...Hello? Hi there. It's been... well, a long time. Been lurking around the Mech forums, subreddits, and most digital media for years, but never really been interested in new gear. Why do you ask? My stuff has been great. Filco Majestouch 2 Ninja for home (Main caps are now Jelly POMs, and I've always preferred POM), and the Noppoo Choc Mini has been the daily driver at work with no major issues.
But who cares about the Majestouch? Who cares about excellent, no frills Japanese engineering that just works? No, you're here (or you're just plain bored on the internet and have nothing better to do than to read on an old keyboard that's not really made anymore) for the Choc Mini. Cheap(ish), Chinese Mechanical goodness.
Table of ContentsUpdatesIntroductionAge and WearConclusionUpdatesFeb 07 - First Draft. I hope won't need more...
IntroductionThe two previous reviews I've made on this board continue to live on the forums, happily existing. Aside for some great times with the photobucket image hosting issues from years past, I've not made changes to either as... well they don't need updates.
The original review sits here, and
the first long term in 2015. With the popularity of Mechanical Keyboards rising to new heights, the once dry market of 75% boards has grown significantly. Prebuilts now exist from Keychron, Keycool, many chinese makers.... Semi customs have come about from KBDFans, YMDK, the upcoming GMMK Pro... a great time for anyone to build boards of any size!
But what about this particular one? This old board that has seen so many revisions that this review will benefit pretty much no one? Purchased way back in 2013, This board has seen many long days hammering away, daily travel, one coke spill, and extreme temperatures. Finally after 5 years, it got a well deserved cleaning.
WARNING. DO NOT OPEN IMAGE IF DIRTY KEYBOARDS GROSS YOU OUT. This is 5 years without cleaning. You have been warned.More
And now a freshly cleaned board.
Back to Table of ContentsAge and WearAs a small recap, what is a 75%? It's a TKL design with compressed F rows and the nav cluster on the right. What was once a novel feature is standard these days; Numpad is hidden under the right side and activated with numlock. With no spacing between all keys, there's no empty space on the board and is about as compact as you can get with full functionality.
The Choc Mini was a 75% board that was produced by Noppoo, and released either in a black POM model or a white PBT model. Switches were offered in Cherry Red, Brown, Blue, or Black. My eagerness to try new keycap materials (Everything was ABS back then) and how pretty the white board was (how wrong I was with keeping it clean...) led me to purchase the white model with Cherry Blacks. To my dismay I eventually preferred POM caps, and further to that POM is nearly nonexistent in today's market. At the time it was one of two options, the other being the Keycool 84, and the market was gushing over TKLs and laughing at those cheap inferior chinese clone switches called "gaterons". 60% was unheard of, but... this crazy website called Geekhack was producing a "GH60...". How time flies.
The Choc has aged remarkably well. The board continues to type away with no change to feel or sound (granted, not something I'd be able to tell since it's one of two main keyboards I use). Ping seems to have died off and is no longer audible at regular typing strength, you really need to hit a key hard a few times before resonance picks up enough to hear it. It sees regular temperature swings (It's been in my work bag multiple times, outdoors overnight in -25ºC and back into a +21ºC work environment without hiccups), doesn't get babied in transport (Original Choc cardboard box, with duct tape...), and has seen one or two angry typing sessions. Stable as ever, no extra creaks... I either hit the jackpot on the parts lottery, or honestly the Chocs were that well made. I've noticed some inconsistent extra key chatter that shows up every so often (only 1-2 keys, and disappears for months), but otherwise there's absolutely nothing to complain about.
The best compliment I can pay to this board is that I've not had to think about it EVER in the 7.5 years it's been in service for, as compared to the numerous membrane boards my colleagues hammer and get annoyed at on a daily basis.
For all the complaints people have had with lasered legends over the years and the early concerns that the main legends would wear away, the keycaps have had ZERO change. Sure they've shined, but I would be surprised if any keycap could handle that kind of daily use with questionable nail maintenance schedules. I've zoomed in on the E key as it sees huge abuse (Nail height, lots of Es in words...), and you can see huge amounts of shining to the PBT. The legend however, is still fully visible with no loss in definition.
A low usage key, such as the Z has minimal to no wear and retains all the old, original texture. You can still see the light depression of the laser etching itself.
Compared against the newer ABS caps again, they've suffered more due to the wear differences of ABS vs PBT. Pi is pretty smooth along it's main surface, while the lower Control replacement has a really shiny front edge (due to how I rest my fingers).
Front Control Edge showing significant shine
Some Novelty PBT caps were added at the same time as the ABS caps, and they show no wear. Medium traffic key. Compared against the Z from earlier, about even on wear.
Side legends were a complete write off, however some do still exist as I've taken care to rub them as little as possible. They are actually water sensitive though, and the last cleaning with detergent literally caused some run off.
People who worried about USB cable connectivity after hundreds of plug/unplug cycles, I can officially say there's been again, zero problems. Still the same cable, no issues with plug stability or connectivity. I don't remove it from the keyboard side though, but I don't expect any degradation on that end of the plug. Fancy coiled cables with aviator plugs or not, the basic USB lines will service almost all keyboards for a lifetime.
The board has unfortunately had a small coke spill on the left side. Enough to have made me unplug it for a day, but resumed usage the next day. No major impacts to functionality, other than an occasionally sticky Tab. It's been about a year and a half since the light spill, and it no longer sticks (although it can get slightly sluggish when it feels like it).
Back to Table of ContentsConclusionThis board has been my daily workhorse for the past 7.5 years. Again the best compliment I can pay to it is the fact that I've never paid attention to it, and it just continues to work.
Minimal to no compatibility in my usage as I don't deal with Linux or Macs, and goes into new terminals (Windows 10 and 7) with no issues.
To be completely invisible and just do what you ask every day for something that has cost me almost $10 a year, I think is an amazing testament to what we can expect from a decently designed mechanical keyboard.
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