Keyboard Builders' Digest / Review
Ergohaven Planeta V2 review
This is a review of the Planeta V2 which is an updated version of Ergohaven's cool monoblock split – now with display, indicator LEDs and an improved case.
Published July 15, 2024
As you may know, I've been using an Ergohaven Planeta (v1) as my daily driver at home since I broke my Azimuth. It has a bit more keys than I need, but I like the layout in general so while keyboards of all sorts keep showing up in my mailbox, I had no reason to change to anything else. Up until now.
Because Ergohaven's Evgeny was kind enough to send me a Planeta V2! ;)
TLDR;
The original Planeta was the unibody brother of the split K:02, and the new one is a nice upgrade keeping the overall design and adding some neat features: display and LED indicators. Otherwise it's the same proven unibody split design with an improved 3D printed case, hotswap sockets, legs for adjusting the typing angle – and Vial compatibility!
Disclaimer
I got this keyboard for free (had to pay VAT and customs fee on arrival). As always, getting a free keyboard may result in all kinds of subconscious bias – both positive and negative in my experience –, so take everything I write with a grain of salt.
Other than that, while it ships from Kazakhstan, Ergohaven is based in Russia. Before making any purchase, you may consider if this is in line with your actual view of the world.
First impressions
The original Planeta is retired now, its case and PCB has been shared by Ergohaven (repo). But what has changed in in V2?
First things first: I was not just okay with Ergohaven's earlier blank white cardboard boxes, I may even prefer simplicity and lower cost of packaging. However, last time the K:03 already came with some printing, and the box of the Planeta V2 is straight overwhelming by Ergohaven's standards. ;) Still pretty basic cardboard, no fancy materials and design, which is totally fine. It does its job perfectly: protects the keyboard well and is relatively small and sleek to the point you can use it for travel too, dropping the whole box into your backpack.
Appearance-wise, the display gives the board a whole different look and vibe, and you can spot a lot of small improvements. I got the fully built version with 55g linear Tecsee Ruby switches and a blank white XDA keycap set which still works really well with the white case.
Concept
The name and design were inspired by long-distance intergalactic flights through thousands of planets… – Ergohaven.
Well, the extraterrestrial-style patterns on top are gone, the new design looks like a spaceship of more human spacefarers.
Specs
- Compact ergo unibody: 60 keys, 6x4+5 per half (+1).
- Monoblock split design for natural wrist position.
- Hotswap sockets: MX-compatible.
- Built-in 1.69" IPS screen.
- Active layer LED indicator.
- Built-in piezo speaker: optional layer and keypress indicator.
- Dual-core Arm Cortex M0+ processor
- Tenting legs (15 mm length included)
- Type-C connection, cable included.
- Powered by QMK firmware. Vial-ready.
- 3D-printed PLA case
- Dimensions: 285x121x15mm (without switches)
- 3 years full warranty and service support.
Design & Build quality
While the overall footprint, layout and design of the Planeta v2 vs v1 is pretty similar, a closer inspection reveals that the two cases are night and day.
The layout is almost identical, however, the angle of the two inner keys has been slightly altered.
The 3D case has improved a lot. V1 was printed in two halves, the V2 is a single-piece design. The new one feels much more pleasant to the touch, it's smoother, has more curvy lines here and there too. As already told, the alien-style pattern and grooves have gone to make room for the display. Just like the "Planeta" inscription due to the new indicator LEDs.
Other than that, the quality of the printing is much better. No more huge gaps, tolerances are on a whole new level. Not as if the earlier case had any practical disadvantage, but it's good to see such a significant improvement. Part of it is that the old case was snapped together of four pieces. There's only a single-piece case and plate this time, so less room for error.
Layout
60 keys, full number row, 6x4 halves with 5 thumb keys and 1 inner key per half. It's more than enough, I prefer using numbers on a layer, but can use the top row for extended Latin characters.
Unused keys of a more crowded low-pro Choc-spaced keyboard may interfere with my typing but this is not the case here. Both the XDA and DSA caps provide sufficiently large gaps so it's unlikely that you would hit adjacent keys accidentally.
Keycaps
The blank set is optional, and beside the hallmark white XDA caps there is now DSA and a low(er but still MX) option too. It's called low profile but mid profile would probably make more sense since they are for the Tecsee Medium switches.
Normally, I'm not a big fan of XDAish profiles because of the uniformity and the sharp edges (far from ideal for thumb keys), but as already stated earlier, it works really well with this keyboard, not just visually but also functionally. Obviously, blank caps are for touch typers (or non-touch typer masochists), but if you can live without legends, I'm sure you'll love these caps: their texture is pretty nice.
Switches
If you're a hoarder enthusiast drowning in a sea of switches, you can go with the barebone kit. Otherwise you can choose from some Tecsee switches: Ruby/Sapphire/Purple Panda/Pudding Medium.
