Need assistance deciding between compact keyboards

[Photoelectric]

Assuming similar price range (~$100 +/-), how do these numpad-less keyboards compare against one another on pure merit, in terms of quality / durability / random issues, and is there a clear winner--or is it a wash?

* Ducky TKL (or Shine TKL)
* Vortex KBT ONI TKL (PBT caps, but are they thin?)
* Cooler Master QFR (cheaper, but the MX Brown stock has disappeared everywhere I looked)
* Keycool 87
* Noppoo Choc Mid 87

Also considered Leopold FC700R in Gray for a while, but I'll be replacing caps with dyesub thick PBT anyway, and it's rather too expensive at $150 shipped or so.

Any others I should look at?

[Rule16]

Assuming similar price range (~$100 +/-), how do these numpad-less keyboards compare against one another on pure merit, in terms of quality / durability / random issues, and is there a clear winner--or is it a wash?

* Ducky TKL (or Shine TKL)
* Vortex KBT ONI TKL (PBT caps, but are they thin?)
* Cooler Master QFR (cheaper, but the MX Brown stock has disappeared everywhere I looked)
* Keycool 87
* Noppoo Choc Mid 87

Also considered Leopold FC700R in Gray for a while, but I'll be replacing caps with dyesub thick PBT anyway, and it's rather too expensive at $150 shipped or so.

Any others I should look at?

A few quick google searches would have answered this... In order from best quality to least 1.)Ducky, or Cooler Master 2.) Keycool 3.) Noppoo 4.) Vortex
Also none of these boards are compact, they're TKL

[Binge]

Assuming similar price range (~$100 +/-), how do these numpad-less keyboards compare against one another on pure merit, in terms of quality / durability / random issues, and is there a clear winner--or is it a wash?

* Ducky TKL (or Shine TKL)
* Vortex KBT ONI TKL (PBT caps, but are they thin?)
* Cooler Master QFR (cheaper, but the MX Brown stock has disappeared everywhere I looked)
* Keycool 87
* Noppoo Choc Mid 87

Also considered Leopold FC700R in Gray for a while, but I'll be replacing caps with dyesub thick PBT anyway, and it's rather too expensive at $150 shipped or so.

Any others I should look at?

Like the poster above has stated.  None of these are truly compact.

Look up 60% and 75% keyboards if you want compact.

[CPTBadAss]

If you look in my signature, I wrote a review on the FC700R if you're still curious about it. Jdcarpe wrote a review on the Keycool 87 which can be found in the Reviews sub-forum. And the QFR is an extremely popular board here on GH; just check out the media section. There's a thread on modded QFRs.

I personally own a FC700R and I love it. But again, its TKL, not compact.

[metalliqaz]

Assuming similar price range (~$100 +/-), how do these numpad-less keyboards compare against one another on pure merit, in terms of quality / durability / random issues, and is there a clear winner--or is it a wash?

* Ducky TKL (or Shine TKL)
* Vortex KBT ONI TKL (PBT caps, but are they thin?)
* Cooler Master QFR (cheaper, but the MX Brown stock has disappeared everywhere I looked)
* Keycool 87
* Noppoo Choc Mid 87

Also considered Leopold FC700R in Gray for a while, but I'll be replacing caps with dyesub thick PBT anyway, and it's rather too expensive at $150 shipped or so.

Any others I should look at?

Don't forget the Leopold FC200R, Filco Majestouch 2 TKL and the WASD v2 (not out yet, but soon).

I own the ducky, and I'd say it is a really nice keyboard but it has those painted keys that are meant to work with backlighting and I don't like those very much.  If you put some doubleshots on there, it would feel real nice.  The lighting effects are really cool, too.

Never treid the Vortex but there is a pretty detailed review somewhere around here.  Vortex doesn't have a very trustworthy name, though.

The QFR and Filco are of very similar quality, both being Costar-built, and they are very nice.  They will last a long time.  I don't like the costar stabilizers all that much, but they are very popular around here.

I'm a huge fan of the FC200R from EK.  Very solid board with good attention to detail and attractive styling. (IMHO)  I use it hard every day and I love it.

I understand that the Keycool is very similar to the Leopold (someone once said that they stole the design) but is made much more cheaply.  I don't think anyone has disputed that it looks and feels like a cheap keyboard, but it also works well enough.

Noppoo has a pretty good reputation, I think.  Haven't tried it myself.

qtan's store also carries the PLU87.  I understand its about the same quality as the keycool.

