Again, I wonder why I purchased another keyboard that comes with stock MX clears. But after seeing the listing at EK, it reminded me of when I first purchased my Leopold with clears from them back in 2011. The price is reasonable, it doesn’t have LEDs with pulsating rainbows everywhere, and the design of the case is nice compared to the usual angles on a Ducky or QFR. Plus, it wouldn’t hurt to have an extra TKL at home. Anyways, here we go.
The BoxThe packaging is pretty simple. Aside from the all-black exterior, it has the KUL logo and 2 labels noting switch type, layout, etc. The box reminds me of the Ducky Shine II boxes.
What’s InsideThe keyboard includes a plastic cover, or what I call the “free plastic roof.”
Since the keyboard allows for swapping of Ctrl and Capslock, Backspace and \ , etc. through dip switches, it’s great to see that they include additional keycaps, not just a WASD cluster like many companies do. KUL also includes the usual keycap puller, USB mini B cable and PS/2 adapter.
Nudity (It’s SFW)There are many images of the board with keycaps online, both on EK and on Keyed Up Labs official website. Here it is naked.
The KUL ES-87 comes with plate mount Cherry stabilizers.
Flangeless, diffused, blue, 3mm LEDs are located on the Esc, Caps Lock, Left Control, and Scroll Lock. They are not blindingly bright.
Warranties?3 screws are all you need to remove to take the keyboard apart. The middle screw is hidden under the Void Warranty If Removed sticker. Like the Filco, just pop the tabs and the top and bottom portion come apart.
Dual Layer PCB.
The controller looks to be a Holtek HT82K94E.
Shot of the 8 dipswitches.
For all the people thinking about doing some modding, the WFD universal TKL plate lines up really well. The 5 holes on the stock plate line up perfectly with the existing holes in the universal TKL plate. The only problem I could think of is that the universal plate does not have the raised edges like the stock plate. The raised edges allow for the stock plate to not shift around when placed in the case.
Vanity ShotKeyboards … Barbie Dolls … Dolch … don’t have to say much more …
Which Space Bar?The KUL ES-87 comes with a 118mm wide with 50mm left and right from the center stemmed spacebar with additional 2 inner stems similar to SP’s Universal Space Bar. What does that mean? The KUL ES-87 can use any 6.25 unit space bar that comes with nearly any set without any problems. So feel free to have fun and swap key cap sets with no worries!
Some ThoughtsFrom an average person’s standpoint:
For the price point, it’s not that bad. It’s reasonable. If you are looking for a TKL that comes stock with MX clears and Cherry stabilizers, it’s a great option especially if you want something simple without all the LEDs everywhere. You can swap Control with Cap Locks and there is support for Macs. The ABS key caps that come stock are similar in thickness to Keycool key caps. The lasered legends … well … at least they’re not pad printed. If anyone has tried the $20 sets that EK offers, you may find that they’re quite similar to feel minus the textured space bar and minus the pad printing. The case has a nice texture to it, like the Filco MJ2s. For someone not into modding a keyboard and just want something to use straight out of the box, the KUL ES-87 is a nice option.
From someone who wants to take things apart and mod it standpoint:
One could say: “Well I can buy a QFR when it goes on sale for around $50, buy some switches, a bpiphany controller, and have a board with [insert uncommon switch type here] that I can program myself around that price point!” Sure, I can do that too … and swap the plate, paint the case, change the LEDs, swap the stock key caps and the list goes on. There are other options than buying this board but as you keep on modding, the price you paid for the board and parts just keeps going up. But of course, we can justify such reasoning
Thank you for the kind words guys. If you want me to take any additional pictures, post and let me know and I'll include them. I'm surprised the images came out alright considering it's been overcast for the past few days.