So let's start with a little bit of back story from my side of things.
Back-story:For the longest time I have been a huge lover of the 80% keyboards, the Noppoo, Keycool type keyboards, just the 84 key if I'm not mistaken, I could be wrong on the amount of keys there, but I'm sure it's 84 key. So I've loved them keyboards because of one sole reason, they are form-factor boards, they are amazing build quality, they look amazing and they are very good keyboards for the price point.
My mechanical keyboard history goes as follows, RaZer Blackwidow Ultimate > Razer Blackwidow Elite > Noppoo Choc Mini w/ Reds > Keycool 84 /w Blacks > Keycool 84 /w Browns > Filco tenkeyless /w Reds.
Why did I go for reds again over another switch type?Well to cut a long story short, I absolutely love the Cherry MX Red key, I think it's just a sublime and perfect key. I love it for typing on, gaming on and coding on, it's just the perfect key for me and with me owning (blacks/browns) and have tried blues, I can safely say that I made the right choice.
I'll just give you a little bit of analysis into my overview on the current MX Cherry keyswitches. (Please bear in mind this is just my opinions and if your opinions are completely different? then that's fine).
Blacks - I would not advise anyone to use blacks, they are not a switch I like. Heavy to type on, feel clunky and gets tiring when typing for long periods of time. (For heavy key users, 4/4).
Blues - I enjoyed this as my first switch, but as time goes on, you tend to explore more options. (Great for typing, not that great for gaming. 3/4).
Browns - Great for both typing and gaming, but they are just not for me. This switch is if you want a sweet spot between red/blue, a common middleground for most people I know and also great for RTS games. (2/4)
Reds - My favourite switch because of it's light feel and it's just a personal preference. Great for gaming/typing, (if you're a heavy typist? stick with blues/browns though. 1/4)
Now with that out of the way? let's get into the review shall we?
Filco Tenkeyless - Black /w Red Cherry MX Switches:1. Images
And finally a picture of my set-up encase you are interested?
2. Review(By the way, I am going to be comparing and contrasting this review to the Keycool 84, my previous keyboard).Build Quality.So let's start with the build quality? The build quality on the Filco is absolutely fantastic, it feels extremely sturdy, it's got a nice weight to it. Straight away I could tell the difference between this Filco and my old Keycool 84, there is just a big difference, now if I compare this Filco to my old Noppoo? Oh man, there is literally no comparison, the Noppoo feels like a piece of cheap plastic in comparison but I guess that ties into the price points.
I live in England and I paid £130 in total for my Filco, but I only paid around £75-85 for my Noppoo and I got that shipped from China, so you can see the difference in pricing right there.
The feet are extremely sturdy and have a rubberised centre, they feel strong and it is hard to move the keyboard if you are simply pushing it along the desk.
The key printing on the keyboard itself is immaculate with no keys that are faded or fading away nor does the key printing feel cheap and uneasy on the hands.
Filco wins the build quality round.
Keycap quality and type.So what about the typing feel, the keys, the keycaps? Well, ever since I had my Noppoo I absolutely fell in love with POM keycaps, I like the smoother feel, I do not like PBT what so ever, they feel strange and extremely clunky underneath my fingers and because of this my typing experience on the Keycool was not 100% perfect. This has completely changed when I got my Filco, typing on a Filco using Red switches? it's like heaven.
The keys just feel fantastic. Now, I am not 100% sure what keycaps are being used on this Filco but they are either ABS or POM, they feel like POM to me but I could be wrong in this regard, so do not quote me on that! Maybe PBT may be well suited for your fingers, but they are not suited for mine and that's why I love typing on this keyboard so much more than before, it just feels 'right'.
Filco wins the keycap quality round.
Features and what's included in the box?So you're probably wondering, what features does the Filco come with? Well that's a very simple and straight forward answer, it comes with none. The Filco is an amazing keyboard, but I guess this is one area where it is lacking. It does not feature any numpad keys (like the Keycool) nor does it have any function keys such as play, stop, next, mute etc. I don't find this to be a problem because I never used them in the first place, but if you're a user who likes convenience, then you may find this a little bit daunting when purchasing your filco.
Inside the box, you get:
The Keyboard,
A small manual,
A PS/2 - USB Adapter,
Protective case to prevent dust, you can use this when you go to sleep if you're anal about keeping your keyboard clean.
Unfortunately, I would have to give this round to the Keycool, it comes with more features, has more functionality and also, more is included inside the box of the Keycool, but this is not a deterring feature in my eyes.
Overview:My honest opinion of the Filco 2 days in is that, it is simply an amazing keyboard and I honestly think that if I purchased this right after my old Noppoo broke, I wouldn't have spent more money on two other Keycool keyboards. The Filco is simple and elegant and has all the features that I could ask for within a keyboard. Feels and looks nice, ABS/POM keycaps, perfect key printing, simple and it just 'works'.
I think looking back now I would of preferred to go for the keyboard where the it has the side printing, but I can just buy that off the keyboardstore themselves, so that's no big loss really.
I think this is a huge improvement over my old Keycool 84, especially now that I have red switches again.
I would give this keyboard a solid 8/10, the missing 2 marks are down to the lack of function keys and lack of de attachable USB connection and one other nit-picky thing, because I have used small factor keyboards in the past, I am constantly hitting the enter key in place of the ' key and this is annoying, so when I am using "they're" and what not, using proper grammar, I will sometimes hit the enter key mid-conversation and this can be annoying at times, but this is more of a time thing, as I'm sure overtime I will get used to the keyboard more and more and those sorts of problems will be re-occuring.
