So because of the fact that the HHKB has quite a steep learning curve, I'm not going to be doing a review until I am a lot more familiar with the board and that may not be for a good two weeks or whatever, so what I'm going to bring you here is my first impressions and what not, enjoy.
Keyboard layoutSo as you all know the HHKB Pro 2 has a very particular layout in regards to it's keys and this is because of it's 60% form factor layout. This is one of the main things and one of the major changes that you're going to have to face when coming to this board. The biggest change for me is the backspace location, the Function keys and also the location of 'home' etc as I use them in Arma games to switch to third person etc.
So that I wouldn't have to be using the right FN key all the time, I changed the left meta key to FN also and this seems to work wonders for the usability of the board.
Coming from a 75% layout, a lot of the keys are going to take a lot of getting used too and what not, but so far, I do really enjoy the 60% board.
One thing that I don't really like at the moment is that the HHKB seems to slide across the desk quite easily without much force, it doesn't move if you type or whatever, but if you push it quite softly it will slide across the desk and what not. I'm not sure if this is because of the rubber feet or because of the fact that the keyboard itself isn't that heavy, I really don't know, but that's just one small gripe that I've got with the keyboard thus far.
Keyboard feelThe keyboard itself feels very nice and sturdy, in my opinion, it doesn't feel cheap what so ever, although it still is plastic, it feels like a very high quality plastic. The keycaps are perfect as is the etching of the characters, I've been using mechanical keyboards for the past 5-6 years and these are some of the best keycaps I have had the pleasure of typing on.
I accidentally forgot to order my Red keycap though and now my keyboard feels naked
wahhh.
MX to TopreNow here is the big one I suppose, the switch from MX to Topre. Now I've not really had a chance to fully test out the Topre keyswitches, as I had to wait in all day for the keyboard on no sleep, so I basically set-up my keyboard and then I went straight to be bed, but since I've been up, this is what I've noticed and experienced.
- Using Topre for gaming, I think it's going to be a learning curve, hopefully one that I can get used to in the near future otherwise this keyboard would have been a waste for me.
- Me being primarily a MX Red user, it's quite hard for me to make the transition to Topre because of the slight bump, I have never really enjoyed 'bumps' on mechanical switches, but this time around it doesn't feel too bad.
- Some of the Topre keys feel a little bit stiff and what not, but maybe this is down to the fact that it's a brand new keyboard and I need to work some of the keys in and what not, one of the stiffest keys that I have found is the space bar.
- I have noticed that I do make a lot less typo mistakes while using this board, but currently? my WPM has gone down a little bit, which I'm not too happy about, but imo that's entirely due to me not being completely adjusted to the new board.
Conclusion thus farSo far, i think the HHKB Pro 2 was a good investment. It looks gorgeous, it feels rather nice to type on (just going to take a while to get used to the switch as I come from completely linear switches). But I am looking forward to using it over the next couple of months and I hope that it becomes a board that I can use on a primary basis.
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