Charybdis Keyboards
The Charybdis is a powerful ergonomic keyboard with a trackball designed to bring you the best of ergonomics available on the market, with a feature-full keymap and powerful thumb cluster.
Its concave shape reduces finger travel, and ensures the keys are optimally placed under your hands. The trackball completely replaces your mouse with plenty of shortcuts available, and is conveniently placed close to thumb.
Fully open source, it can be easily configured to fit your exact needs.
The Charybdis is a reference in the enthusiast ergonomic keyboard world for more than 4 years, and has been consistently upgraded to bring you the best experience possible.
Accessories
MDA ergonomic keycaps
€49 excl. tax
For the Charybdis (compatible with other keyboards).
Ready to use trackball keyboard
Install your favourite keycaps, plug in the keyboard, and start typing!
The Bastard Keyboards come with a default keymap that’s easy to use, and easy to customize.
If you get a kit, it will come with detailed instructions on how to build it.
Ergonomic features
The Charybdis is designed to reduce RSI symptoms, and completely replace your mouse.
- Split keyboard that can be placed on your desk to fit your anatomy
- Trackball placed close to the thumb to reduce mouse movement
- Optional tents to reduce wrist strain
- Concave keywell to place the keys right under your fingers
- Vertical stagger that follows the lenght of your fingers
Powerful keymap
The keyboard comes with a Qwerty keymap, and multiple mod keys on the thumbs like Alt and Control.
It also includes convenient shortcuts like right and left click, and even scrolling!
You can check out the video, or read the full details online.
Easy to customize
Use the VIA online visual interface to easily change the keys, RGB, and even macros on your keyboard.
If you want to go further, you can do so with QMK and we provide extensive online documentation that guides you through every step of the way.
Why get an original Bastard Keyboard?​
Feature-full firmware
All keyboards come with a default QMK firmware full of features. From dragscroll to miryoku, with rgb options and DPI.
It is regularly updated with new features and improvements.
3 year warrantyÂ
We handcraft each keyboard from our atelier in Dordrecht, The Netherlands. They come with a 3 year warranty on parts.
High quality components
Industry-defining quality, with everything tuned from the 3d printable models to the custom Printed Circuit Boards.
Rigorous Quality Assurance
On top of a rigorous build process, we check each keyboard at different times during the build to ensure the best quality possible.
The keyboards also come with spare parts (screws, switches etc).
Detailed build instructions
Building an ergonomic has never been easier, thanks to detailed instructions including pictures and self-help documentation.
Future proof
All our keyboards have plenty of storage for future updates, and each new version has fully backwards compatible electronics and firmware.
Online support
We are available by email and Discord. We also have detailed online help for most frequent issues.
Wholesome community
Our Discord community is full of enthusiasts, modders, and creators. You will find help there if something goes wrong, but also ideas for your future builds!
Purposefully crafted
Made in The Netherlands
We design all of our keyboards from the ground up in The Netherlands, EU.
All of them are assembled in-house, in our office in Dordrecht. They go through multiple steps of Quality Assurance and testing. Along all those the years, we upgraded the design based on user feedback, to make it easier to use, more reliable, more powerful.
Each keyboard we built is custom built specifically for you, making each piece truly unique. We ship internationally, with regular and express options.
High quality components
When building our keyboards, we choose only the best components available. This includes the Prusament Galaxy Black PLA from Prusa3d, carefully selected durable screws, custom PCBs. We run each of our designs through hundreds of iterations and multiple stress tests including dropping, bending, heat, to make sure that you get a bulletproof product.
We keep tuning and upgrading our printers to ensure the best visual quality possible, and working with manufacturers to get higher quality PCBs and internal components.
When you get a Bastard Keyboard, you buy the best keyboard we ever made so far.
Future-proof
All our keyboards use the powerful RP2040 chip and a big memory chip 16MBit), which make them ready for years of use and firmware updates.
Store multiple keymaps, add special RGB modes, craft an auto-complete dictionary… the limit is your imagination! (and technical skills 😉 ). We are also actively working on new firmware, to bring you all the latest bells and whistles, crush bugs, and make the user experience smoother.
With an included 3 years of warranty, you can rest assured your keyboard will only get better with the years.
Open values
All Bastard Keyboards are fully open-source: 3d models, PCBs, Bills of Materials, firmware.
They have been forked on Github countless times, and inspired a whole wave of new DIY ergonomic keyboards – serving as a reference and example.
Their hardware is designed to be modified, reused, adapted for other creations. They are also easy to repair, with open schematics and detailed guides and examples.
User feedback
For years now, we take the feedback of our users at heart – modifying the 3d design, firmware, documentation to make sure you get all the tools needed to use and customize your keyboard. Whenever we change something or bring a new feature, we discuss it with the community to make sure the change makes sense and brings a truly better quality of use.
Community
Our Discord community is full of builders, creators, enthusiasts. You will feel right at home!
This is also where we brainstorm new ideas, and share progress on projects.
Online support
We stand behind our products, and on top of our warranty you will find extensive documentation to guide you through using and customizing your keyboard.
We are also always available by email or Discord, and will provide spare parts and replacements on demand if anything goes wrong.
What you will need
Keycaps
Reuse your favourite keycaps, get the MDA keycaps from our store, or grab a set from another source (We recommend searching for “ortho” sets).
As for keycap profile, the keyboards will work with all following profiles:
DSA, XDA, SA, MT3, DES.
MT3 has been popular lately and is a favourite of ours.
Switches (for Kits)
If you get a Kit, you will need to source your own switches.
Our Charybdis ergonomic keyboards are compatible with MX-format switches. This includes brands like Boba, Kailh, Zealios, Cherry etc.
They are not compatible with low profile switches (Kailh Choc, MX low profile).
You will need to source your own switches, if you are not sure multiple shops offer switch testers.
Cables (for Kits)
If you get a DIY kit, you will need an audio cable (both TRRS and TRS work), and a USB-C cable.
If you get a prebuilt, those are included.