31
votes
Help selecting a mechanical keyboard
I'm looking to replace my current mechanical keyboard which has a few problems. If anyone has recommendations I would appreciate it.
Here is what I'm looking for:
- Mechanical switches
- USB C and bluetooth.
- Smaller size (no keypad)
- Clicky but not too loud. I think I currently have "brown" switches which are good.
- Backlit (but not colorful unless I'm able to set it to something muted or single-colored)
- Works with mac, pc, linux, and maybe tablets
I don't care very much if there is a battery in the unit as long as it can switch to bluetooth while plugged into usb.
I went to mechanicalkeyboards.com and looked around and got a bit overwhelmed. Looks like the prices are mostly under $200 which would be ok.
What went wrong with my current keyboard:
It's an EPOMAKER TH80 pro. The size is good, the features are good, and the keyboard feel is good. But the battery went dead so it has to be plugged in all of the time, and several of the keys get double presses at random so I have to backspace a lot.
Thanks!
I often recommend keychron.
Good selection, good features, decent price, and a “it just works” kinda vibe. I don’t recall if they’re back lit but I’d start there.
I'd also recommend Keychron.
I have a Keychron K1 Pro and it fulfills all of the requirements in the original topic (and more with support for QMK and VIA). I imagine many of the other Keychron keyboards to also fulfill all of the requirements.
I have a Keychron (can’t remember the model and not at home rn) that’s got low profile switches like that and they have way too low of an activation force. I frequently activate them just by resting my fingers on the home row. But that’s going to be down to exactly which switches you select. They should have an activation force listed in grams for each switch model.
I found that I had that issue with the optical key switches, but as soon as I switch to the fully mechanical red key switches, there was enough spring force to keep me from accidentally activated them when I rested my fingers on the keyboard. Reds and Browns are about as low act as I would personally go. Blues are just way too much force. I feel like I’m having to stabbed the keyboard with my fingers on every press and then they have that loud click.
I had the same issue when I first got this keyboard but over time my fingers adjusted and now it doesn't happen to me anymore. But yeah definitely a good thing to keep in mind.
It's been like this for maybe 9 months? Maybe I just have big hands.
This concern is big for me; I have a light touch usually and long fingers, but resting fingers sometimes acts heavy (also played piano for years but that was decades ago, but I can still make a quiet keyboard clack loudly according to the SO), and I find apparently my fingers twitch enough while "resting" while gaming that I trigger actions I often don't want. (Also, I suspect my current das Keyboards [both] are a little wonky in the circuitry which is why I found this thread!)
These are also pretty affordable! Good suggestion, i may pick one up soon.
Yeah I was just on my phone but a big selling point is they're reliable and easy to get.
The mechkeyboard world can get awkward fast, with you debugging your own device or having trouble getting a new one and what not. Having a spot that's just a store that's almost always in stock is awesome, and doubly so because their stuff is almost always fully featured and just works.
I just wish they'd make a low profile version of the epo TH40. I don't care if it's more expensive since Epomaker is VERY hit or miss. Alternative split space wireless boards are almost nonexistent EVEN IF you're willing to build the damn thing, let alone using chocs.
God that Epomaker board… I have been very out of the loop but have heard the brand is very dodgy and thus am not reallyyyy tempted to get one. But there’s a great hole in my heart for a nice wireless 40% with split spaces (heck I’ll even take a 60% with split spaces!!!).
I know there are a fair bit of options out there but my wallet weeps (that and I think my personal 40% layout preferences don’t mesh well with current popular trends in the space).
I got it because I literally could not find something that fit those specs and was actually in stock (even if i was willing to build it).
When i first got it, it "worked" in that I could type, but it wouldn't let me remap the layout using VIA or anything else I could find, which is a non starter.
I meant to return it, forgot, looked again a year later, STILL couldn't find a split space wireless 40% board in stock, found a new firmware, and it works great now.
So for the price....eh...I'm happy enough, but god I wish there was something else in the space at all. I've got my split 40, but this was just to sit on the headboard of my bedroom so I can use that computer for things like streaming and occasional gaming/notes/work/whatever, and still have it not be TOTALLY hostile to my wife.
I've actually had pretty poor luck with keychron keyboards. Two have had actual problems, but mostly I just didn't think they were "good enough" compared to other keyboards I have owned.
Interesting. I've yet to have any issues. I don't know where else I can get a BT/Wifi/Cable low profile 60% or less reliably.
I have an excellent keyboard that fits the bill that I use for my living room HTPC. I'll see if I can find out where I got it and if it is still available just to that I can share the info.
