I'm "reposting" a review I did a while back on the /r/mk over here because I'd like to get some feedback from some veterans of the hobby. Feel free to leave
constructive feedback. This review was written when the Das Model S Ultimate was the only keyboard I owned. At the time, I had already played on quite a few other boards (a few CM Storms of different switch times, a few Corsairs, a Ducky Shine 3, and a older generation BW), so I had enough experience under my belt to know the differences in build quality and switch types.
This review is going to be a little difficult to be totally objective since I’ve this keyboard for almost two years; as well as it being my first mechanical keyboard. Somehow, I’ll power through it, though. I’m also going to try and avoid references to any other boards in this review. These are intended to be done in a vacuum, and objective.
- Baseplate: The first thing I noticed when typing on this board for the first time was the baseplate. This thing feels like a tank. Personally, a solid plate is the most important part of a keyboard, and this one feels like a rock. After having this board for close to two years, this keyboard has taken loads of punishment from daily use at work as well as at home, and it doesn’t feel like it’s had any give.
Switches: This keyboard is fitted with MX Cherry Blue switches, a personal favorite of mine. Preferences aside, the switches feel pretty smooth upon depression, the tactile bump is precise and, the auditory click is crisp. I know from time to time, a keyboard company may get a batch of switches that isn’t the most uniform in quality, but that is not the case here. Every key (to my knowledge, since I’ve used just about all of them over the course of the two years) feels the same. The click, the clack and the return movement are all perfect and defined. No squishy keys here. - Switches: This keyboard is fitted with MX Cherry Blue switches, a personal favorite of mine. Preferences aside, the switches feel pretty smooth upon depression, the tactile bump is precise and, the auditory click is crisp. I know from time to time, a keyboard company may get a batch of switches that isn’t the most uniform in quality, but that is not the case here. Every key (to my knowledge, since I’ve used just about all of them over the course of the two years) feels the same. The click, the clack and the return movement are all perfect and defined. No squishy keys here.
- Keycaps: Here’s where the quality is a little lacking. I’m using the original Das ABS keycaps. These are pretty thin, and over the time I’ve had them, most of the alpha keys are now smooth and pretty shiny. The top row of numbers is less so, just because this is a full sized board, and I tend to use the num pad more than the top row for work. I’ll use the top nums when I only need to use one or two numbers in the middle of a sentence, so those have barely any shine on them. the z key also has the least shine, but that’s just because it gets the least use of all the letters. The left side of that spacebar is really glossy now. So. objectively, Das could have gone with a PBT to keep up with the quality of the switches and the base plate. There’s nothing wrong with ABS caps, per se, but the fact that they wear pretty noticeably offsets the tactile quality of the rest of the board’s functionality.
- Case: Without going into my feelings on the aesthetics (people either like the Model S or they don’t), the quality of the case is nice enough. There are two separate pieces of plastic for the case, and the top one has a very glossy smooth finish. This finish, regardless of opinion is relatively easy to scratch or chip or damage in general. Mine has taken quite a bit of a beating over the years, and sadly, it shows. Quality wise, Das could have done better with the type of plastic used for this top section to prevent all of these scratches. The bottom half of the board is regular black plastic, not shiny or especially flat (in color), and of a much better quality (in terms of resisting damage).
Final Rating: 88/100
I’m now going to allow myself to get a little biased and get personal over the keyboard.
I love this board. I wish I could give it a higher rating (I want it to be a 95 so bad), but I can’t because I want the rating to reflect how it’s quality at this given moment in time. I’ve ordered new PBT caps from Massdrop, and those will be here later in the month, where I’ll be able to re-evaluate it’s rating at that time, but until then, the cheap ABS caps and the easily dinged case are objective drawbacks on this board that has all of my love. Really, I love using this board so much, that I’ve named her Betty (as in the song Black Betty, bam-a-lam-a-lam). It was hard not to refer to her by name through most of the review. So, yeah. I’ll wrap this up, saying that Das used to make amazing keyboards with the Model S Ultimate, and they went a little cheap in the areas that aren’t the most important, since they just wanted a perfectly functional and high quality board where it matters. Which is why it’s all black. It’s meant to be understated, and not the focus. Hence the blanks, forcing you not to look at the board. This is why it doesn’t have LED’s. This is why it doesn’t have extra macros or other bells and whistles. It’s not meant to be a gaming keyboard. It’s a typists’ keyboard. it’s meant for you to function on the computer and make that process of functioning as pleasant and non-distracting as possible. So yeah, I’ll wrap this up by saying, this is an amazing keyboard, and it just needs a little extra customization to be perfect for me.
