A Japanese Tribute - Exemplifying the Craftsmanship of Japan
A review of the Topre HiPro 108UW stems and keycaps modded to a 91UDK (45g)
Pictures will be of the 91UDK with the 108UW caps but the review is meant to cover both of them.
I always strive to bring unbiased reviews whether the item was purchased, given, gifted, dropped off a truck or any other situation. However I cannot guarantee that I can be bias free of a product if the company I am dealing with just offers terrible service. In this case I purchased both keyboards that I used in the making.
I’ve owned the following keyboards (estimated ratings in brackets, stars denote review is written):
i) Ducky 9008G2pro Cherry Brown (6.5/10. I hate browns.)
ii) Cooler Master QFR Cherry Blues (6.5/10. Costar Stabilizers… Very plasticky case)
iii) Topre 10th Anniversary JIS 30G topre uniform (8/10. Fine keyboard with good aesthetics and very nice build quality / keycaps. But 30g is meh.)
iv) GoN Crystal TKL Ergo Cherry Blacks (*9/10. Case was flimsy.)
v) JD40 Ergo Cherry Clears and Custom Case (8.5/10. Nice keyboard but the keycap compatibility was lacking and the controller position was annoying for me)
vi) Blackwidow Ultimate 2014 Razer Greens (*2.25/10. Everything was bad)
vii) HHKB 45g Topre uniform standard version (I bought this board twice so I guess it does something right. 9/10. Alternative controller is extremely useful. Great aesthetics, sound and feeling.)
viii) GoN MX-Mini Stock MX Whites – (Not GoN’s PCB) (8/10. Case was really nice. MX Whites were perfectly consistent across the board. PCB gave me a lot of trouble)
ix) GoN MobiK Ergo Clears (*9.75/10. Absolutely wonderful 40%, the best really.)
x) Code TKL with Cherry Greens (7.5/10. Costar Stabilizers. Clean aesthetics and has a nice weight. Nothing Fantastic.)
xi) Azio Levetron Mech5 Cherry Black (4/10. Poor build quality. Aesthetics and design are really bad. Only nice thing was that it was waterproof spillproof.)
xii) IBM Model M Blue Logo Buckling Spring (7.5/10. Big, loud and obnoxious. Classic Aesthetics with standard layout. However they’re old and most need some work. Switches don’t feel as nice as Model F)
xiii) IBM Model M SSK Gray Logo Buckling Spring (8/10. Same as the regular Model M, classic Aesthetics with standard layout. However they’re old and most need some work. Switches don’t feel as nice as Model F)
xiv) Duck Viper x2 Ergo Cherry Red, Ergo Cherry Clears (8.75/10. The case is killer and packed with an Alps compatible PCB. Unfortunately the plate wasn’t Alps compatible and with such a layout plates are not available. Also a hassle to remap the layout, but at least possible)
xv) Realforce 91 Black 45g uniform Topre JIS Layout (8/10. Sleek black keycaps with Topre switches and stabilizers. Always a pleasure to use but there’s nothing unique about it. With an alternate controller to hardware remap the JIS-only keys the board could have been a lot better.)
xvi) Realforce x Just Systems 104UW 45g Uniform HiPro Keycaps JIS Layout (9/10. Keycaps are absolutely stunning with a very nice colorway that will make you the envy of all other thorpers. Full Sized is a pain for me though.)
xvii) The E-Blue K727 which retails for $70 USD shipped directly from Gearbest (link:
http://goo.gl/bBIh1I)
So what keyboard do I have for you today?
xviii) Realforce 91 Black 45g uniform Topre JIS Layout HiPro Modded (9/10. Keycaps are absolutely stunning with a very nice colorway that will make you the envy of all other thorpers. The TKL size makes it a lot more usable for me but still needs an alternative controller.)
What is this keyboard?
This is a Realforce 91UDK (uses a Japanese layout) with the keycaps and stems transferred over from a 108UW. The 108UW is a Limited Edition keyboard from JustSystems in collaboration with Realforce to produce this beautiful JustSystems x Realforce keyboard. Since full sized isn’t terribly usable for me I transferred over the keycaps and stems to a TKL board. Why do I have to transfer the stems? HiPro caps are a lot taller so different stems are used to accommodate them. Both of the keyboards used are produced by Realforce. Please note that the aesthetics section will only relate to the 108UW (the original keyboard) and the keycaps.
