With keyboards, I look for a few things:
Good ergonomics (no, not that split or curved crap, I mean the angle and curvature of the keys and their relative layouts).
Good keyswitches (a market that's exploding these days, which is great because variety is always nice--but most of the newcomers are not very good)
Decent features without being overladen (my DD at work and at home has a USB hub and media controls and that's it--I don't care for 27 macro keys or backlighting or jet fighter styling)
Solid build-quality. All my mechanicals could probably serve as decent cudgels if it somehow came down to such a bizarre circumstance.
Good general functionality: basically, make it easy for me to type efficiently without thinking about it.
My Daily Driver keyboard at home and at work is a Das Keyboard 4 Ultimate. At home I've got MX browns. At work, MX blues (google if you're wondering what the Hell I'm talking about).
I have a Surface Pro 4 that I carry with me pretty much everywhere, but which does general-purpose duty around the house as well. I've been wanting something a little more satisfying and a little speedier than the (admittedly superb by laptop standards) Microsoft Type Cover that goes with the SP4. After some research, I found what I hoped would be the perfect companion:
The Filco Majestouch MiniLa Air
Filco's well-known for building solid, basic-but-robust mechanical keyboards. The Majestouch line has a pretty solid reputation. The MiniLa is a Minimal Layout setup (more in a bit) and the Air is bluetooth. Mine has MX Blue switches, because they're my favorite for general-purpose typing (I prefer browns for gaming, but blues will certainly suffice in a pinch and excel at everything else).
The box doesn't give much hint as to the MiniLa's unique layout, but it does show that it's a tenkeyless design. What's neat, as you'll see in the next pictures, is that the MiniLa packs a full key FUNCTION count into a 5-row tenkeyless with a special FN (function) key layout that lets you keep your fingers on the home row for everything. The theory is that this will allow you to type much more efficiently with less reach and less moving your hands away from home keys.
As it turns out, the MiniLa is the PERFECT companion for the Surface Pro. It's within a couple millimeters of the Surface Pro's width (which is not surprising--MS surely chose the size of the Surface Pro to allow for a "full width" keyboard on the type cover), as you can see here:
In that picture, you can also see the twin sets of labels on each key. You can also see the odd-sized spacebar, flanked by Fn buttons. Those Function buttons are what let's the MiniLa work its compact magic. The 5th row doubles as F-keys, and the JKL block double as scroll-block keys when those Fn keys are held down. So to hit F5, I simply use one thumb plus the 5 key. For backspace, I can reach to the normal location or hold a Fn and use my right pinky on the ; key. For delete, Fn+M is a clean, quick combo. There's even a duplicated set of arrow keys on ESDF to minimize the need for finger movement while navigating a cursor (WASD seems more sensible at first, but remember the goal is to let you keep your hands on the home keys at all times).
I was a bit unsure about the tiny spacebar before I tried it, but as soon as I tried it I realized that I never use those outer edges of the spacebar that have been split off anyway. I don't notice it at all. I DO notice the tiny right Shift key, and sometimes slightly overshoot and fat-finger the gap between it and the up arrow, which throws me off enough to interrupt my flow. I'm getting used to it, though, and I find myself using the left edge of right shift even on full keyboards now. I also wish they'd trade the duplicate ~ key next to the dedicated backspace to allow for a full-width backspace on the US layout. Fn+Esc makes more sense to me than reaching up with my right pinky, and there's no need to have that key of all keys represented twice.
Here are some shots next to my Das Keyboard and one with the Surface Pro 4 Type Cover:
The keyboard is very solidly-built, despite its generic plastic looks. It has a fair heft to it, and feels extremely solid. The MX blue keyswitches are as fantastic as ever, and the keycaps feel nice. The keycaps are unfortunately pad-printed, which means they'll wear in addition to having a noticeable feel to their raised ink. But as someone who's used to typing on unlabeled keyboards, the only labels I'm really worried about are the secondary ones for the shrunken layout of this particular keyboard, which shouldn't wear unless something goes very wrong.
One of the neatest features of the MiniLa, though, is its customization options.
On the back of the keyboard are six DIP switches.
These switches toggle specific keys between certain settings, to allow you to customize certain parts of the layout to suit your preference. Even cooler (and something I didn't realize until I took mine out of its packaging, because no other reviews mentioned it): Filco provides alternate keycaps for these alternate configurations, along with a high quality keycap puller.
I am actually quite happy with the "stock" layout, but I have played with swapping \| for backspace.
Overall, I think this keyboard's really excellent. It makes a great desktop companion for the Surface Pro, but I can see its appeal with any computer. I actually think a MiniLa equipped with MX browns could be a fantastic "competitive" gaming keyboard due to the way it puts all your standard functions within easy reach. The blues mean double-tapping keys is a little less responsive than I usually like with gaming, though.
One last note: it SEEMS like there's no NKRO, which is disappointing. I get ghost-cancelling when using down-arrow plus WASD combinations (common in--say--Bind of Isaac Rebirth), which I honestly would hope not to see at this pricepoint (I paid $170 on Amazon).
