If you are looking for something other than a mechanical keyboard, you can consider something like the Keychron B series. These are scissor switch keyboards, a popular choice on laptops, but they offer full customizability with ZMK open source firmware. The smallest is the Keychron B1 Pro, at $33.99 but if your travel needs allow, you can get larger ones.
The next option would be a low profile mechanical keyboard. There are a lot of good options there. Keychron, which makes a variety of mid-market keyboards, offers Ultra-Slim QMK open source KS-33 low profile mechanical switch keyboards. They offer a 75% at the lowest rate, the K3 QMK at $74.99 at the time this was published. They make a smaller 65% version as well.
If you want to bump up a level, you can go for a Nuphy low profile. Nuphy offers their Air series. The v2 series uses QMK open source firmware, and the newer v3 has reverted back to proprietary software, so for now would recommend the v2. I bought a used original version of this keyboard, acquiring used versions of both the 60 and the 75, both of which suffered from battery swelling, which is apparently not uncommon, but the ones I got used work perfectly well wired without a battery. Nuphy does not sell replacement batteries and tried to talk me into buying a new one. The Air60v2 is currently $109.95 and the Air75v2 is at $101.95.
The next option for portability is something that isn’t usually used for portability at all. Split keyboards. Split keyboards are usually a preference of individuals for ergonomic reasons. But a split also means your keyboard divides into two pieces. While there are a lot of unique layouts for these, you can get traditional layouts, just in two pieces. There is the Epomaker Split65. Epomaker does suffer from reports of inconsistent quality, but they are a popular budget brand. If you are willing to build, you can go over to companies like Keebio. They offer a kit and an assembled set of split keyboards, like the 65% Quefrency. They also offer the 60% FoldKB.
At the moment, my preference is for a 40% keyboard. These are keyboards that have less than 50 keys. There are a variety of layouts for these. While there are 40% made by bigger companies like Keychron, such as their Q9, you have to go a bit off the open path to find a bit more variety. I have my other site, selling supplies for these tiny keyboards, called Mechdreams, where you can see some of these. These small keyboards are great for small spaces, and you can fit one in your pocket, or even on your belt, and they are fully functional keyboards, although there is a learning curve.
So, what does this tell us? The best travel keyboard is the smallest or thinnest you can fit in your bag and still enjoy using.