Before I get onto reviewing, I should make it clear that scores for each section are not based on price, but based on absolute expectations of quality. I will of course come to a conclusion whether the board is worth the price at the END of the review. The purpose of this is to have scores somewhat comparable between all the reviews that I write. So three boards that I review have scores of 4/10, 6/10 and 8/10, the 8/10 is the best in my opinion. I feel like I should mention this first so people don’t instantly call this product garbage based on the number rating without looking at the conclusion. I will normalize the overall score to a score on 10 at the end of the review.
It may be worth noting that I normally deal with higher end products (luxury products) and therefore I hold high expectations based on my own needs and wants.
The list of sections will be as follows:
1) Build Quality
2) Key switches
3) Stock Keycaps
4) Design
5) Aesthetics (Half weight)
6) Conclusion (Complete recap is here)
You’ll notice that the Aesthetics were given a half weight meaning that I give them half the weight of the others in the weighted average. Why is this? I don’t think aesthetics directly influence the performance of a product. When I consider premium products, I consider performance first and foremost.
1) Build Quality
Unlike Other keyboards that I’ve owned and most MX boards, there are no LEDs on this board. The only Topre board with LEDs is the Royal Kludge RGB topre board but that’s not an authentic Realforce board and there have been some reports that the Royal Kludge boards feel a bit mushier. But I can’t comment on that myself as I never bought the Royal Kludge. Just be aware that different variations of the Topre switch will feel different.
The first thing is that none of the keycaps seem malformed. Everything is nice and sculpted just as it should be. I should note here that the S, D, F, J, K, L keys are all deep dish. They felt weird at first but then I took a look at them and they actually are just made differently. The edges of the deep dish caps are actually just raised slightly so that the center of the cap is the same height as the rest but you get a sharper edge and a deeper feel with those keys.
However some of the keycaps in a certain light look like they have some light scratching. However that may have been caused by me =( (I’m pretty sure that these scratches weren’t here before).
Now onto the case. Is the case really that bad? You may have heard about the top part of the case being a bit loose in that it shifts left and right easily. Is this good or bad? Well, you definitely won’t feel it while typing, or even see it for that matter. The top case has maybe 0.1mm of leeway? I believe others have discussed that this is to make sure the top case fits from manufacturing variances. Since it has no impact on any other aspect of the board I will classify this as inconsequential. It’s there but literally has no impact on the use, aesthetics, durability or stability of the keyboard. I just wanted to discuss this point formally in a review considering I’m aiming to be extremely critical and open.
The case is perfectly smooth across the board and by that I mean the texturing applied to the case is very uniform and consistent. The case itself is ABS (casting a PBT case of that size would be a bit silly considering they can’t make 6U PBT spacebars consistently due to warping).
I must give it to Realforce, every board I get from them is absolutely spot on. No defects, damages, dirt. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the keyboard in terms of quality. You may argue that for the price a metal case would be in order. At about $200 for the Topre board I really don’t think this is necessary. Keep in mind they’re made to very high standards and adding a metal case means increased freight costs from Japan and could still mean an increase in price to keep the same price standard. Topre isn’t as popular as, say, the Pok3r. Almost every clacker and their grandmother has owned an off the shelf 60%, most likely being the Pok3r (or Poker 2), V60 or Ducky Mini including myself. Larger scale means lower costs because they can buy resources and materials in bigger bulk.
My score for this section comes in at 9.5/10
The keyboard is 100% functional in every respect. The only real issue I have that I know wasn’t my fault is that the spacebar still has some rough plastic around the bottom edge. A little bit of sandpaper (if you're OCD about it) and you’re good to go. None of the other keys show any signs of this.
2) Key switches
HOW DOES IT FEEL?!?
This is the big moment. I’m telling you right now that HiPro Topre is a completely different experience.
Imagine you’re at a beach and you just start pushing your finger into the sand. That’s stock MX Browns. (Completely unrelated to the rest of the review).
