I understand not wanting to spend so much on a keyboard, but we spend so much typing on a daily basis. I worked at a call center for 9 years. At the three year mark I asked them for an ergonomic keyboard because my hands were beginning to hurt. They sent me to a workers comp clinic where I went through hours upon hours of useless treatments. I ended up having to take time off to be able to go to the clinic during their open hours. I ended up losing more money taking time off than I ever did by putting off spending money on a keyboard myself. I ended up buying the 4000 and other keyboards with the goal of relieving my pain. My justification was that the pain I was going through and any time in the future I would spend on doctors and treatment were much more expensive than a $250 keyboard.

I went with the Advantage over the 4000 for a few reasons. My carpel tunnel begins to rear its head when I flex my wrists outward and when I put too much pressure on my thumbs. The first reason was the damn space bar on the 4000 was way too hard. I tried 3 iterations of the keyboard and 2 of them had the spacebar problem. I bet you at least one of those new old stock keyboards are going to have the same problem. The next reason was the efficiency of the thumb cluster. I use a lot of shortcuts on a daily basis. I no longer had to reach for the modifier keys with my pinky and stretch my wrists with the advantage. The 10-key on the 4000 forced me to stretch my wrists out and pulled me out of an ergonomic seating position. With my advantage and a rollerball mouse I barely have to pivot my wrists. Finally, the keys are set in an ortholinear format which are easier to reach on the advantage.

Although the advantage hasn’t completely eliminated my carpel tunnel, it has reduced its severity substantially. I can actually type faster because of its layout. Although it doesn’t have the backing of a multi billion dollar company, it has been building the advantage since the early 90’s and are unlikely to go out of business. I believe that they are manufactured in the United States. The key switches that they use are very popular popular among the enthusiast crowd and are highly durable. There is an advantage on Amazon open box for $214 in “acceptable” condition. They usually refer to the box when they say this. I would have her try it for two weeks to get used to the unique layout and return it if she doesn’t like it. Best $250 (it’s a little under $350 now) I’ve ever spent.

Kinesis Advantage2 QD Ergonomic Keyboard for Dvorak Typists (KB600QD) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KBKFT7C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_3TYAJ973H29D8F4TBQ9S?psc=1