MK Newb! PLZ Halp!

[HotTahdy]

I am a fairly new mechanical keyboard enthusiast who is super interest in building a kit.

My question is: What is a good/budget kit for a beginner (who has no soldering experience YET)?

There are so many cool group buys that I think look great but I am not confident enough in my skill to invest 300+ on kit.

I idea kit would be a 65%-80% size range.

I have a Corsair M70 with MX browns and I recently bought a Ducky One2 Mini 60% with brown switches. I like the ducky but I would like a bigger size plus my S switch is already acting funny and spamming additional S's when I am typing which is annoying.

[Tactile]

1up keyboards has some kits.

https://www.1upkeyboards.com/product-category/keyboard-kits/diy-87up-keyboard-kits/

[_rubik]

kbdfans also has some hot swappable kits that seem pretty simple to assemble. From what I've heard, they're fairly decent build quality but have issues with reverb. Maybe learning how to sound dampen the kit could be your first mod?

https://kbdfans.com/ (specifically the Tofu wkl and hhkb variants)

[HotTahdy]

I have been looking at some different sites and it seems like KPRepublic has some cheap kits that I can learn to solder with.

I was looking at the XD87: https://kprepublic.com/products/xd87-xd87-xd80-custom-mechanical-keyboard-kit80-supports-tkg-tools-support-underglow-rgb-pcb-programmed-gh80-kle?_pos=6&_sid=1868df9cf&_ss=r&variant=10176717619244


Thoughts?

[ju6ju8Oo]

- get a contra, or kits with low cost sandwich plates, or even plateless
- get a solder iron with temp control

[_rubik]

- get a solder iron with temp control

I would second this -- soldering really isn't difficult and certainly nothing to be afraid of. You don't need a top of the line Weller either; find something passable for a few bucks. Watch a few videos and use common sense; if I can do it, you can too

Soldering will open this hobby up, and, in my opinion, give you the added confidence to play around. You also seem open to learning, so that's the first step.

If you want to go the soldering route (and don't mind a 60%), the GH60 is a solid, inexpensive option that's practically universally supported.

[HotTahdy]

- get a solder iron with temp control

I would second this -- soldering really isn't difficult and certainly nothing to be afraid of. You don't need a top of the line Weller either; find something passable for a few bucks. Watch a few videos and use common sense; if I can do it, you can too

Soldering will open this hobby up, and, in my opinion, give you the added confidence to play around. You also seem open to learning, so that's the first step.

If you want to go the soldering route (and don't mind a 60%), the GH60 is a solid, inexpensive option that's practically universally supported.

Thank you!! Yeah Soldering is definitely the most intimidating thing for me but I have watched some videos on soldering and I like watching the Taeha Types and Keycult streams whenever they are building a kit. I have looked at the GH60 but I think I am going to look for 65% because I really want the directional keys haha.

[treeleaf64]

65% is what you'll find in the enthusiast community, not in cheap DIY kits. I don't know of many cheap 65% kits. The cheapest one I know of is the Tada68 by KBDfans, and that sets you back a solid amount (90 bucks).

Hope you find something,
treeleaf64