Now imagine you’re at eating the most tender roast beef in the world (here’s a picture of it. Slow cooked on charcoal for 2 hours). Now imagine yourself taking a bite. It’s soft, full, luscious and juicy. As you’re biting down on the bit there’s a little resistance at first until it just gives and breaks apart. That’s HiPro Topre. The experience is quite full, fulfilling, lush and annoying because they should have silenced the damn thing in the first place.
The experience is broken by the clicking of the Topre switch resetting and is the main reason that people making plastic rings specifically for Topre can make a living. You have this wonderful and lush feeling mixed with a thock for the downstroke then a sharp click on the reset. I have some landing pads (and 55g domes) on the way courtesy of /u/Durvid that I will be putting in and comparing at a later date. But for now the reset click is a bit of a nuisance to my ears while I’m typing.
I’ve always had a bit of a preference to a good tactile switch that isn’t MX blue or a variant of that (the different actuation / click points throw me off especially when gaming). My favorite is arguably Topre but I’ve had such great typing experiences with MX clears lubed and stickered by GoN over at gonskeyboardworks.com. I consider those the primary competitors to Topre. However even lubed you don’t get the nice thick feel of these wonderful, thick PBT keycaps and thicker stem. (Well, the keycaps are dependent on what you actually get to put on the keyboard for MX, in this case I have DSA PBT)
To just purely describe how the switch feels with HiPro stems and caps, it starts off with a lot of resistance right at the top. But then it feels like you’re slowly rolling over the tactile bump. Like a car driving over a steep hill. It has to push a little then it gets pulled down by gravity on the way down and doesn’t have to push as hard. The entire stroke is extremely smooth without lube. In comparison, stock 45g Realforce feels quite a bit stiffer and not as full, smooth. HHKB 45g feels a bit softer than the stock Realforce. Maybe it’s the plastic case having a bit of give when you’re pressing down the cap but the HHKB feels a bit softer / less stiff than stock Realforce. Hopefully this puts the HiPro in perspective of the other boards that are a lot more common. Not everyone will like the more “rolly” feel of the HiPro compared to a crisper feel like Cherry MX clears where the resistance is a lot lighter at the beginning and then really kicks in hard for a sharper tactile bump. However the MX clears are still not that smooth even lubed by the legendary GoN, not smooth in Topre terms anyway.
The stabilizers are perfect on Topre. Unlike Cherry, stabilizers on Topre work slightly differently depending on the particular key length. For example, the Enter key for me has the stabilizer under the stem. There are no extra stabs / tabs in the keycap, just the one stem. Anybody who’s used a Realforce probably also realized that stabilized keys feel EXACTLY the same as all the other keys. This is an experience that I want that is very hard to come by using Cherry and MX compatible switches.
My score for this section: 9/10
These HiPro stems are very impressive in terms of the actual quality of the tactile feeling. Of course the clicking on the reset is the only real issue for me and I find that’s annoying enough to deserve the full 1 point deduction in this even if it’s moddable.
3) Stock Keycaps
The keycaps are PBT Dye Sub sculpted in a high profile fashion very similar to SA keycaps made by Signature Plastics. However there are some differences. The Realforce HiPro (by the way, HiPro stands for High Profile if you haven’t figured that out already) caps have more of an edge to them while SA caps are a bit more rounded than that. Furthermore Signature Plastics doesn’t produce PBT SA caps (besides the leftovers from the tests they did which are very limited and only in blanks). The spacebar for HiPro (at least the 108UW JIS) is also very unique in the way that it’s curved and sculpted to give the spacebar a more ergonomic feel
when touch typing. People who want to flip these will love it too.
A general rule for me has always been that I want a rougher texture on the keycaps. I don’t want anything rubberized or anything of that sort. The only exception has been the Realforce HiPro 108UW keycaps which feel like a soft silk on my fingertips. Or like the soft skin of a breast (possibly how the saying like typing on a cloud of boobs came around. It’s been a while since I’ve felt them so if someone wants to donate a set or let me borrow them temporarily for keyboard science I’d appreciate it).
My fingers are almost caressed by the keycaps. They invite me to touch them. They don’t cling to me like a bad relationship that’s gone on for too long.
