[Limited Introductory Price] Pre-soldered Piantor Pro 42 Keys / 36 Keys RP2040 Low Profile Choc Split Keyboard

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Overall, I am fully satisfied with the quality of the build. The look and the tactility w/ sound that I haven’t tried before(which is choc robin) is truly charming. I am practicing hard typing with layer change. The Vial program is quite intuitive and useful, thus I experiment with tap dance, macro, key combo, or other features with ease.

Never imagined that a 36 key keyboard is like this much comfy, but it is comfy. I practiced typing three days in a row, and it became much faster than the first-time use. It’s pretty sad that I need a usb-c cable to connect to the computer, but other than that, I could say that it’s very nice.

The keyboard only weighs about 200g. The cable I carry is pretty heavy, weighing about 80g, so the total weight is very close to 300g. I experienced that without careful consideration, the keycap wears out from the edge. I recommend carrying the keyboard with a soft case.

For me, it was a bit of an impulse to buy this, but I am happy that my decision’s right at some point. For a little bit of my background, I have used HHKB since 2019, then Kinesis Advantage 2,  Kinesis Advantage 360, glove80, and this. I would try other keyboards more on beekeeb, but I am quite satisfied with piantor pro only.

I purchased the piantor pro back in February, the keyboard took about 3 – 4 weeks to arrive, came packaged well protected, some spares included, and thoughtful extras like rubber padding to secure the keyboard. Communication, packaging, and speed of assembly are the only parts beekeeb should be rated on up until this point and they performed excellent.

After receiving my keyboard, assembly was easy, the keycaps fit in securely and the build feels solid to use. I didn’t find much easy to use Vial support for the Piantor, so I had to map my own keybinds to use Miryoku with it, which was tedious but only needed to be done once. (Here if you want it: https://github.com/F-Joubert/miryoku_piantor36/)

I’m now a few months in and the keyboard has held up well, the travel case I bought with it is very nice, I love the appearance and it’s quite rugged. The keyboard survives many train rides in my backpack to work.

Overall I am very satisfied with my purchase, this is my first ever split keyboard and it did not disappoint.

From the pictures attached, I purchased a pre-soldered full set Piantor Pro 42-keys with Red Pro (linear 35 gf) key switches.

Aside from my preference of the aggressive columnar stagger, I chose this particular keyboard for its built-in ESD protection with the USB-C connectors. Although, wireless connectivity via 2.4 GHz would have been the cherry-on-top.

In hand, the 3D-printed case texture is pleasant and lightweight. The included rubber feet are essential for grip/stability on smooth surfaces. Speaking of inclusions, there are spares of everything, including: key switches, key caps, and screws.

For tilt/tent, I mounted the split keyboard on a pair of SmallRig camera mounts clamped to the edge of the desk: allowing many degrees of movement in any dimension. The keyboard is attached via Neewer adhesive magnetic/magsafe rings: enabling ease of portability for pick-up-and-go, rather than having to fiddle with screws.

When connected, the keyboard is immediately ready-to-use with plug-and-play via hybrid USB-C to USB-C/A cable. A paper print-out of the layout key map layers was helpful for initial use, and the pre-flashed Vial firmware made it easy to customise layouts and make it your own.

For reference, the keyboard is also compatible with QMK configuration firmware.
– https://config.qmk.fm/#/beekeeb/piantor_pro/LAYOUT_split_3x6_3
– https://github.com/qmk/qmk_firmware/tree/master/keyboards/beekeeb/piantor_pro

Communication-wise, store representative Leo is supportive with responding to queries, even offering guidance before the order had been placed. It’s immediately evident why beekeeb is a star seller, and their helpful/attentive customer service is a big part of it.

Upon my request, beekeeb was kind enough to include a small sample of white keycaps for use as home keys: which eases visual accessibility, especially when getting acquainted with the layout for the first-time.

Delivery from Hong Kong to UK was tracked and prompt, despite the order being placed over Chinese New Year. There was no additional import tax or duty fees upon receipt.

