Looking for a wireless mechanical keyboard for commuting, as I don't want to have to run a hub from an ultrabook (mine only has two ports). The keychron ones look ok, anyone have opinions on those or others?
Needs to be mechanical as I have issues with my wrist and needs to be sturdy (current commuter is a Drop Alt). Also needs RGB. Hot-swappable switches seem like a good idea. It needs to be tactile but not too loud as I have a tendency to bash it.
@jojoeffe I have a ~5yo first gen Keychron K1 TKL at the office and it's alright. Brown switches, tactile not clicky, came with some spare keycaps to switch around.
It falls asleep to save battery quickly, often while I'm sitting thinking about something or just mousing instead, and takes a few seconds to wake up and reconnect. To my knowledge they never released software to control the RGB lighting, bit disappointing.
@jojoeffe I have a Logitech G915 TKL at home and it's the best keyboard I've ever owned. Feels great, looks great, configurable RGB in the app. Comes with a USB dongle but I use it via Bluetooth with my work laptop and it doesn't miss a beat.
Horrendously expensive when new though, I bought mine open-box on eBay for a steep discount. Cash Converters had a couple in great condition at a more reasonable price last time I looked, if I had to replace mine I'd look there first.
@jojoeffe when I was schlepping every day to an office I bought a #CoolerMaster #SK622 – see https://www.scorptec.com.au/product/keyboards/mechanical-keyboards/85626-sk-622-gktr1-us
it’s a hybrid wired + wireless (BT 4.0), TKL 60% layout with low-profile Cherry MX switches (red, brown, blue), RGB backlighting, multi-device pairing & switching, & softkey switching between Mac & Win/Lin key layouts (the keys have legends for Mac & Win). it’s doesn’t have hot-swappable switches though but otherwise I think it would tick all your boxes
I bought this one with reds because this one was intended for a crowded open-plan office (😩) & I didn’t want to be stabbed in the neck with a fork… 😜
it’s also a great travel keyboard (it’s just 450g) should you have that need
I had no end of trouble with pairing the first one they shipped, but replacement worked well without any shenanigans
unfortunately (🤔) Cooler Master seem to have ditched their mech keyboard business, but you can find them on ebay new (🤞) for about the same as what mine cost in Dec 2022 (AUD$179 + $25 shipping & insurance)
their RGB keyboards are on-device configurable so you don’t need to use their (completely terrible) software to configure & switch between multiple layouts unless you want to do something extra-fancy or save your profiles for transfer to another keyboard (IIRC this model supports 4 saved profiles like the rest of their keebs but it’s been a while since I’ve used it in anger)
it seems like the white version was less popular than the “space grey” version, as there are many more of those on ebay – but if that’s your jam then you’re in luck
pix attached for reference
jojoeffe
Daniel Reeders
Tim 🎮
itgrrl 