Help & Suggestions for New Keyboard

[zurikade]

Hi friends, I've only been here since February, but I've absolutely fallen in love with the community. So far I have bought my wife a Glorious Modular with Gateron Greens. I am personally waiting on the Exent later this month, early July. I know that is quite the board to start with and as such I am having a really hard time choosing another board to offset it. I have bought two keyboards (Exent, Glorious Modular), three keycap sets(Miami Dolch, Galaxy-C, Backlit Doubleshot Gradiant PBT), and eight artisan caps (Two Primecaps, two from Latrialum, three from RAMA) so far.

My personal choices had been a Das 4 Ultimate or a Ducky Shine 6 SE. As I look more and more at different brands both on here, and MB.com, I am having a very difficult time determining what to purchase for my next (first) pre-assembled board. I really loved my wife's Glorious, but I just want something different.

As a personal preference, I am a writer, and the keyboard is truly the center of my world. That's why I chose the Exent, as I believe it is truly unique and exceptional. Do to its size, I have been leaning more towards a full-size or TKL as my secondary board, but I don't have enough experience with any of the brands to make a decision on my own.

I live in Toronto, and eagerly await the chance to go to a meet-up to test some other brands, but I was hoping for some discussion here as far as where to focus my attention. If someone would be able to look at these brands listed below and tell me what the draw might be to one over the other, it would be greatly appreciated. If I've left any out that you would suggest, please feel free to include them as well. I'm just looking to educate myself more before I make a decision. I'll be leaving for California from June 9 - 17, and am looking to make a purchase shortly after I return.

Ducky -
DAS -
Filco -
Vortex -
KBParadise -
Varmilo -


I appreciate all the help, and I'm really looking forward to sharing more with all of you in the future.

Edit: I prefer Gateron Greens / Blacks, and Cherry Blues. I was thinking that given the RGB and underglow offerings with the Exent that RGB isn't that important for this second board. I had been leaning more towards a larger board that is either MX or Gateron. As far as Topre, I think I really need to try one before I go down that rabbit-hole. I have been very curious about the HHKB, but I think I need to get my hands on one first. I type roughly 90 - 110 WPM on my current Blank Galaxy Cs. I'm using a potato Black Widow with Cherry Blues while I wait for my Exent. I'm a big fan of the sound and feedback from these Blues, but was less impressed with the Gateron Reds on my wifes board. Since it is hot-swappable, I've tried a few different switches, and definitely seem to prefer the clicky, heavy versions.

This was a big edit with a lot of missed info, thanks for the help!

Edit 2: I write alot but I also love playing games, namely League, HoTS and soon to be Destiny 2.

[SpAmRaY]

Personally I'm a fan of Leopold keyboards. I have the FC900R (with regular reds) and FC980M (silent reds), my current daily driver.

The recent versions all come with very nice thick PBT caps (I prefer the side printed ones) and they have a dampening pad inside that helps with noise. They are generally built very well and have a minimal case with no extra bloat. There is no backlighting other than notification lights and that is fine with me. They also tend to be very affordable for what you get.

You really didn't give us much to go on as far as your switch preference, key cap material and profile preference etc.

I would only consider Ducky if you have to have backlighting. My first board which I used for over a year was a ducky shine with mx clears and I still have it on my shelf.

DAS I wouldn't even consider personally  just because their boards seem oddly designed to me and I'm not sure if their current offerings have a standard key cap layout.

Filco I'm not a fan, no detachable cable, junk stock keycaps and I'm not a fan of costar stabilizers.

Vortex, KBParadise and Varmilo in my option are all a mixed bag, it all depends on what board you are looking at specifically.

You might also throw some topre in the mix as well. 

[DALExSNAIL]

Hi friends, I've only been here since February, but I've absolutely fallen in love with the community. So far I have bought my wife a Glorious Modular with Gateron Greens. I am personally waiting on the Exent later this month, early July. I know that is quite the board to start with and as such I am having a really hard time choosing another board to offset it. I have bought two keyboards (Exent, Glorious Modular), three keycap sets(Miami Dolch, Galaxy-C, Backlit Doubleshot Gradiant PBT), and eight artisan caps (Two Primecaps, two from Latrialum, three from RAMA) so far.

My personal choices had been a Das 4 Ultimate or a Ducky Shine 6 SE. As I look more and more at different brands both on here, and MB.com, I am having a very difficult time determining what to purchase for my next (first) pre-assembled board. I really loved my wife's Glorious, but I just want something different.

As a personal preference, I am a writer, and the keyboard is truly the center of my world. That's why I chose the Exent, as I believe it is truly unique and exceptional. Do to its size, I have been leaning more towards a full-size or TKL as my secondary board, but I don't have enough experience with any of the brands to make a decision on my own.

I live in Toronto, and eagerly await the chance to go to a meet-up to test some other brands, but I was hoping for some discussion here as far as where to focus my attention. If someone would be able to look at these brands listed below and tell me what the draw might be to one over the other, it would be greatly appreciated. If I've left any out that you would suggest, please feel free to include them as well. I'm just looking to educate myself more before I make a decision. I'll be leaving for California from June 9 - 17, and am looking to make a purchase shortly after I return.

