Black Friday Buy

[Zaytoon]

Hi there!

I'm essentially a Mechanical Keyboard noob, but after having been gifted a Razer Blackwidow Ultimate with Cherry MX Blue's last year, I've become extremely interested, always making an excuse to stop by the nearest MicroCenter just so I could play around with different keyboards.  Ever since I started using the Blues (which I love btw), my wpm rose by a solid 30 or so (not much from 60ish to 90ish but still  ) and typing experience (and occasional gaming) remains my most important factor in making my next purchase.  I would also like a keyboard that's less bulky and portable enough to transport without being a hindrance.

In lieu of a Black Friday deal and a current Massdrop group buy I came across, I'm torn between two keyboards:

The KBC Poker II - Cherry MX Red w/PBT Keycaps for sub $110 (incl shipping)
Max Keyboard Blackbird TKL Backlit -Cherry MX Red for sub $110 (incl shipping)

I'm rather certain I want Cherry MX Reds.

The biggest sell of the Poker II to me is the (much heard of, yet to experience) PBT Keycaps.  While the small form factor is appealing in theory, I also find the lack of arrow keys questionable, as I use it often to navigate on browser pages.  The programming functionality is appreciated, but not -currently- a desire. (I don't know, I might end up loving it  )

I don't really care about the Blackbird's Backlit feature, but the TKL sounds less daunting to me, moving from a lifetime of fullsize keyboards. 

All advice and suggestions would be welcomed, including alternative keyboards (for a similar price) that are TKL or smaller.

Thank you, and wish you all a happy Thanksgiving.

[dorkvader]

I have a poker 2 with mx red.

Arrow navigation isn't too bad. Not as easy as the dedicated arrowkeys of the pure, but not bad. I press the fn key with the thumb on my trackball and then arrows are WASD. As long as you don't need arrow keys or function keys for gaming it's great!

I use it as my "travel KB".

[aref]

If you're interested in MX Red switches, you may want to look at a Corsair K65 tenkeyless KB. Amazon occasionally sells them for $70. I think they're around $97 these days. I have two, and they are the best MX Red keyboards I've owned: no ping, solidly built, and several media controls. They have ABS rather than PBT key caps, but it's a great KB.

[nubbinator]

If you're interested in MX Red switches, you may want to look at a Corsair K65 tenkeyless KB. Amazon occasionally sells them for $70. I think they're around $97 these days. I have two, and they are the best MX Red keyboards I've owned: no ping, solidly built, and several media controls. They have ABS rather than PBT key caps, but it's a great KB.

It also has non-standard modifiers and that history of Corsair "quality".

[aref]

Nonstandard modifiers it has. But I've not had any trouble with these two K65 keyboards. These are the only two Corsairs I've owned; and I don't know how Corsair's other keyboards fare; but the K65s have been excellent.