[lq0000]

The layout is eerily similar to one I designed last year [1]. I may be biased, but I'm not sure if it is worth the $365 price point. That being said, it is a bit more refined and has some nice accessories bundled.

I may pick one up for comparison. But, just noting that there is a comparable open source design available. ;)

[1] https://github.com/eggsworks/egg58

[rgoulter]

$365 does seem pretty steep.

But budget options pretty much demand a variety of skills.

DIY boards require soldering, and flashing firmware to the microcontrollers. If a mistake is made when soldering, this can be very difficult to diagnose, and harder to fix. -- Paying someone else to solder is sometimes an option, but can be expensive, too.

Even with cheap boards from e.g. AliExpress, you still might have to be familiar with flashing firmware.

For someone with more time than money, DIY is a good option.

With ZSA, I feel I can at least recommend a reputable brand; I'm not sure I can recommend DIY assembly to most people.

[lq0000]

Yeah, I agree full DIY is not for everyone, but SMT assembly is pretty affordable even in small batches these days. I just placed an order for 5x of a 60% unibody ortho board and it came out to roughly $40 a piece before switches, case, etc.

[1MachineElf]

I considered the price as well. I do love open source designs more than I love the design of the ZSA Voyager (it has too few thumb keys), but in terms of price, it might actually be fair. Milled steel cases for a Corne or Lily58 are only available via group buys that charge $300-400, and they don't come with either keycaps or switches. I believe it's realistic that you could pay the same amount or more for an alternative.