TKL stands for tenkeyless, as in it doesn’t have a tenkey. Maybe you know it as the numpad, or number pad. That cluster of digits on the right side of a keyboard from 1 to 9, along with plus, minus, enter, and maybe a few other keys that don’t quite add up to just 10.
Still confused? Don’t blame yourself. You’re living in the age of the touchscreen. Just the fact that you’re reading about—and potentially considering the purchase of—a keyboard makes you an aficionado. Or at least a rampant consumer.
should you go tkL?
Whether you should choose TKL for your next keyboard or not comes down to one question: How much do you work with numbers?
TKL keyboards grew in popularity as a way for people to retain most of the full-size keyboard experience and save a bit of desktop space by ditching the rarely used numpad. Accountants, coders, and others who use numbers a lot in their daily typing like the numpad because it’s quicker to punch in strings of numbers frequently than using the row of numbers that line the top of a QWERTY keyboard.
Any keyboard can be tenkeyless or have a tenkey. It isn’t exclusive to mechanical keyboards, although the market for standalone, third-party capacitive touch keyboards (the main other main) hasn’t exactly been thriving since people moved away from the desktop as the primary form of computer in the 2000s.
When I bought my first mechanical keyboard, a Filco, I chose a TKL version to save space on the tiny desk I used. I didn’t need a numpad. What are numbers? I’m a writer. TKL will be the option most people should choose, because most people don’t need a dedicated numpad. Those who do will know that they do.
Convinced that you’re down for a mechanical keyboard after all this jargon spewing? Check out my guide to my favorite old-school mechanical keyboards.
The post What’s a TKL Mechanical Keyboard, and Should You Get One? appeared first on VICE.
