My havit KB395L died. It was cheapish, but great for me. I should have bought 3, because they don’t make it anymore.
I bought a Red Dragon Horus (k618rgp-pro) with red switches as a replacement. The form factor is fine, and I like the wireless, but the keys feel mushy and I make typos constantly.
So, now I’m looking for something with:
- Low Profile
- Blue switches
- Tactile (feel the bump on a key press)
- Full size (I guess I could go ten keyless)
- Backlight Bonus features:
- Wireless
- Hot swappable switches
Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
I have the K17 Pro w/ Blue switches and its great, plus supports QMK/VIA so I can customize it based on games or OS and my needs.
They have several other low profile options from 60%-100%
https://nuphy.com/collections/keyboards/products/air96-v2
The Numphy air series are also a popular low profile option I have not used one yet so I cant speak to it personally. They also support QMK/VIA for customization.
https://ajazzbrand.com/product/ajazz-ak832pro/ https://ajazzbrand.com/product/ajazz-ak832/
Ajazz offers a some 75%'s but they are seen as a budget brand so long term software support and customization options may be lower. I dont see anything related to Hotswap or QMK/VIA so you may not get them as features. Also its subjective but Outemu switches are also seen as budget options. Personally I do not care for the Outemu box switches, but I find the traditional Cherry Clones to be ok depending on the color type. Outemu Purples and Silent White are my go to budget switches when building boards for friends who dont have a big budget but also dont really know what they want yet.
https://redragonshop.com/collections/low-profile-mechanical-keyboard
Another OEM low budget option, personally I would not buy any of these. I Have two of their other keyboards one specifically because of the MCU chip on it, the other because I needed a 60% for one of my kids gaming computers. They are plastic crap, but they are cheap.
This is a good site to search for things if none of the boards linked above tickles you.
Thanks for the great write up. I’ll take a look at these. I’ve read a few reviews about keychrons having defective keys, etc. Any issues there?
That’s where I was leaning towards, but I haven’t ever used one.
I have 4 Keychron’s and have not had any mechanical issues, though I did have a missing foam layer in my Q0 Plus that was indicated as being part on the website. I did not care enough to follow up on it.
I find their QA good enough for the price point.
Keychron should have all your requirements
