USB Rubber Roll Up Keyboards

If you have ever seen action/hacker movies like Die Hard 4, The Matrix, and maybe even Hackers 1, 2, and 3 then you have seen the roll up keyboards.

These keyboards actually do exist in the real world and they are not all what they seem to be. In this short article I will talk about my experience with one and how I personally do not recommend them. Hopefully this article will help you save some time and money.

The first time I got interested in these rubber roll up keyboards was when I saw Live Free Die Hard. I immediately because obsessed with the gadget and looked at many online shops for a cheap yet effective one. I picked one up that seemed good. It was made out of a silicone material, it rolled up easily, it was resistant to dirt/water (It really was), and it had a button to illuminate the whole thing at night!

Of course when I first got it in the mail I was happy to get it and I was in denial that using the keyboard for casual PC operation was not realistic. The keyboard is just too ineffective at providing a stable typing surface and registering keystrokes.

My first dilemma was how difficult it was to press a key. You needed to push down on the key dead center and push hard - Otherwise it would not register and there would be nothing showing up on the screen! I got around this eventually by changing my typing style - Unfortunately by doing this I ended up typing much slower then I normally do. I was pretty unhappy with this considering the fact that it is extremely difficult to hit the key dead center. It is very easy for your finger to slide over the key and not hit it. Speaking of this, some keys are not even completely made. The space bar was broken up into two different pieces to allow it to roll up easier.

Now don't get me wrong, there are some good parts to this keyboard.

Pros:
- Water Resistant (You literally can type under water with it)
- Dirt Resistant (Dirt/Dust/Filth won't get caught in between keys like regular keyboards)
- Space Effective (Easy to roll up and store anywhere)

Cons:
- Inefficient at typing on
- Significantly reduces typing speed (You will have to change your style to comfortably type on these keyboards)
- Ineffective Design (It just is not a good idea to make a keyboard like this, it needs to be rethought!)

I still have my keyboard. I keep it in my laptop bag as a back up keyboard mainly because it fits in a nice small compartment with no issues. The illumination button on it is great in the night. Regardless, these keyboards are very inefficient for typing on.

This was just my experience about a year ago with two different rubber roll up keyboards, they may have changed them since then - but I would not be surprised if they haven't either.