ZSA Voyager Review

A low-profile mechanical split keyboard with programable keys? Yes, please! This is my review of the ZSA Voyager keyboard and how it compares to the larger Moonlander.

From Moonlander to Voyager

I want to start by saying I have nothing but love for the Moonlander. I happily used it for nearly a year. It's a very comfortable and capable keyboard, but I am on a low-profile MacBook Pro keyboard a lot and am more comfortable with its low-profile and low-travel keys. I misfired a lot when using the large keys on the Moonlander.

When the Voyager was released, I was intrigued. However, I was unconvinced that I could reduce my layout to 52 keys. Everything else seemed great: the smaller metal body, low-profile keys, and symbols on the number keys 👀. I just couldn't imagine going through the process of retraining my fingers to a new (and smaller) layout.

Well, I foolishly spent the good part of last summer building a deck, so I lost most of the muscle memory in my fingers anyway! Oops. I figured I would have to retrain my fingers, so I might as well do it on a Voyager. I sold my Moonlander and purchased a Voyager to replace it. Go big or go home.

Initial impressions

A steel bottom plate makes the keyboard feel more premium and solid. It's definitely something I wish the Moonlander had, and I can only assume we will get if/when we see a MK II of that model. There is no flex whatsoever with this board compared to its bigger brother. Part of that is because you're resting your palms on your desk and not the wings of the Moonlander, but there's no bend to this thing. It's stout.

The LED lights shine brightly through the keycaps and cast ambient light below. I got the Kailh Choc Pro Red switches (which I'll talk about later), and they put a little red tint on the colors. If you want to achieve a proper white on your keys, you will have to add a bit of blue to get close.

The case is nicer and has some nifty zippered pockets to toss cables into (they give you a lot of them). You also get more extra keycaps (if I remember correctly about the Moonlander). This is useful if you're using printed keycaps and want to see what the key does.

Smaller layout

Going from a 72-key layout to a 52-key layout seemed scary. I used the extra bottom row on the Moonlander a lot. I wasn't sure how I was going to live without those. I also had some critical keys on the innermost columns that I didn't know where to put.

Here's some good news if you're in a similar position. The default Voyager layout in Oryx is quite good. It taught me some things I wish I had used in my Moonlander layout. If you're lost and coming from a larger keyboard, I'd suggest you start with the default.

Below are a few things I learned while transitioning to the Voyager's smaller key count.

Put your layer toggle keys on the same side as the new layer actions

I got this wrong the last go around. I assumed I would want my layer toggle key on one side and the new layer actions on the other. For example, I trigger a 10-key number pad layer with my left and type the numbers with my right. The Moonlander's size made me want a free right hand to move around without holding the layer toggle key. Due to its smaller size, you don't have to worry about this on the Voyager. You can go to town with a single hand.

If I want to use a 10-key on my Voyager, I hold a layer toggle with my thumb and do it all with my right hand. The left hand is free to grab a cup of coffee, tab, enter, or whatever.

Pay attention to keys that only have a held state

Again, I'm not sure what I was thinking last time. Keys like shift, command, option, and control only have held states. They don't do anything when simply pressed. Assigning other actions to those buttons when pressed somewhat makes up for the missing bottom row on the Voyager. It's surprising how much you can start to fit into a smaller layout when you start paying attention to this.

This also applies to space and enter, but the concept is inverted. Knowing this, you realize it's not that big of a deal only to have two thumb buttons for each hand.

Make use of the held state on your number row

If you use a number row across the top, assign actions on hold up there. I had trouble using the held state on my letters because it requires a brief delay when determining whether it's a press or a hold. This constantly screwed up my typing.

This isn't an issue on the number row because I'm not typing that fast up there. I use it more for the symbols than the numbers. I use a "number pad" to type many numbers at once.

Keycaps and switches

Despite the Voyager having choc switches, the keycaps are still larger MX-sized. Whether you like this or not, it's your call, but it does provide some uniformity between the other ZSA keyboards.

I ordered my Voyager with the Pro Red switches because other folks said they felt most like Apple's Magic Keyboard. That may be the case, but they were a bit light for me. I would accidentally press other keys when a finger slightly overlapped because there was so little resistance.

I ordered Sunset Tactile Choc Switches, which are much more to my liking. I kept the Pro Reds on the outer columns because they're easier to press with my pinkies. I dig this setup and feel I have more rhythm when I type.

Tenting

This is going to be a personal preference thing. If you're unaware, you can get tripod mounts for the Voyager that allow you to do just about any tenting your heart desires. As I mentioned in my Moonlander post, I don't have RSI issues, so the tenting legs it comes with feel great.

I'm glad because I can travel with the keyboard setup I use at home. The folks mounting crazy contraptions to their desks probably can't say the same.

Wishlist

Not much. I miss the cute sounds the Moonlander made. I could probably use one more thumb button, but it would only hold infrequently used actions, so it's not ultra-important.

ZSA should offer the Sunset Tactile Switches as an option when buying because they are generally reviewed well. It would be incredibly cool if they could influence the colors of those switches and make them transparent so the LED lights could shine through more. The Sunsets are tinted, so the lights are duller.

Conclusion

Don't be scared if you're coming from a larger keyboard. You can totally squash your layout down to 52 keys. And if this is your first foray into these keyboards, you're in for a treat. This keyboard is small enough to take along when traveling, and that's something I can't say about the Moonlander. I would always leave it on my desk.

Happy clacking!