Edit: The keyboard in question is the Vissles V84 (https://vissles.com/products/v84-wireless-mechanical-keyboard-hot-swappable). Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be available anymore. I thought it was a 60% (also I got it confused with another wireless keyboard that is 60% I have around here). It is highly compact though, barely bigger than my Happy Hacking keyboard in footprint.
Heh....yeah. That' was basically my experience. And I do want choc/lp switches (although i'm typing on whatever the keychron 65% lp wireless/etc is).
I have a Keychron V5 96% and its great. A perfect layout and using VIA has been really handy. Between that and skhd, I've mapped my second layer to control hue lights and other things via scripts.
I just got a Keychron Q6 Max with the Gateron Jupiter Banana switches and holy shit is it a dream to type on. The base is so sturdy, and the key clack is like the sound of little ceramic dominoes being slapped into place.
Yeah I was so happy when I found them. I got into the hobby around the Ducky 2 I think, and it at least felt like around that time I was constantly hunting and hoping. Things out of stock, things missing features, lots of hurdles.
Keychron is just....solid. If you REALLY get into things there's all sorts of stuff you can do, and my favorite board is still a mercutio 40 I built, but when the wife got a new computer I just grabbed a keychron. When our main machine became my media center and I needed something that would work wirelessly...i grabbed a keychron.
It's so nice to know there's something out there where I can just get something that works with no fuss/research/worry. I can still dive into my split ergo 40's and what not (and i do hope we eventually get more consistency there too one day) but it's really made recommending the hobby/upgrade to people a lot easier.
Knowing it's likely to work + a few minutes showing the basics of VIA is a much easier sell than "okay so you first have to find something you can even buy, then you might need to build it or pay for it to be built...it'll be expensive, then i'm going to explain how to compile qmk..yes you start by cloning the ENTIRE repo...."
Hah, my first real mech was a Ducky too! Before that I used a Model M that I just happened to have from when I would screw around with old computers in the 90s.
Some people really go crazy with collecting boards. That's never been me, but six keyboards is maybe 3-4 too many. IDK what to do with the ones I'm unlikely to use again though, I guess I should try to rehome them with friends and family, or donate and make somebody's day at Goodwill.
My mom was looking for a keyboard, and we ended up getting her one (I think either the V10 or Q10) with the banana tactile switches.
Then, two months later, I find out she bought a second one (of the exact same kind) so she could have one at her office and one for her home office.
So yeah, I’d say Keychron are pretty decent.
On the other hand, I’m the keyboard (aficionado?) and have a Keeb.io Iris CE (low profile, ergonomic) with switches and blank keycaps from lowprokb.ca
I think you're the only other person i've seen who's used a keeb.io. For anyone interested i HIGHLY recommend them.
I got a chiri CE and they honored the hell out of the warranty and sent me like 2 or 3 free boards when they died to ESD (I even offered to pay just because I don't want them to go away).
They re-released the Chiri CE recently after buffing up the ESD resistance and I grabbed a few boards. The 5x3 has been my endgame since I found it (very easy to take with me) and I was thrilled to have it working again.
When I said I have “an Iris CE”, I actually have an Iris CE and a regular Iris (I think Rev 6 or 7)…the CE for my work computer, and the regular one for my personal computer (bought before the CE was released).
I definitely like the CE more and am maybe considering getting a chiri CE, except I already have the two mechanical keyboards I had before I got the Iris collecting dust…since the Iris is working “good enough” I don’t really feel the need to replace it.
Though I might need one when LowProKb finally gets the sunrise silent tactiles produced, since actually swapping the choc switches is a bit sketchy from what I’ve seen, even if they are hotswap.
The comment of yours I replied to just before this one literally sent me off on my quarterly "fuck did I sunrise tactiles come out yet? did I miss it?" hunt to confirm that "no...no not yet".
They are exactly what I want. I'd type on blues but my coworkers and wife would murder me, so I got browns and realized they were still kinda loud for certain professional settings, and went with linear sunsets and have been happy with everything except missing the tactile bump.
Just one thing to mention, the "double press" issue is nearly certain to be an issue with the switches themselves. Since that keyboard is hotswappable, you can likely handle that particular issue with just identifying and replacing the switches. That could be a good excuse to try out something slightly different (quieter, more tactile, etc) if you were up for it. EPOMAKER might be able to assist in replacing the battery as well. I'm not exactly one to shy from getting new keyboards, but if you are happy with your current keyboard, sometimes a repair is the way to go.