When I think of these keycaps I think of a Japanese maiden in a kimono. Her actions deliberate and delicate. The kimono falling upon her body in a conservative fashion but with a slight flair. The colorway for this keyset is a plain black on cream for the alphas and black on gray for the modifiers (and F5-8). However, the flair I mentioned earlier are the red keycaps that are included with the keyboard that can replace the right shift, enter, esc, tab and ~ key (not actually the tilde in JIS, but where it would be).
The red adds just the right amount of flair to make the keyboard standout in a striking way while still remaining classy and unassuming from the cream and gray color scheme of the entire keyboard.
Since I posted the original photos of this Colorway over on Reddit I’ve seen WASD keyboards print very similar custom sets for people in MX ANSI variants.
The font looks amazing. Very clean font and actually smaller than a quarter of the face of the keycap (mostly to fit the Japanese legends). The font looks organic and natural from the slight curve on the foot of the “R” and “7” legends.
This keyset has extra
character
from the Japanese legends (pun intended). The Japanese legends give a nice touch to the keyset that would otherwise feature the same ‘Murican legends as most other keyboards. There are additional legends on all of the alphas and the extra legends makes the board look fuller but the smaller legends avoids the look being crowded.
The keycaps themselves are very thick. Some people like the thicker caps (me being one of them) for the meatier feel. I definitely must agree that these thick keycaps give you a bit more satisfaction to type on.
My score for this section: 9.25/10
This is easily the best set of keycaps that I’ve ever used. If it weren’t for the fragile nature of them being so easily scratched (okay, maybe not as bad as the GMK TA set) they would have had a straight 10/10. Do note that I’ve lugged this board around here and there where that’s likely where the scratches occurred and not something that came stock or happened from regular use. Do note that the metal keypuller that’s given with Realforce boards / keysets can very easily scratch the walls of the keycaps you’re pulling if it slips. While the puller might feel good to use, I would avoid it and use a wire puller.
4) Design
This section deals with the design of the keyboard in terms of functionality.
The first thing is that the case is designed to very easily be opened. Does this really matter? Well, not really but if you plan to take it apart to change stems / domes / lube / silencing rings (
cough everyone here
cough) then it would definitely be something you encounter. I know myself I’ve opened the case at least a half dozen times to take things out or put them in. However, an easy to open case doesn’t mean that the internals are easy to change.
The cable. Non-removable cable is nothing new in the Realforce world. The cable can be swapped without soldering but it requires a special order connector set (ground and pins). The cable is quite thick and just a matching color to the case in basic rubber. The cable can be a bit difficult to mold / bend because of the thickness of it which means that it can be difficult to feed through the guides in the back of the case. Otherwise I tend not to really make a deal of the cable since it’s very unlikely the cable is the point of failure for a mechanical keyboard.
The biggest thing for modding is all those damn screws. 30 odd screws (depends on the size of the board obviously) in two different sizes making sure those stems are solid and that plate is held on tight to give the Realforce’s signature solid plate feel. The screws are quite the deterrent when modding because that’s a big part of your time. Also, don’t lose them. I lost a couple. It’s not detrimental but easily avoidable. Also don’t strip the screws and sell the board because those are even more of a pain to remove. (This goes for any board really…)
I’m not going to go into the specifics of modifying your switch since that’s really not the point of this review but just know that opening up the board is VERY straightforward but a bit tedious with all those screws to deal with.
The key layout is the standard JIS layout. What is JIS? Japanese. The main difference is that you have a different number row and a different bottom row. The main difference about the number row is that the legends are a bit wonky when coming from an American ANSI layout. Certain legends are in the wrong place but if you touch type that's not an issue (or if you just type in JIS =P). Next the backspace is split. Technically the backspace is the right most key of the number row but it's easy to change around using the program sharpkeys to either be both or just the one on the left if you prefer it to be closer to the alphas. I personally had trouble adjusting to this when I first started using JIS since I was so used to hitting the middle of the backspace key but after a couple of weeks I hit the original backspace key perfectly every time. It's all about adjusting to the layout.
