Kinesis is a Seattle-based company that has been designing and manufacturing ergonomic keyboards for over 30 years. Recognizing the fact that professionals are not the only ones who need peripherals that reduce the strain on their hands, wrists, and shoulders, the company created the Kinesis Gaming division in 2016 to develop models specifically for PC gaming users.

The lineup is small at three models, but the Freestyle Edge RGB we tested is definitely the star of the show. With a completely split design, the two halves are permanently connected by a cable, which connects to any PC, Mac, or Chromebook via a long USB Type-A wire. I did want it to be a detachable cable for ease of portability.

However, there is no shortage of cable lengths, with the inner cables spaced up to 6 inches apart and the main cable 20 inches long. In the former case, the extra cables could be stored inside the chassis, but the braided cables felt quite stiff. You can fit each section snugly against your shoulder, but if you are like me, you may find that the cables tend to get in the way on your desk.

I don't have particularly large hands, but I found the somewhat compact layout of the Freestyle Edge RGB to be perfect for me.

A very cushioned wrist rest is included and can be easily removed if not to your liking. What is quite surprising, however, is that the keyboard does not have a tent or tilt feature. At least not directly.

The tent feature is meant to elevate the inside of the keyboard to prevent unnatural rotation of the wrist. Thanks to a wrist injury many years ago, tenting is a must on any keyboard for me.

Kinesis Gaming offers a lift kit for the Freestyle Edge. At first glance, it looks like a flimsy piece of plastic, but once snapped into place, it is sturdy and secure. With the lift kit, you can choose between a 5-, 10-, or 15-degree tent angle, and I found the 10-degree angle to be the most comfortable. The lift kit is available at the Kinesis store for less than $30, which is a bit pricey for what it is.

Frankly, if you're going to spend $200 for a keyboard, you'd think you'd get a few extra pieces of plastic in the box.

Unfortunately, there is no tilt option, so if you prefer a standing desk, you may find the lack of this a bit annoying. That said, this is for gaming, and one wonders how many people play a few rounds of CS:GO while standing.

The Freestyle Edge is a fully mechanical keyboard, and you can choose one of four different Cherry MX keysets when ordering. My review sample came with the low-force, nearly silent Brown (and it was right up my alley). Alternatives include Red, which is similar to Brown but has a more linear feel, Speed Silver, which is faster, and Blue, which has a classic ticking sound.

I found this ballpoint pen a lot of fun to type with. Not only because it fit my hand size very well, but also because all the keys worked as expected and the overall feel was very consistent. Usually it takes time to get used to a new keyboard, but I was up to my usual speed within a day.

There are eight more keys that can be programmed for single use or for specific macros. As the name implies, each key has a fully adjustable RGB backlight that can be disabled with a dedicated key; the LEDs are bright and vivid, so if you want a little disco in your gaming room, fire up this keyboard for some dance action.

The four buttons at the top of the right half have specific functions, allowing you to switch between nine different profiles, record macros, and remap keys.

These last buttons are called SmartSet buttons, and when used in combination with some numeric keys, they activate several additional modes. One of these is the Game mode, which disables the Windows key to prevent the Start menu from appearing during games. Another is NKRO mode, which registers all keys that the keyboard presses at the same time.

Normally this is limited to about six, but if you want to maximize the key response of the entire board in a frantic game, this button is perfect. I didn't have to turn it on myself, but I'm old school and very slow, so I found it perfectly fine in normal mode.

Freestyle Edge RGB can be programmed on the fly, but it is much easier to use the SmartSet app. The first big plus I noticed is that there are versions for Windows and MacOS, and the source code is available on Github so you can compile it for your preferred OS.

It looks pretty basic, but if you read the manual and follow all its instructions, it is quite easy to use. Of course, I didn't.

The first problem I had was that the program did not recognize the fact that the keyboard was connected. 30 minutes of racking my brains trying different USB ports, rebooting my PC, etc. If I had researched what to do first, none of this would have happened.

To change anything in the application, you must first enable "v-Drive" by pressing SmartSet key + F8. This way, the onboard memory is opened up as a small USB stick in the eyes of the operating system, and once it is set up, you can play around with it as much as you want.

Once you have made all the necessary changes, eject the v-Drive just as you would a removable USB device; why Kinesis designed it to work this way is somewhat puzzling. This is because I have yet to encounter a programmable keyboard that places such a barrier.

At least it prevents others from messing up your settings, but it seems like an unnecessary step since you can program the keyboard without the app.

However, I felt it was a minor issue in the grand scheme of things, as well as all the aspects I didn't particularly like, such as the stiff wired cable and lack of tilt. The joy of using the Freestyle Edge RGB pushed these issues to the background.

This keyboard is probably the closest to perfection of any ergonomic keyboard for gaming that I have experienced, very comfortable to use, and a pleasure to type on and game on. I would buy one myself."

It's not cheap, and it feels like any other well-made keyboard, which doesn't mean it feels like top-quality kit. The drawback for many will be the price: the standard price for the Freestyle Edge RGB at the Kinesis Gaming store is $219, and it is currently selling for $199, which is still a lot of money to spend on a keyboard.

Since Kinesis is a U.S.-based company, the price jumps even higher when purchased elsewhere in the world. It's £230 on Amazon in the UK, €238 in the EU, and $371 for Australian gamers. Sometimes the shipping costs hurt.

Then, to fully experience the ergos, you need a lift kit, which costs an additional $30. If you don't need tenting, you can save money on that, but there are cheaper split keyboards available.

However, despite the $229 price tag, the overall product is excellent. Sure, you're paying a pretty penny for such an excellent product, but when you're making such an excellent ergonomic keyboard, it's not hard to see why Kinesis has been around for so long.