Any Leopold keyboard is a premium board. Not sure if they do backlit stuff, but their stuff is indestructible, not that ostentatious (definitely compared to Gamer™️ brands), and come with a variety sizes and clickyclack options.
I've had my keyboard drink a cup of coffee or two and it's still going strong after almost a decade of near daily use. A good clean and you can't tell it was ever that thirsty. The double shot keys are still pristine and show no sign of wear either. Leopolds are built to last.
Leopold makes GREAT keyboards and they have, IMO, the best included caps of any major OEM. The only things they don't do particularly well is embrace the less mainstream form factors or switches. I also don't believe I have seen any Leopolds with have hotswap sockets. If you just want a high quality mechanical keyboard in a standard form factor and have zero desire to customize it, they are my go to recommendation.
I wish they had a little more presence but their (relatively) sober design seems to be unpopular compared to your Wootings and Keychrons. Though that's not wholly undeserved by either of those brands, Wooting seems to have stellar service and Keychron is a popular choice for a reason, but Leopold isn't as colourful or personable as either.
That said, Leopold keyboards are for the person that needs an effective and premium made computer peripheral.
For bluetooth, I'm a huge fan of Nuphy, I used their Air series exclusively for a year and a half until I decided I wanted to do away with bluetooth on my desktop keyboard as I didn't use it anyway. I have all of the Air V2s, which come with VIA firmware preflashed, which also allows configuration in wired mode with The associated webapp
You'll want to spend $20 on additional keycaps that they sell that are actually backlit, but I think they're worth the money.
Upvote for Nuphy. I have two Air v2s and they are really solid keyboards. Nothing too fancy, and very compact. I like the low profile form factor, but that's not for everyone, I suppose.
Last year I went from an oldschool white mechanical (it held out for 20 years of daily use!) to a new DasKeyboard. It feels good and has not given me any problems. I do kinda miss the black text on white keycaps though, white on black is harder to see and some of the caps have started to fade since I got it. At least they are replaceable.
I actually found this as I'm about to post a new one with my own personal preferences because das Keyboard has kinda burnt me.
I'm on my original, which is still awesome but is only white-light backlit. It is solid, but I wanted a colored backlight - nothing fancy, but just red so it's not obnoxious in the dark.
I splurged and bought a 5QS, only to find that it didn't have Cherry switches to go with all my custom keycaps (yeah, that was my bad not reading correctly)... so I coughed up another $90 for the 5QS Mark II. I adored it until Monday, when it started acting up. I booted up (I use Linux, and I have it only boot to CLI, so no graphical interface), and it worked fine. When I got into the graphical stuff, it started sending weird signals: on places I could see it "typing" was a solid NNNNNNNN... and mostly didn't change until I hit special buttons, which resulted in things like 0sd;Nw128 or weirdness.
I had my SO put it on his Windows computer, and it started pulling up programs and typing things into other stuff - so something is wrong. And I got it in April of '25, so outside of their 1 year limited warranty.
So overall, the first keyboard still is doing well, and I love that. But the last experience with the third party customer service was so awful that I'm trying to find something else instead. Honestly, a week ago when it was still working, I'd have thrown a bit of shade at it if you asked... but dang, it looked awesome! (Old, working typewriter on top, new fubar on bottom)
Is there any reason you can't just replace the key caps with black on white key caps other than cost?
Nah, they are standard CherryMX, just the cost and time to do it. I'm also nervous about breaking it, I tried to fix my last one and was not successful. Losing that baby after so many decades hurt me deeply.
Swapping the caps shouldn't be too bad. You can get some very decent key caps sets on Amazon quite cheap e.g. https://www.amazon.com/KBDiy-Keycaps-Percent-Mechanical-Keyboard/dp/B0D1529M7K
It's totally fine if you don't want to do it, I've just done it so many times it feels easy I suppose.
If it's anything like the Das I had, it had a steel back plate and the plastic was rock solid. I felt like I could run it over with a main battle tank and it would survive.
I really liked my Das, but I moved away to a split keyboard after I got won over my a coworker.
Seconding that swapping keycaps is pretty simple/cheap. A decent keycap puller makes it pretty trivial.
I'm one of those weirdos that has owned dozens of mechanical keyboards of all varieties from vintage to hyped du jour boards so I'll throw my two cents in. My favorite board that fits you general requirements would be the "WOBKEY Crush 80 Reboot Pro Aluminum Hotswap Wireless RGB Keyboard" (yes, its a mouthful). It is without a doubt one of my favorite modern mechanical keyboards, even though I rarely use the wireless functionality. The smaller "WOBKEY Rainy 75" might also work well for you and is a bit less expensive (I wasn't a fan of the form factor/less standard key caps).