I received the Ruby ones which are nice linears, however, the Planeta comes with hotswap sockets so you can easily replace the switches if you prefer something else or if your preferences change over time.
Display
The built-in 1.69" IPS screen is much larger than the most common tiny displays.
Indication of the layers happens with easy-to-see colorful highlighting.
Indicator LEDs
Version 2 of the Planeta comes with two layer indicator RGB LEDs in the corners.
On holding the layer change keys, the LED color changes to that of the appropriate key/layer, red this time:
Speaker
I was surprised by the piezo speaker even though the original one had it too. The thing is, I turned it off after a few days and completely forgot about it. It's turned on by default and is still funny to experience it for the first time, making the Planeta sound like an alien ship or R2D2. Sure, it's a bit gimmickish, but it may have a practical function: auditory feedback. Either signalling layer changes or, just like with clicky switches, keypresses registering. A major difference is that in this case you can turn on and off the click.
High stakes (tenting)
Just like other Ergohaven models nowadays, the Planeta V2 comes with two 15 mm "tenting legs". Obviously, adjustable tenting is not an option on a unibody split of this kind, what we are talking about is "sloping", adjusting the typing angle. The legs are part of the "universal tenting system" which is, well, only universal in the Ergohaven product family. I can't find other lengths in the shop at the moment.
Anyway, it's simple and straightforward to use: you put the legs into holes on the bottom of the case, resulting in either negative or positive slope.
My favorite was probably the magnetic snapping of the K:02, but this one is just as stable, does its job perfectly, and I don't really use tenting/sloping anyway. However, if it alleviates some symptoms for you, then it's nice to have, apparently.
PCB
The bottom case and switch plate are simply snapped together, without any screws, so you can access the PCB very easily.
This may come in handy if you'd like to support the hotswap sockets when replacing switches.
Software
The pre-built Planeta works right out of the box. If you type in English and use QWERTY, then all you have to do is to plug it in. (It comes with an USB-C to USB-A cable this time, rather than C to C with the small C to A adapter.)
Since I use a custom keymap, as a first step I headed to vial.rocks to recreate my good old layout.
Vial is awesome and straightforward to use, I didn't have any difficulties while setting up my layout. Actually, it's so easy and convenient to play with the keymap that I usually end up with swapping some characters on a whim, to try something new just for fun.
Portability
You know I love monoblock splits, and the form factor of the Planeta is probably the perfect compromise of size and functionality. Easy to carry around while retaining a decent number of keys to please a broad user base.
With the size of only 285x121.45 mm plus about 3 cm height (to the top of the caps), the Planeta can easily fit into your backpack – I carried it back and forth between my office and home in its original box (actually, both models).
Obviously, there are more compact alternatives with fewer keys and lower profile, but then you may compromise on usability. A monoblock with number row may be the sweet spot for many use cases, providing the best of both worlds.
Price and availability
The new Planeta has become a bit more expensive but it's still a relatively affordable ergo keyboard if you don't want to bother with ordering PCBs, soldering and 3D printing.
For keyboard enthusiasts who sit on piles of keycaps and switches, the barebone kit starts at $150 (the old one cost $120). If you'd like a fully prebuilt keyboard working right out of the box, with caps and switches mounted, it will set you back about $216-232 depending on the specific cap/switch combo.
As of writing this, you can choose from Tecsee switches (Ruby/Sapphire/Purple Panda/Pudding Medium) and XDA/DSA/low profile caps (all blank) with some restrictions due to compatibility.
And there's a galaxy black edition too, which costs about $30 more, topping at $262 with the mid-pro caps.
Conclusion
I already knew that the Planeta is a great board, especially if you, like me, have a penchant for monoblock splits. But the V2 is even better now. I've been using it for a week, and I felt right at home when typing away on it. The board works right out of the box, it's easy to customize (Vial, hotswap, MX), and as a seasoned user of ergo splits (and this specific physical layout) my adaptation period after setting up my custom keymap was, well, zero. If this is your first ergo board you should expect an appropriate learning curve of course.
Resources
- Ergohaven Planeta splash page
- Ergohaven Planeta product page at ergohaven.xyz
- Ergohaven Planeta - Galaxy Black Edition
- https://github.com/ergohaven/Planeta – with the case and PCB of the original version
Published on Mon 15th Jul 2024. Featured in KBD #169.
Related
WeirdFlexButOk keyboard
Penk Chen's unibody ergo WeirdFlexButOk PCB has kerf bending cuts for tenting.
Go for launch
Go for launch by SouthPawEngineer.
Avlo44
The Avlo44 is a unibody split with exposed diodes designed by u/jrp22.
Pteropus
Flying fox aka Pteropus – a unibody split keyboard open-sourced by hulapig.
Cornelius
Foam and plate files for Foostan's unibody Cornelius released.