Filco vs. Leopold - with a twist

[Holzmann]

I've been lurking here for a bit and decided to make an account to ask a really specific question. I'm in the market for a mechanical keyboard (obviously) with Cherry blues and my choices have been narrowed down to Das, Filco tenkeyless and Leopold. I'm leaning towards Filco and Leopold though, because I imagine they'll be a bit easier to maintain aesthetically without the high-gloss finish and I haven't used a tenkey pad in so long I think I'd miss the extra space that comes without it more than the pad itself.

Here's the twist part: I'm an American living in Germany, but I'll be back to the US for a week or so mid-April. So I could feasibly order a Leopold, have it shipped to my US-address, and then pick it up when I'm home. Or I could order a Filco from the Keyboard Company and have it shipped here. My concern lies with the need for a possible RMA: even if there's only a slight chance that there could be a problem, I need to consider how I would go about dealing with it. With the Leopold I'd need to ship it back to the US and would probably give out more than half its retail value in shipping, but I'd save initially with the Leopold's price compared to Filco. With Filco I can ship it back to the Keyboard Company if something's wrong, but I pay more initially.

It's hard to say which is the right decision, so I'd just like to get some feedback from other users about what they think the best decision would be and if they've experienced anything similar. I appreciate the help guys :smile:

[002]

Take this or leave it but Filco is not untouchable as far as quality goes.
I had to return one of my boards to the US because of a manufacturing defect.

In saying that though, I think that I was very unlucky and I've not heard of anyone having the same problem that I did with my Filco.

Having never used a Leopold, I can't comment on their quality, but if EK is selling them then I think they're probably pretty decent boards. I think I'd still rather have a Filco though - but I am pretty biased toward Japanese hardware.

[iMav]

What is a removable USB cable and lower price worth to you?

It comes down to personal perference really.  Both companies have shown a strong commitment to the geekhack community.  I recommend both highly.

[itlnstln]

IMav summed it up nicely.  As far as the keyboards working reliably, the jury's still out on the Leopold.  We haven't heard of anyone having problems with theirs yet, but not many people have them yet since they really haven't been available in the US/Europe yet.  The Filcos that Elitekeyboards sold worked pretty well as they tested theirs before they shipped, but a few members that bought theirs elsewhere have had some trouble (not necessarily from the KeyboardCo., mind you).  It terms of reliability it might be a toss up.  Beyond that, it's just features.  Personally, I like the feature set of the Leopold more than the Filcos.  Along with the lower price, I would pick the Leopold over the Filco.

Hope that helps.

Probably not.

[SpatiallyAware]

To me, I like the smoother wire stabilizers of the costar-style filcos.  I also feel like the build quality is better in the filco although even they have their issues..

I believe one of the main reasons filco got such a good name was through EK's testing and easy RMA etc..  In that sense, the leopold should be just as good.


I would've gone with a leopold but the drama behind the wait annoyed me (even though it was well-intentioned or whatever).

[itlnstln]

I also feel like the build quality is better in the filco although even they have their issues..

I would've gone with a leopold but the drama behind the wait annoyed me (even though it was well-intentioned or whatever).

Based on the second statement, it sounds like the first statement is just an assumption.

[Dr.Pepper]

I have a das and I don't mind the high gloss finish, but it is quite big. And if EK had leopolds or filco keyboards when I ordered I would have gone for one of those. ( without a tenkey )

[dissident]

I'm confident the leopolds will be fine. The detachable USB cable was a selling point for me since I've had problems with cables shorting out on both my filco keyboard and 2 logitech MX-518 mice though admittedly they took much more abuse then the filco did before it crapped out. And my sennheiser HD-555 headphones have taken an astounding level of abuse.. being chucked across the room by the cord on numerous occasions, and they are still chugging along after 3-4 years, so I bought another pair of those.

[Cryptoman]

Here's the twist part: I'm an American living in Germany, but I'll be back to the US for a week or so mid-April. So I could feasibly order a Leopold, have it shipped to my US-address, and then pick it up when I'm home.

What happens if the shipping date gets pushed out?  I'm in a similar situation--I'm moving in mid April and don't know whether to pre-order now or wait and possibly incur a price increase.

[pitashen]

If you are in deep doubt about leopold. Amazon awaits your cash.

[pm_]

Without any accessories, the Leopold will probably run about $113 shipped in the US.  If you order a Tenkeyless Filco from Amazon, you'd be looking at $140.  So a $27 price difference.

IF you are going to spend a LOT of time overseas in Europe/Germany, and Bruce over at TheKeyboardCo is ok with it, you maybe able to send the Filco to either Amazon in the US, or Bruce in the UK if you needed service.  But check with him.  

The odds of needing service are probably pretty low, and if you are otherwise neutral between the Filco and Leopold, is that $27 worth greater service flexibility?