For a couple years now one of the most popular "enthusiast" mechanical keyboards has been the Wobkey Rainy75 (or one of a few similar 75% Chinese aluminum keyboard that came at similar price points at that time like the Womier sk75 that I have). It fits your needs, it's highly customizable and upgradable if you want to go that route; it's got a ton of very premium features for the price; you can buy it on Amazon for like $150 or less.
I've had a bridge75 keyboard for over a year and it hits all of your criteria!
I switch it daily to be between my pc wired, and work laptop bluetooth. It's heavy and has a solid feel to it. I haven't tried switching the keys yet, and it's due for a cleaning I keep putting off.
I've fallen behind on what's available, but I do want to point out that you should be able to get cherry browns or a copycat from pretty much any mechanical keyboard company.
If one you like offers a different brand, here's a comparison chart. You want a tactile switch with about 55g of force, 2.2mm of pre travel, and a total travel of 4.0mm .
Vocabulary for anyone not familiar
Force: how much pressure is needed to press the key
Pre travel: The distance the key will travel before a key press is registered.
Actuation: When the key press is registered. On a tactile keyboard you'll feel a bump and usually hear a click.
Total travel: The furthest the key can be pressed before it will stop, also called bottoming out.
With a tactile switch, you press down the pre travel distance, then you both hear and feel a click. By the time your brain registers the clock and you lift your finger, you will have traveled further down the total travel distance. Ideally, you'll stop before you the key bottoms out at the end of the total travel distance, because that's jarring and can cause pain in some folks.
Similar switches with the same specs:
I'm not familiar with most of these brands, I know Gateron has been around for a while and folks seem to like them. I went from Cherry browns to Kalith Choc Jade (not listed) because I wanted a slightly lighter touch and shorter actuation distance. I've been extremely happy with them for almost a decade.
It's a bit comical that Cherry on the list of official switches since nearly all of them are clones of Cherry MX switches. Not that many of the "clones" haven't surpassed the originals in ways at this point, but it just seems funny to me.
I’ve used Gateron and Kailh in the past. My current (non-low profile) has JWICK Taro switches, which look like they’re a little heavier at 67g force.
But I don’t think you can really “go wrong” with any of those brands listed.
I built my last keyboard over a decade ago, just before hot swappables came out. I really wish I'd waited a few months. Right around that time a lot of folks were switching to box jades.
Edit: I really don't know how I feel about watermelon milkshake. I'm kind of fixated on the idea of an actual watermelon milkshake and it just sounds like a waste of two delicious things.
+1 for Durock T1 Smokey. I've been daily driving them for 4 years now with no issues.
I have an EPOMAKER keypad. While I do love it, fucking with VIA for it is a bit of a pain. Keychron is much better and around the same price.
I just found out about VIA by reading your message. Thanks!
(It may be a pain, but it's better than nothing)
VIA rules for Keychron etc keyboards. It isnt the worst with EPOMAKER, but there are definitely quirks. For Keychron, you need a browser (likely Chrome) that can do HID stuff.. but once you do, you can easily change anything you want -- especially the lighting controls.
But yeah, definitely check the Keychron 5. Its such a nice keyboard. I really like MDA profile keycaps, too. They're a lower SA profile (the IBM Selectric typewriter one) but lower profile so they don't rock on the switch.
VIA's pretty good. It's quite simple and has a lot of power(ANY key lets you do..well just about anything). There's some rough edges (won't work with firefox, sometimes you have to download a file and put it in a different mode), but it's made the whole hobby so much easier than when you had to compile your keymap.
I know I'm late to the party, but I daily drive a Moonlander from https://zsa.io and really love the thing. They've had a number of keyboards over the years so you might find one that clicks with you! Highly configurable, choose your own switches, but also probably a bit on the expensive side. Emphasis on ergonomics - ortholinear, which isn't for everyone, but also interesting tenting options and trackball/trackpad options. Not really a Bluetooth thing either, though they have featured DIY Bluetooth hardware hacking before in their newsletter (which is awesome, by the way).
This would be my suggestion unfortunately its out of stock. I love it though its portable has decent battery life and it's built like a brick shit house.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wireless-Mechanical-Keyboard-ProtoArc-Rechargeable/dp/B0CNTFR331