Note: Longer term use results further down the page.Note: Added even Longer term results further down the page.My new keyboard arrived today and since there doesn't seem to be much on these I figured I will do it. This is not a long term test, I'll update that section later, I just want to get initial impressions out first. I literally pulled this out of the box 5 minutes ago. No one gave this to me, I spent $39 of my own money on it. I got it from Amazon and had it in two days on standard free shipping. Not bad.
In the boxIt came with a small instruction book, really small. Considering that there is no dip switches, it basically lays out what fn keys do. That's it. It also came with a USB OTG cable for use with phones, and a keycap puller. We all know what this stuff is so let's just move on.
Magicforce Keyboard
I didn't get the backlit version, while it would be nice, it added quite a bit of cost and I mostly wanted to test out the layout as I was working on something similar, more on this in a bit.
The keyboard is very lightweight, being small with a (painted or cheaply anodized) aluminum plate you would expect that, but it's really light, and yet very stiff as well, it feels really good. The plate appears to be pretty thick, which may be why. At any rate, I'm impressed, which says a lot when you remember I'm comparing it to a Filco with aluminum Vortex case. I'm not liking the color I got, but I planned on repainting it. I may just fill in the Magicforce logo, but it's shallow enough I may be able to grind it out. Backlit versions appear to go through the plate and get backlighting (I could be wrong on that), this does not. There are also no dip switches on this version, I was under the impression there was, but apparently that is limited to backlit versions. The backlit version allows you to disable the winkey this way.
Bottom
Size compared to the Fico in a Vortex.
Fit and finish is pretty actually really good, better than some other cases I've seen and own. Considering this is made in the Leopold factory (supposedly), that's not a surprise, but I doubt you could beat the fit and finish for the money. Seriously, it looks and feels like a much more expensive board, I spent FAR more than this on my Vortex Race and this blows it out of the water. The kicker though, is this...
Top spacebar is stock, second is Vortex, and last is a Filco. In other words, it uses a conventional spacebar, unlike Leopold. I'm not impressed with the stabilizer system, but not unimpressed either.
You can see how thick the plate is here.
KeycapsThese have a strange feel, I'm guessing POM or PBT with standard thickness, and at first I would have sworn it was dyesub, but they are merely printed. Good printing, but stillprinted, it didn't rub off at the first sign of a fingernail touching it. While the backlitkeys may be doubleshot, the fot in terrible in my opinion. That said, they have an odd feel to them. The corners are pretty sharp. Another issue is the amount of information on them. I still have to look at some keys to find punctuation and such and on this, you sometimes have no idea what you will get if you hit shift or FN as there is no differentiation. On most keyboards the FN is a different color or printed in a different spot, not so on this.
Have a look.
It gets worse when you get up into the high F keys, tell me this doesn't look ridiculous. And remember, almost half the keys have a modifier.
Caps lock lit up
Regarding the shape, they remind me a bit of the KBT Vortex profile, sharp corners and tall. They aren't actually tall, it's just has less tapering on the sides and sharp corners. If you have short nails it's not a problem but if you have more than 1/16in, you may find yourself clipping the one beyond what you aim for. I have new keycaps already waiting for it, but if you like island/chicklet keyboards, you may like them.
Looking at the pictures, you might think the Filco caps are the same, but I assure you, they are not. The Filco keys never snagged my fingernails like these and the Vortex do. The SP keys look far different and have never snagged a nail, neither have the WASD keys (not shown). That said, after an hour or so, I've noticed it's happening less and less. The same could not be said for the Vortex keys, they always had a tendency to do it. The differences may be subtle, but they are there.
Red on white are SP Red Alert 2, Middle key is Filco, left and top is Magicforce. I couldn't get the Vortex to show up well, just imagine the Magicforce, but even taller. Escpecially the upper rows.
LayoutThis is a mixed bag if there ever was one. I swear the keyboard seems smaller than it is. If I don't look, it feels normal, but as soon as I look at it, my fingers start hitting the wrong places. I have never had that happen before. I find my right hand keeps wanting to home offset one row. This is really odd since the keys and spacing is normal size. I think it's the case causing this. I'm used to feeling the Vortex case rub my hands a certain way and I think I was using that to index my hand position. My left keeps falling off the left side and my right keeps trying to index based on the arrow key spacing, which is non-existent. It doesn't help that there is no lip at the bottom and sits lower. It all adds up to a strange feel. I can adapt to that, I just need time. I used the Vortex/Filco for over 2 years. The bigger issue I have is the lack of home and end keys. They put page up/down, which I plan to remap but in the meantime it's driving me batty.
After remapping the home/end and taking a short break to eat, I find it's much easier to type on.
The switches...Out of the box, their consistency was garbage, but even as I type this they are getting better. Remember, I pulled it out of the box and started writing this. So it's clearing up fast. I have blues, and they do not feel like Cherry blues.
The click sounds almost like a cross between a Model M and an unlubed Cherry Blue (it reminds me of an old typewriter), loud and very solid, but they feel more like Cherry clears. These are also supposed to have stiff springs, but they feel closer to a medium. Which was confirmed when it took 63-65grams to activate. However, it had to drop to 10-12 before it would release. Travel, is identical.
While they are not scratchy, but I wouldn't say they are as smooth as Cherry clears or blues. What they are however is loud. There is also a bit of ping if you hit them just right. On the other hand, they don't wobble nearly as much as Cherry. Lube and foam can fix ping, you can't fix wobbly.
This really shows the sound difference. However, my sounds are opposite of theirs. My Cherry blues sound more like their Outemus (keyboard in foreground) and their Outemus (keyboard in back) sound like my Cherry which are old, worn and lubed.
Wrap upI like it, it's compact, easy to use, well made, compatible with standard keycaps, you can even get it with better switches, for $40, how can you go wrong?
After adding Cream Cheese and green, even the stock gold color is growing on me. Now I just need to rip the whole thing apart and mod the switches.
Note: Longer term use results further down the page.
Quick Note to Linux users...The volume macros do work.
