This is going to be my first review so don't kill me for trying!
I'm in my second year in college and am attempting to do Computer Science, if you don't know it requires a lot of programming and that translates to a lot of typing. After my purchase of a K70 RGB with reds I decided I wanted something smaller and something I would be able to take to the library or different places when needed.
Ordering / Shipping / Arrival
I ordered the board from qtan's ebay store after coming across the board and falling in love with the look. After reading reviews of qtan I decided he was trustworthy and ordered the board. He was exactly as I expected from reviews I had read. The only way to contact him was by messaging him on geekhack. It took a little over 2 weeks to get the board. DHL was really accommodating for me, since my apartment complex has a gate that does not get left open they were willing to give me a phone call when they arrived to drop it off. Over all a really smooth experience, even if I was extremely impatient the whole time.
KeyboardThe keyboard has a great weight to it which I could feel as soon as I picked up the board. Its not too heavy that I wont be able to take it place I need to go, but heavy enough to feel extremely high quality and I know it will last a long time. The plastic base of the keyboard feels closer to metal than plastic, if I didn't already know it was plastic at first glance I could have sworn it was a metal base. The keycaps which are PBT feel very sturdy compared to the ones on my K70. They feel long lasting, but hard to explain. They do have a rough texture to them, which is different than I am used to. This is my first keyboard with a lot of functions keys and to me they seem to be solid places I enjoy, however as you can see from the photo the FN key and the Ctrl key were switched when first purchasing the board, this led to quite a bit of confusion when figuring out the function layer. Last bit is I read reviews that have talked about the pinging of the board, while I can here some of the ringing when typing with the board but so far it is not enough to bother me and it is about the same amount as my K70.
Cherry MX Clear SwitchesThe Cherry MX Clear switches have been extremely different for me compared to the Cherry MX Reds that are in my K70. They are far harder to press compared to the reds, and feel far more springy when pressed. This is something which I was really looking forward to when typing, as sometimes when I type the reds can feel mushy to me. The tactile bump that comes along with clears are exactly what I was looking for in my key-switches. I couldn't get blues or greens as my roommates would probably murder me in my sleep. They really are a perfect balance to me personally. I was worried that browns would not have had enough bump for my tastes and they did not have a harder press than my current reds. I have found the keycaps harder to remove than my K70, I have heard this is because the clears grip more than other keys, so I have just been extra careful when removing the keycaps and haven't had any problems
DipswitchesI have never had a keybaord before this with Dipswitches. Most of the dipswitches functionality I do not really see myself using. However the two that I love are the Caps Lock and left control swap. It feels a lot more natural as I do a lot of control commands in my programming and it greatly shortens the distance I need to travel to reach it. I has taken some getting used to and when if I do not catch myself I will sometimes go for control to copy and past. The other dipswitch I will be using is the windows key and Fn keyswap. It makes using the Fn layer on the keyboard a lot more practicle instead of moving both hands across my board to reach the Fn key and his the function keys (Home, PgUp, etc.) Over all I don't know how I can ever go back from using the dipswitches.
My Experience...So FarFrom the moment I opened her, this keyboard is like nothing I have ever experienced. When I type it feels light-years away from any keyboad I have used so far in my life, I don't think I will ever be going back. I love typing on it and now want to get my homework done extremely early so I have more reasons to type on her. I really love the form factor of having the arrow keys and the delete key. I use both all the time while I am programming and they were a necessity.
While I am not the biggest fan of the texture of the keycaps I have no problem with them being this way as the quality feels so high. However I could not resist and purchased the Granite keycap set from MassDrop and will be posting pictures when I finish setting her all up.
I could not have asked for a better board after purchasing this, while when I first purchased her I was worried that I was spending to much money and it was a mistake but now there is no doubt that this was the right choice. I can tell you I have loved this board from the moment I opened it and I know I will until the last day I have her. I do feel bad for my K70 however, the board is not less amazing in my eyes, just more orientated for gaming and unfortunately for college I run out of time to game. I lent it to my roommate to use since he play a lot of videos games every day and I didn't wanna see it laying around.
Rest of my pictures!http://imgur.com/a/rRKKOWould have posted them on here but felt there were to many.
Ignore my poor setup, I move around a lot and actually built my desk from my closet doors and cinder-blocks.
SidenotesIf I need to add anything to this review please let me know so I can make it more comprehensive.
Also if anyone knows where to get a Leopold FC660M spacebar key that works with the granite set I would really appreciate it.
