A few doubts 'bout filco

[Narcix]

Hello, i had the idea of buying a filco for typing and, rarely, gaming. I think it looks very cool and yea i read many good things 'bout it but i also found that keycap printing fades very fast and some keys ping......can anyone gimme some more details and tell me if it is really worth 160€?

[CommunistWitchDr]

Almost all stock caps do.

Modern Exceptions (off the top of my head)-

Unicomp
Deck
Topre (cept leopold)
Side printed pbt duckys
A couple nice really new pbt dyesub/ds (did that vortex thing ever materialize?) things


Aside from caps it's a high quality board

[Narcix]

Cannot decide between the normal tkl one and the camo....
what do you think of the ninja?
i'll buy wasd and esc keycaps too.....if i get the camo just the esc one

[dadgh]

Cannot decide between the normal tkl one and the camo....
what do you think of the ninja?
i'll buy wasd and esc keycaps too.....if i get the camo just the esc one

Camo looks tacky IMO, and has worse resale value if you're ever looking to replace it with a different keyboard in the future.

[Grim Fandango]

I would not say that the keycap printing fades really easily or fast.  However, the method used is among the least durable, and it will fade much faster than some of the other processes used to create keycap legends. The pad printing on the Filcos is also pretty ugly and inconsistent. But I do use them pretty intensively at work and the pad printing fading has not yet been a problem for me. Generally, there are only a few keyboards that come with stock keycaps that people really like, and if you are particular about these things you can always buy a different set of keycaps. There are also plenty of stock sets that you could purchase for a very low price if you'd ask for them in the classifieds section, should you ever want to replace the stock keycaps due to wear.

Ping and rattle is an "issue" with many mechanical keyboards. For some people it is really a problem, others do not care. All my Filcos ping (when I let go of some keys after pressing them), and honestly, I do not notice it and it does not bother me when I am using the keyboards. Since they all have it, I do not think only "faulty" ones have it, but rather, it is just a characteristic of the keyboard itself. If you do not go OCD over these things then I really think it is fine and would not affect how much you enjoy the keyboard.

Which Filco you get is really up to you and what suits your aesthetic preferences. I like the regular black for example. I was not big on the camouflage one till I saw the one Reaper has, which imo looks amazing. Here are some pictures to give you an idea and help you make up your mind.
 

Looks amazing with Dolch keycaps and the clack skull and arrow keys.

This is mine, similar idea but with white keycaps and a black case.

[Lbeuol]

Filcos are great and really high quality build but I have to agree the keys aren't great.

[Narcix]

Also, i'd like to know if the normal filco majestouch 2 tkl comes with a key puller

[Grim Fandango]

I had to order the key puller separately. Though I have heard of people who got one with the keyboard. You may want to contact the keyboardcompany about this since different people may give different answers, perhaps depending on when they bought their keyboard.

[Danule]

I have a filco majestouch 2 TKL coming in.  I have yet to try one for an extended period of time but seeing them in the store they felt like they were good quality.  I have a das that is made from the same OEM and it is a good quality board.

I ordered some PBT caps to replace the stock ones on the filco which I am pretty excited to try out.

[badcop]

i bought a MJ2 from keyboardco in january and it didnt come with the lavender wasd or a keycap puller

[JPG]

I got a Filco last november and fell in love with it. I got another one 2 months later for the job. Both are the camo edition and I must say they look amazing.

As for the keycaps, unless you get one with stock pbt keycaps, they will fade. But one day or another you will want to try either thick pbt or thick abs double shot 

But there are many other good options out there. It's a personnal choice in the end, but if you go with the Filco I am pretty sure you will like it. And if you like the camo edition, go for it!

[tp4tissue]

I would not say that the keycap printing fades really easily or fast.  However, the method used is among the least durable, and it will fade much faster than some of the other processes used to create keycap legends. The pad printing on the Filcos is also pretty ugly and inconsistent. But I do use them pretty intensively at work and the pad printing fading has not yet been a problem for me. Generally, there are only a few keyboards that come with stock keycaps that people really like, and if you are particular about these things you can always buy a different set of keycaps. There are also plenty of stock sets that you could purchase for a very low price if you'd ask for them in the classifieds section, should you ever want to replace the stock keycaps due to wear.

Ping and rattle is an "issue" with many mechanical keyboards. For some people it is really a problem, others do not care. All my Filcos ping (when I let go of some keys after pressing them), and honestly, I do not notice it and it does not bother me when I am using the keyboards. Since they all have it, I do not think only "faulty" ones have it, but rather, it is just a characteristic of the keyboard itself. If you do not go OCD over these things then I really think it is fine and would not affect how much you enjoy the keyboard.

Which Filco you get is really up to you and what suits your aesthetic preferences. I like the regular black for example. I was not big on the camouflage one till I saw the one Reaper has, which imo looks amazing. Here are some pictures to give you an idea and help you make up your mind.
 