Ducky -
DAS -
Filco -
Vortex -
KBParadise -
Varmilo -


I appreciate all the help, and I'm really looking forward to sharing more with all of you in the future.

Too lazy to go into detail, but here ya go.

Ducky - Great build quality, will last a while.
DAS - Medium build quality, but not bad. more of an issue with non standard layout and fingerprint attracting ugly case it has
Filco - Great build quality, but too pricey imho (would rather buy a QFR if I was considering this)
Vortex - Pok3r is great, not sure about anything else they make
KBParadise - Kinda meh build quality imo, but not bad by any means.
Varmilo - Never tried one, but I hear mixed reviews

Ducky, Pok3r, or a QFR imo

[zurikade]

Personally I'm a fan of Leopold keyboards. I have the FC900R (with regular reds) and FC980M (silent reds), my current daily driver.

The recent versions all come with very nice thick PBT caps (I prefer the side printed ones) and they have a dampening pad inside that helps with noise. They are generally built very well and have a minimal case with no extra bloat. There is no backlighting other than notification lights and that is fine with me. They also tend to be very affordable for what you get.

You really didn't give us much to go on as far as your switch preference, key cap material and profile preference etc.

I would only consider Ducky if you have to have backlighting. My first board which I used for over a year was a ducky shine with mx clears and I still have it on my shelf.

DAS I wouldn't even consider personally  just because their boards seem oddly designed to me and I'm not sure if their current offerings have a standard key cap layout.

Filco I'm not a fan, no detachable cable, junk stock keycaps and I'm not a fan of costar stabilizers.

Vortex, KBParadise and Varmilo in my option are all a mixed bag, it all depends on what board you are looking at specifically.

You might also throw some topre in the mix as well. 

Thanks! This is super helpful and definitely guides me a bit more. I have made an edit as per your suggestion to what I was missing. I forgot about Leopold, I think I will look into them more. I remember being interested by what I had seen, but there were just so many brands I sort of spaced out.

<3

[zurikade]

Hi friends, I've only been here since February, but I've absolutely fallen in love with the community. So far I have bought my wife a Glorious Modular with Gateron Greens. I am personally waiting on the Exent later this month, early July. I know that is quite the board to start with and as such I am having a really hard time choosing another board to offset it. I have bought two keyboards (Exent, Glorious Modular), three keycap sets(Miami Dolch, Galaxy-C, Backlit Doubleshot Gradiant PBT), and eight artisan caps (Two Primecaps, two from Latrialum, three from RAMA) so far.

My personal choices had been a Das 4 Ultimate or a Ducky Shine 6 SE. As I look more and more at different brands both on here, and MB.com, I am having a very difficult time determining what to purchase for my next (first) pre-assembled board. I really loved my wife's Glorious, but I just want something different.

As a personal preference, I am a writer, and the keyboard is truly the center of my world. That's why I chose the Exent, as I believe it is truly unique and exceptional. Do to its size, I have been leaning more towards a full-size or TKL as my secondary board, but I don't have enough experience with any of the brands to make a decision on my own.

I live in Toronto, and eagerly await the chance to go to a meet-up to test some other brands, but I was hoping for some discussion here as far as where to focus my attention. If someone would be able to look at these brands listed below and tell me what the draw might be to one over the other, it would be greatly appreciated. If I've left any out that you would suggest, please feel free to include them as well. I'm just looking to educate myself more before I make a decision. I'll be leaving for California from June 9 - 17, and am looking to make a purchase shortly after I return.

Ducky -
DAS -
Filco -
Vortex -
KBParadise -
Varmilo -


I appreciate all the help, and I'm really looking forward to sharing more with all of you in the future.

Too lazy to go into detail, but here ya go.

Ducky - Great build quality, will last a while.
DAS - Medium build quality, but not bad. more of an issue with non standard layout and fingerprint attracting ugly case it has
Filco - Great build quality, but too pricey imho (would rather buy a QFR if I was considering this)
Vortex - Pok3r is great, not sure about anything else they make
KBParadise - Kinda meh build quality imo, but not bad by any means.
Varmilo - Never tried one, but I hear mixed reviews

Ducky, Pok3r, or a QFR imo

Thanks for the feedback. This definitely helps refine my search a bit. I had never really considered Cooler Master keyboards, as for some reason I'd always considered them a lower tier along the likes of Logitech or Razer. I'll definitely look into the QuickFires more now. I had seen them with some regularity on the r/mk and scattered around here as well. You've been great! <3

[Tactile]

Cherry RGB switches, with the clear housing, are really nice and, imo, very different than regular Cherry switches. Try them if you can. I have a Ducky One RGB with Cherry RGB blacks - they feel smoother and a bit lighter than regular blacks - very nice to type on. I'm guessing the RGB blues would also be different than the regular blues.

