At home I use Keychron C1 87, and at work Logitech k120. This is one of the tortures, constantly switching from a good keyboard to a terrible one)))
Interesting, those 2 specific keyboards are actually in my work-from-home keyboard locker, along with the following:
- 1995 Dell/Lexmark model M (buckling springs) (current daily driver for work-from-home and everything else)
- Omen Encoder with Cherry MX reds
- Vortex Race 3 with RGB and native USB-C (Cherry MX reds)
The Omen was my first-ever official mechanical keyboard purchase (acquired at the beginning of 2022 at Best Buy when it was $99), and it's still my 2nd favorite keyboard (after the Dell). I grabbed the Keychron C1 direct from Keychron (it's RGB, Gateron reds, not hotswappable) when I had seen a lot of positive reviews and videos. I used the C1 for a while, but coming from a board (Omen) with genuine Cherry MX reds, I realized MXs have their own unique feel (at least to me) and the Gaterons don't. Just something... off... about the way the Gaterons feel that I don't like.
I don't really use the Vortex for anything; it just sits in a drawer.
Which leaves the Logitech K120. This was my daily driver for 20+ years.* It got me through college, grad school, and numerous jobs, most especially my last "important" job. The K120 was so ingrained into my psyche that in my mind, it was (and still is) the very definition of a computer keyboard. I had 2 models, an old/early one that I've owned since at least the late '90s (its serial number is engraved into the plastic on the back), and one I bought in 2017 from Walmart (serial number is on a cheap sticker) that cost under $15 and I wound up donating to Goodwill. I still have the super-old K120 and pull it out every now and then to type something on it.
(The older and newer K120s look identical from the front, but I swear there was a huge difference in the way they felt to type on, with the older one being a lot better.)
I changed jobs after the pandemic and started doing audio (podcast) editing, mainly working nights to have podcasts ready to drop the next day. I needed a backlit keyboard, so that meant replacing the K120 with the Omen Encoder. Then I decided to try out TKL, so got the Keychron, then wanted a TKL with genuine MXs, so picked up the Vortex. Then, decided I didn't like TKLs after all, went back to the Omen, then wanted something with a heavier switch, so started looking for a keyboard with MX blacks (heavier than MX reds), couldn't find a board with MX blacks that looked like a good buy, then wound up with this model M, which is heavier than MX blacks.
In the end, here's what I learned:
-- I like heavier switches (but have never tried Cherry MX blacks because I can't find a board for sale anywhere that looks decent).
-- I prefer full-sized to TKL.
-- RGB is overrated.
*Online sources site the year-of-release of the K120 as 2012, but I swear I was using the K120 or some direct ancestor as far back as the mid-1990s.
