything else you like with the remaining free I/O pins.
Made in USA
Designed and built in Pacifica, CA, USA by a multi-decade Datahand user and professional consumer electronics developer.
Customer Reviews
This is just an absolutely incredible device.
I have a collection of ergonomic keyboards at this point and this is really unlike anything I have ever used before, yet it feels so familiar.
The movements are effortless but it somehow feels more tactile and intentional than a light mechanical switch. Fits the hand beautifully and the movements just feel so satisfying.
So glad I gave this a shot, easily my new favourite.
Really like the keyboard
Thrilled to have hit the "bottom of the rabbit hole" after searching for an ergonomic input device for the better part of a decade. For context, most of my workday involves editing media (REAPER, Pro Tools, Ableton, Logic, DaVinci Resolve, Premiere, Final Cut Pro, Descript, etc.).
In 2016 I found the Kinesis Advantage, which was a huge improvement over a conventional keyboard. However, it's size made mouse-heavy workflows worse with a larger reach. The Kinesis Advantage360 Pro was an improvement, allowing for more creative mouse placement and tenting. But I still found myself experiencing pain after long days having to reach to the side for either for my mouse or the other half of my keyboard.
Enter Svalboard (credit to YouTube's recommendation algorithm and the fantastic video by "beep builds a thing"). My Kinesis experience helped me reach 40+ WPM within the first week-and-a-half of ownership. I also travel a fair amount and have found the optional Nanuk carrying case takes up roughly the same amount of space in my bag as the aftermarket case I used for my Advantage360.
The integrated pointing (dual trackball) makes Svalboard Lightly the best solution I've found for working pain-free indefinitely. No more reaching or swaping my righthand splitboard for my mouse. The inclusion of threaded mounting holes on the bottom of each unit allows for dialing in the perfect positon with various accessories (for an over-engineered solution check out Triad-Orbit TOPack1O + a C1 clamp).
Aside from the the benefits of never needing to reach a finger out of it's keywell, Svalboard's ~20g key activation force was a surprising revelation. I never realized exactly how much energy I was throwing into every press on my Kinesis to move the stock Gateron Browns - it's like the difference between running barefoot on grass vs concrete.
Coming from the Advantage360 Pro's clunky ZMK implementation, the experience with Sval's QMK + Vial combo has been fantastic (real-time remapping with no flashing required) and well worth the tradeoff of working without Bluetooth. The Discord community has been extraordinarily helpful answering any question that's come up and Morgan's commitment to customer service gives me a lot of trust that this can in fact be the last input device I need to buy (so long as I can access a 3D printer).
Brilliant support, state of the art product.
By far the most comfortable keyboard I've ever used. I'm still working at getting my WPM high enough to daily drive it, but gladly will once that time comes. I dig the DIY/open hardware approach and hope the creator is successful in scaling up