[DALExSNAIL]

Hi friends, I've only been here since February, but I've absolutely fallen in love with the community. So far I have bought my wife a Glorious Modular with Gateron Greens. I am personally waiting on the Exent later this month, early July. I know that is quite the board to start with and as such I am having a really hard time choosing another board to offset it. I have bought two keyboards (Exent, Glorious Modular), three keycap sets(Miami Dolch, Galaxy-C, Backlit Doubleshot Gradiant PBT), and eight artisan caps (Two Primecaps, two from Latrialum, three from RAMA) so far.

My personal choices had been a Das 4 Ultimate or a Ducky Shine 6 SE. As I look more and more at different brands both on here, and MB.com, I am having a very difficult time determining what to purchase for my next (first) pre-assembled board. I really loved my wife's Glorious, but I just want something different.

As a personal preference, I am a writer, and the keyboard is truly the center of my world. That's why I chose the Exent, as I believe it is truly unique and exceptional. Do to its size, I have been leaning more towards a full-size or TKL as my secondary board, but I don't have enough experience with any of the brands to make a decision on my own.

I live in Toronto, and eagerly await the chance to go to a meet-up to test some other brands, but I was hoping for some discussion here as far as where to focus my attention. If someone would be able to look at these brands listed below and tell me what the draw might be to one over the other, it would be greatly appreciated. If I've left any out that you would suggest, please feel free to include them as well. I'm just looking to educate myself more before I make a decision. I'll be leaving for California from June 9 - 17, and am looking to make a purchase shortly after I return.

Ducky -
DAS -
Filco -
Vortex -
KBParadise -
Varmilo -


I appreciate all the help, and I'm really looking forward to sharing more with all of you in the future.

Too lazy to go into detail, but here ya go.

Ducky - Great build quality, will last a while.
DAS - Medium build quality, but not bad. more of an issue with non standard layout and fingerprint attracting ugly case it has
Filco - Great build quality, but too pricey imho (would rather buy a QFR if I was considering this)
Vortex - Pok3r is great, not sure about anything else they make
KBParadise - Kinda meh build quality imo, but not bad by any means.
Varmilo - Never tried one, but I hear mixed reviews

Ducky, Pok3r, or a QFR imo

Thanks for the feedback. This definitely helps refine my search a bit. I had never really considered Cooler Master keyboards, as for some reason I'd always considered them a lower tier along the likes of Logitech or Razer. I'll definitely look into the QuickFires more now. I had seen them with some regularity on the r/mk and scattered around here as well. You've been great! <3

Only QFR I had was one I got close to 6 years ago now, was as solid as any filco I've tried and was only 60 bucks or so.

Not sure how they are now, but as far as I know they're very solid.

[zurikade]

Cherry RGB switches, with the clear housing, are really nice and, imo, very different than regular Cherry switches. Try them if you can. I have a Ducky One RGB with Cherry RGB blacks - they feel smoother and a bit lighter than regular blacks - very nice to type on. I'm guessing the RGB blues would also be different than the regular blues.

That's really interesting, I'll definitely look into those. I would think it's kind of the same as the Gaterons that support the RGB passthrough? Thanks for the advise!

[TheInverseKey]

If you are using the board just to type on then I would look around for a IBM model m.  I know that people hype them up, but coming from MX Clear and using the model m I love the feedback that is supplied from the springs. 

[zurikade]

Thanks scary Terry! But I also play a lot of games. I'll make another edit, thanks. I want to say *****, in the spirit of your avatar but instead I'll just bury it in this explanation of wanting to say it in case it is somehow misconstrued... *****!

[Entropia]

With Leopold you can't be wrong. You can choose 100%, 1800, tenkeyless and 60% form factors, and now even ISO layouts. Several MX switch options are available, as well as 45gr Topre. Fantastic build quality and materials. Stock thick PBT keycaps. Nice stabs. Butter smooth MX black switches on mine. I can't be happier with my FC980M. They are also reasonably priced, except for the Topre model.

[zurikade]

With Leopold you can't be wrong. You can choose 100%, 1800, tenkeyless and 60% form factors, and now even ISO layouts. Several MX switch options are available, as well as 45gr Topre. Fantastic build quality and materials. Stock thick PBT keycaps. Nice stabs. Butter smooth MX black switches on mine. I can't be happier with my FC980M. They are also reasonably priced, except for the Topre model.

Thanks Entropia, Leopold has quickly raises to the top of my list. This was a very good sell.

[SBJ]

Build quality has always been good with Varmilo IMO.
The only issues I've had have been with my gateron boards.(Granted this was a while ago, I hear they've made some adjustments to gats.)
All my cherry boards from Varmilo are running fine.

[zurikade]

Build quality has always been good with Varmilo IMO.
The only issues I've had have been with my gateron boards.(Granted this was a while ago, I hear they've made some adjustments to gats.)
All my cherry boards from Varmilo are running fine.

Cheers, thanks for the feedback. I see a lot of people with Varmilo that seem happy with their boards. My gateron from Glorious is fantastic, especially for the price. But that's good to know, I would love to be able to test one.

Thanks again!