Show Image

Looks amazing with Dolch keycaps and the clack skull and arrow keys.

This is mine, similar idea but with white keycaps and a black case.

Show Image

You mean, Purple caps

[Grim Fandango]

You mean, Purple caps

It is a strange off-white color. I always felt that it had a little bit of a darker color in there. Purple or grey or something. It is definitely not a pure white. I like it though.

[Hyde]

Cannot decide between the normal tkl one and the camo....
what do you think of the ninja?
i'll buy wasd and esc keycaps too.....if i get the camo just the esc one

Yeah not a big fan of camo, though ninja are front printed so the legend will never rub off (since you're not touching it).  So if you're concerned about that I'd highly recommend buying the ninja version. 

[DaveyG]

To date I've bought 3 Filcos & the build quality is very good. I haven't tried anything that is outright better - some may be close in quality, or cheaper, or have illumination or whatever. I'd say buy with confidence. Standard keycaps are only OK but I'd guess most people here would swap them.  I haven't had any issue with the one board I have that has regularly printed caps, but it doesn't get a lot use. Ninja caps mean you won't have any problems with letters fading & imo look better anyway.

I bought all mine from The Keyboard Co and I did get a keypuller with one of the boards, can't remember which, but if you are thinking of buying from them then it's usually listed in the details exactly what you get in the box.

[Narcix]

Thank you for the answers
I think that later this year (if i can hold myself from instabuying it) i'll get a tkl filco ninja with blues or browns (CANT DECIDE AAAAAAAAARGH) + wasd yellow keycaps and red esc
in the future i'll probabilly buy some more keycaps
or i might get the camo with browns lol.....it so hard to decide

[tp4tissue]

Thank you for the answers
I think that later this year (if i can hold myself from instabuying it) i'll get a tkl filco ninja with blues or browns (CANT DECIDE AAAAAAAAARGH) + wasd yellow keycaps and red esc
in the future i'll probabilly buy some more keycaps
or i might get the camo with browns lol.....it so hard to decide

Just remember the WASD yellow caps are Not as Yellow as the FILCO special edition yellow caps..

The WASD yellow is much more washed out.. pale yellow..

Just a heads up, since most people expect sunny-D with the yellow caps, but that's not what they are..

[Narcix]

Thanks

[Danule]

Just got my filco, tried it for a bit (will play with it more tonight)  But so far I am very impressed with the quality, Very nice for a cherry mx keyboard.  Quality seems better than my DAS that is made by the same OEM.

[Danule]

ok ive been using the filco for a few hours.  It is a very nice solid cherry mx board.  The design is simple and sleek.  I would say this is my favorite cherry board that I have used so far.  Now i just need to wait for my PBT dysubs to come in and replace these stock keys.

[tp4tissue]

ok ive been using the filco for a few hours.  It is a very nice solid cherry mx board.  The design is simple and sleek.  I would say this is my favorite cherry board that I have used so far.  Now i just need to wait for my PBT dysubs to come in and replace these stock keys.

Sounds like you need an ergodox

[Danule]

ok ive been using the filco for a few hours.  It is a very nice solid cherry mx board.  The design is simple and sleek.  I would say this is my favorite cherry board that I have used so far.  Now i just need to wait for my PBT dysubs to come in and replace these stock keys.

Sounds like you need an ergodox

I acutally find normal keyboards more ergonomic because you dont need to have your elbows sticking out

[mrelectric]

ok ive been using the filco for a few hours.  It is a very nice solid cherry mx board.  The design is simple and sleek.  I would say this is my favorite cherry board that I have used so far.  Now i just need to wait for my PBT dysubs to come in and replace these stock keys.

Sounds like you need an ergodox

Jesus Christ, every thread, if you like ergodox so much why don't you shove it up your ass.

[tp4tissue]

ok ive been using the filco for a few hours.  It is a very nice solid cherry mx board.  The design is simple and sleek.  I would say this is my favorite cherry board that I have used so far.  Now i just need to wait for my PBT dysubs to come in and replace these stock keys.

Sounds like you need an ergodox

I acutally find normal keyboards more ergonomic because you dont need to have your elbows sticking out

the primary difference is, with the ergo dox, you have a CHOICE, if you want to put in an orientation to "direct" your elbows downwards, inwards or outwards, YOU CAN...

The obsession and continued worship of traditional staggered qwerty layout is one part stockholm sydrome, and one part confirmation bias.

You spent all this money on what's now been revealed to you as a terrible product that is not only bad for your physiology but also antiquated by the progressive features on the almighty ergodox.

[Binge]

LOL Filco ping, everyone sound the alarms.  A keyboard and its counterparts make noise when you use them. xD

First TKL I ever owned was a filco.  I made sure I replaced it with another costar board.  The quality is there.

As for TP... well he's asking for a lot of change very quickly, but if he's right then you'll never need another keyboard again.  It's an interesting challenge, but most will not be up to it.