New Keyboard rant/review :D
So for Christmas I got myself a new Bluetooth mechanical keyboard as I mentioned in a prior post. This is my rant/review for it. :D
I originally started out with a normal Bluetooth keyboard that was black and was useful for its purpose until I accidentally knocked over my wine glass all over it. It wasn't the same after that. I loved the Bluetooth feature as well as the ability to switch quickly between three devices as well as it being slim and relatively lightweight. The RGB lights on this model wasn't too fantastic unless you were in pitch black dark. But, I wanted to get another one if I couldn't find anything better. I also had a mechanical USB keyboard that I got off of Amazon as well. It had RGB lights with blue switches. I loved that thing until I didn't. There are days where I love the loud clicky sound, but after a while, it got on my nerves. So I began researching different switch sounds etc. I'm still very new to mechanical keyboards and switches so I'm not a pro. I just knew the sound that I liked and tried to Google and YouTube as much of them as possible to find the right one.
In the end, I discovered brown keys are what I was looking for. A lot of the videos or articles that I researched said that you could lube them and whatnot for different sounds. Then one of my friends from work sent me a video with someone who had ceramic key caps. The sound of these was UNREAL. Wait. What? Now wait, hold up, there's different kinds of key caps?
Ok, let me get this straight. There's different switches, different keyboards, and different key caps that make your keyboard sound differently? Not to mention that you're just customizing it for yourself at this point. Wow. Oh and the other thing that I learned quickly is that these are not cheap. At first I thought of buying just the switches, but that might cost just as much as a keyboard that's already pre-built. Mind you, I'm still new to all this!
Rewind to the researching stage. I'm getting ahead of myself. First off, the sound that I discovered that I loved was through Instagram explore page. You know. Endless scrolling and hours on Instagram. There was one girl who was typing away and the sound was nothing that I had heard before. It had that muted blocky clicking sound. I'm not sure how else to describe it. I've heard the term "Thocky," but I don't want to misuse it. I'm not exactly sure what considered a keyboard clicking nose to be thocky. Is it a muted click or just a click in general? Thock sounds a lot like the Korean term for ddok ddok which is exactly the kind of sound I'd describe these keys as. Anyways, I'm really ranting now.
My tactic for finding the right keyboard (or anything for that matter) was to look it up on Amazon (that had the right price point. Let's be real, I'm not spending $500 on a freaking keyboard no matter how much I love it.), and then I'd look at the reviews and specifically look for reviews with video. Half the time people aren't even typing on it so I can't hear the sound. So then I'd YouTube it. That's the trick and it lead me to a ASMR mechanical keyboard video where I found the one I got. Granted, there was one review of a girl on Amazon who uploaded a typing video (thank you!) that sounded amazing.
Here it is in all it's glory: The Kemove K68 with Gateron Brown Pro Switches.
I love that this keyboard comes in pastel colored lighting as well. There's about 13 different color settings that you can cycle through. You can also download the software to your computer to customize it even more. It's a 60% keyboard so it is missing the number pad, but I don't feel like you need one for this. There are switches on the side to make it compatible to Mac or Windows OS as well as three different options for connectivity such as Bluetooth, Wired, or 2.4G. The outer casing has RGB color running all the way around which can get a little annoying at times cause it moves so fast (I've got it on the slowest setting, but it still seems fast). I like the design of it and the keys are easy to press in terms of tactileness and responds well. It does sometimes not pick up the keys if I end up typing too quickly. One thing I did notice is that the bigger keys like the space bar, backspace, enter, and shift keys sound a bit different from the rest of the keys when you press harder. It's louder and not as muted as the other keys. It doesn't bother me too much as I try to press gently as I can. It does come pre-lubed, whatever that means. I guess there is a difference in sound if switches are pre-lubed or not. I guess it's a good thing that it is.
It comes packaged in a heavy duty kind of cardboard box and you can use the plastic topper as a cover for daily use if you want. I like it cause then I don't get dust in it when I'm not using it. This keyboard does have a bit of weight to it. I wasn't expecting that at all when I purchased it. It's 1.43 lbs, but it feels heavier than that. It's not a bad thing though. I like that it has some weight to it. Makes it feel secure.
It also comes with all the accessories to help you remove the switches and key caps when customizing it yourself. It came with a USB charger that I had never seen before:
I was slightly confused when I first saw it and didn't use it to charge it since I wasn't sure I had the right converter. Turns out it's a double sided USB cord that can be used in any standard USB port. Huh. Who knew. Maybe you guys did, but this is the first time I've ever laid eyes on one.
I don't have Amazon Prime so I don't get free shipping unless you reach that $25 mark. So I ended up adding this cute paw key cap and customized my keyboard with it. Sadly, it wasn't the one that I had originally saved in my wish list. I'm not sure why I didn't check there first. The one I had originally saved was a transparent key cap so the RGB color would come through. Oh well. This one is pretty good too. It is metal which I wasn't expecting (can you tell I didn't read the description and just added it to cart? lol), but it was a lot heavier that I had originally anticipated. I guess on the bright side, this came with two key caps whereas the transparent one only came with one for the same price. I guess I got a better deal. It doesn't bother me as much as I thought. It's just cute and probably unnecessary. Haha.
Another thing I like about this keyboard is that it has two feet you can prop up or lay flat. It is a well made keyboard for the price that it is. It is under $100 which is great and at the time it was on sale so I got it for less that whatever the deal is now. It did drop lower at one point and I was so mad, but oh well. I believe this one also comes pre-built with the MX Cherry keys as well. I think it's just a separate listing from the same company.
I think for the price, it's well made and I'm super happy with it. The instructions on how to pair isn't super clear though. It also allows for up to 3 devices. You have to press Fn and z, x, or c depending on what you want to connect it to. So for example if you want to connect your computer, press Fn C and the C will blink. Then you connect it via on your Bluetooth settings on your computer and then it's paired. Then if you want your phone, press Fn X and wait for it to blink and pair it. Same for the third device with FN Z. I don't know, the wording in the user manual was weird.
So far so good and I'm enjoying it. It is definitely quieter and it's soothing to just sit here and type. When I first got it, I was on monkeytype just doing typing tests to just hear the keys clicking. haha. Who says retail therapy doesn't work? Anyways, if you've made it this far in this ridiculous rant, I hope it helps and perhaps helps you make a decision if you are on a mission to finding the right mechanical keyboard for yourself. Here's me doing a typing test late at night the day I got it. Clicky Clicky. Enjoy and thanks for reading!

