Almost goes without saying, I’d whole-heartedly recommend the Piantor Pro, especially beekeeb, for your split ergonomic mechanical keyboard purchases online.

I’m extremely satisfied with my new keyboard!

I’ve been a happy Kinesis Advantage (KB500) user since 2010, but always struggled when traveling, can’t really lag that beast around on a short trip. Piantor is very well thought-through, slick, not just low-profile, but truly tiny. The first thing I did was to install Miryoku/QMK on it, it’s a perfect fit. Now my desktop and my laptop can finally use the same layout (I use Kanata to remap KB500; waiting on parts for KinT).

The order process was smooth, order was fullfilled in a timely manner, shipping was quick. Many thanks to the guys and gals at Beekeeb!

https://bogorad.medium.com/my-keyboard-journey-f94c96be1ec1

I received my pre-soldered Piantor Pro on 2023-11-16 and am very happy with it. It is my first split keyboard. Leo’s customer service was superb. The build quality is solid. The Piantor Pro has all the features I want: USB-C wired, protected components, orthogonal column stagger, 42/36 keys, programmable, hot swappable, no RGB. The controller is part of the PCB though, so cannot be replaced if so desired. I do not recommend the basic Choc Red switches. For my taste, they feel scratchy, clunky and noisy. Of the available linear options, I recommend Choc Red PROs. Personally, I use modded Choc Red PROs for all fingers besides the pinky and ring fingers, for which I use modded Choc Blues.

Writing this review after ~6 months of using this keyboard every day.

As others have stated, Beekeeb has been phenomenal in support. They handled all my concerns with care and added more spare switches than I asked for. I had an ortho split keyboard before, from another vendor, and that one came in with broken switches and no spare ones. Ordering from Beekeeb was different: all the original switches of my Piantor still work fine, and the spare ones are there if I ever need them.

The keyboard itself is great. I have relatively long pinkies, so I was worried about aggressive stagger, but it turned out to be perfectly fine. There are rubber legs in the box, so it doesn’t slide on the table.

I have a minor issue with the keyboard not being detected on reboot of my laptop, but that event is quite rare and fixed by plugging the connector in and out.

Great experience overall.

This is my first (and maybe my last!) 42-Key ergo split keyboard which Leo, Jenny, and the Beekeeb team made an incredible first impression!

The package came in with my items and all of its accessories neatly stored and secured in place. The 3D printed case also came out great with very neat layer lines as well. I very much prefer the lightweight case since I am planning on bringing this with me on-the-go as my daily driver.

Leo was also very communicative and responded in a timely manner whenever changes needed to be made or if I had any questions to be answered.

Love the keyboard so far!

This is my second piantor from beekeeb.

This new piantor v2 now features a USB C port to connect each half of the keyboard instead of using TRRS. I’ve been typing on it for a few weeks thus far and everything is working perfectly.

Thank you Leo 🙂

This keyboard is very well designed and built. To my knowledge is the only one commercially available that is mechanic,ergonomic, split, and programmable.

I chose the blue switches because I use it near other people and I am very satisfied with how silent it is.

I ordered the 42 keys version because I couldn’t imagine being productive with only 36, but after a couple of weeks I changed to a 36 key layout, and I think I am a little more productive, but for sure, I can feel my pinky has reduced the strain of typing to the side.

I liked the layout so much, that I ported it back to my other keyboards, I also own an Atreus and Ergodox EZ, which now have a lot of unused keys 😅

The only thing that I didn’t like, is that there were no keycaps with the home bumps, probably because I bought blank caps, a friend of mine also has one and gave me a couple of stamped keys with bumps, but I ended up buying some stickers and going back to the original blank keycaps.

Leo did an amazing job making this keyboard. The case quality is flawless and everything is 100% solid. The solder job on the chips looks so good I’d have sworn it was done by a robot. Also, my questions were answered extremely quickly. If I ever want another pre-built custom keyboard like this, I know where I’m coming.