The difference with the bottom row is very obvious if you take a look at it. There are more keys! More keys don't necessarily mean more power (sorry AMD). The spacebar is shrunk to 3.25u to make space for Japanese modifiers. This is actually a blessing in disguise for me because I always hit the spacebar spot on in the center so I don't need the long 6-7u spacebars. I now can remap the JIS modifiers to be additional keys for me to use through Sharpkeys. If you're not used to the split spacebar type of layout then you can always map the JIS modifiers to be spacebars as well. Do keep in mind that Sharpkeys is a third party program and only saves the mappings in the OS. The mappings are not saved hardware-side. This brings me to one of the main points, it would definitely be nice if Realforce had built-in remapping either through a tool or through shortcuts but I definitely understand there not being enough of a demand for that. Consider that Realforce sells a lot of POS keyboards too and the layouts the manufacture are all full-size or TKL so there's not a huge need to remap. Though, as an enthusiast, it would be nice. Considering I don't expect this to be something I bring around with me regularly and that the mappings when the OS is set to ANSI are fine, it's not a big deal. Obviously if you're typing in Japanese this board is just that much better!
My score for this section: 8.5/10
The quick case opening feature confuses me a bit since there's little purpose to it unless they're just trying to save people some time in modding with all those screws. The lack of a hardware remapping is a bit annoying but understandable considering the size of the board and target audience.
5) Aesthetics (Half weight)
As I mentioned earlier in this review, the Aesthetics section only receives half the points for weighting due to the fact that it holds no impact on performance. Frankly Aesthetics don’t really mean too much to me. However I can’t completely ignore it either considering the keyboard is the center piece of your desk! (This note is here in all my reviews now)
Onto the actual criticisms. Hot damn. This is a really nice board. I mentioned it before that the keycaps are soft and subtle with just a touch of flare from the red accents that you can swap in. The addition of the supplementary red keycaps is VERY nice.
The light cream case matches the color scheme very well and is just a bit brighter than the keycaps to give a subtle contrast. The case itself is very soft and rounded with the logo JustSystems X Realforce.
If you're looking for something with class and flare, this is it.
My score for the Aesthetics section: 5/5
This keyboard is a not so shining example of modern day class when looking at keyboards and makes a nice distinction from the current high end market of having very bright, LED filled boards with shiny aluminum cases (Don't get me wrong, I love my MobiK very much and the Duck cases were out of this world). The Japanese legends give the board a foreign touch that gives the impression of having more life.
6) Conclusion
The overall score clocks in at 41.25/45 or 9.17/10.
This keyboard is a great addition to a Topre collection. With a unique and smoother tactility along with one of the nicest set of keycaps it makes a marvelous piece. If the Full-sized layout doesn't work for you just get yourself a 91UDK and swap the stems over. (Also don't buy a 23U expecting to swap the numpad portion of the HiPro to it).
A quick recap of my points, the build quality is superb with the "looseness" in the top case being an unnecessary concern.
The keycaps are sculpted and lend the board a unique experience that you don't get as much from SA caps.
The sculpting is similar to some SA sets but the keycap shape changes things.
The typing experience is such that the entire downstroke feels extremely smooth and just rolls over the tactile bump of the switch. However I really think the board needs to be silenced (I'll get back to you on the pros and cons of doing this yourself with landing pads) because the reset click is a bit annoying (not any worse than my Cherry Clears, but MX switches in general have a higher pitched downstroke while Topre is known more for the thock, a deeper sound).
The design of this board is JIS. If you can't type on anything but ANSI you should stay away but for people who are adaptable or who want an ISO / JIS style board this is one of the best you can get. The lack of remapping is a bit of a downer but completely expected from Realforce considering their target market is more for POS work from what I understand. I generally don't feel a need to hardware remap TKL or full-sized boards. Your needs and preferences may vary.
Lastly, the aesthetics. Just having this in your room increases the level of class to 9001 units. The matte cream and gray design might clash with a PCMRer's LED covered room but for those of us who don't have a flashlight for a computer this makes a really attractive addition to your desk. The small bit of red that you can add gives the board just enough flare to stand out and be the first thing people see if they ever come into your room (not that you ever want them to, but just in case). Just remember not to scratch the keycaps since they are prone to blemishes (as I found out the hard way).
I highly recommend getting this board. I've been typing on it since January and it's the second longest I've owned a keyboard and not wanted to sell it. I foresee it being my daily driver until the day it dies. (Hopefully never)
Thanks for reading and look out for my future reviews.
GL1TCH3D
-dary
Legen
dary