Personally, I'd go with the Leopold for working with, and the Ducky for something more flashy.  You will probably have your own unique tastes, but you have to try lots of them to develop it.

[Photoelectric]

Thanks everyone.  Contrary to some replies here, I have done hours of reading on all these keyboards, and my question was more about actually weighing them one against another and perhaps finding some quirks (like incompatible keys that I've overlooked, or controller problems, or whatever).  Many of the reviews are months or even years old--things could have come up since then.  I've looked on Reddit, DTH, OCN, GH, and other places and read most of the available reviews.

Thing is, there's no clear consensus on many of these keyboards.  Some claim that a keyboard is "cheap", and then defend it saying that it's actually sturdy enough and works well.  Noppoo keyboards are liked on one hand and then I saw mentions of issues.  Same with Vortex.  Etc.  So it's really not easy to say--ambiguous, that is.  If Filco Majestouch 2 TKL (?) and CM QFR are made by the same OEM, they should technically be just about the same, right?  As far as I can tell anyway, beyond minor details.  And then still there will be people saying that Filco is miles ahead of any keyboard.  So you see, there are subjective opinions, among some "facts", and many of these keyboards don't really have that many reviews and opinions available.

And finally, I said "compact" because I didn't unify these all as "TKL", since technically they are missing a numpad, which is not the 10 keys.  Yet some keyboards are called TKL when missing a numpad (like Filco and Ducky), and some are called TKL when missing the page up/ page dn / direction key clusters (CM keyboards).  So "compact" was a generalization w.r.t. full sized keyboards.  The tiny ones I'd call "ultra-compact"
------
I'm mostly settled on picking between these 3, based on prices, quality, and aesthetics:

* Ducky Shine II TKL with MX Browns if LED colors I want appear in stock
* CM QFR with MX Browns (if any ever come back in stock...  for being great on a budget)
* Filco Majestouch 2 TKL in metallic pink... with MX Black... which i'll have to switch to MX Browns eventually, probably.

P.S.: Yeah, FC700R is a nice keyboard, but is too expensive in my opinion at $155 shipped vs other keyboards I've listed.

[CPTBadAss]

Isn't that Pink Filco like $135-150? I was under the impression it was the same price range as the Leopold FC700R

[Photoelectric]

Yeah it is.  But that's where matters of taste come in and outweight "reason", so to say.  I love that color so... there it is   Plus default white LEDs.  Otherwise, totally unreasonable, plus probably having to deal with MX Blacks.  Justifying Ducky Shine IIs mostly because of the backlighting, which is nice even when keys are substituted with non-transparent thick kind.  Looking at Keycool's 87-key backlit keyboards too, but they are only marginally cheaper than Duckies.  Otherwise, it's pretty much a CM QFR, no competition--just out of stock lately.

[CPTBadAss]

Logitech's new G710 or whatever their mechanical board comes in MX Browns and apparently they pretty much depleted the stock of MX Browns this year. It might be hard to find a new QFR with Browns.

[Rule16]

If Filco Majestouch 2 TKL (?) and CM QFR are made by the same OEM, they should technically be just about the same, right?  As far as I can tell anyway, beyond minor details.

No, just because they're from the same manufacturer doesn't mean that they have the same quality. The company says what goes into the making of the keyboard, not the manufacturer. For instance, Filco has a really high quality PCB from what I hear, not so much so on the CoolerMaster.

[Photoelectric]

If Filco Majestouch 2 TKL (?) and CM QFR are made by the same OEM, they should technically be just about the same, right?  As far as I can tell anyway, beyond minor details.

No, just because they're from the same manufacturer doesn't mean that they have the same quality. The company says what goes into the making of the keyboard, not the manufacturer. For instance, Filco has a really high quality PCB from what I hear, not so much so on the CoolerMaster.

Just finished watching a video comparing the two (by WhiteFireDragon--highly recommended!).  Filco PCB is definitely top notch!  Although the differences are mostly cosmetic in terms of functionality.  As in the fact that the QFR PCB has a bit more solder should not have an impact on performance.

[aggiejy]

Yeah, the QFR PCB quality is surprisingly close to Filco... some claim equal.  I have 4 Filcos and no QFRs, but only because QFRs weren't around when I bought most of mine.  (And, I put programmable controllers on all mine, which were made only for the Filcos)

[CPTBadAss]

Aggiejy, the HID Liberator controllers will go on a QFR?

[metalliqaz]

Aggiejy, the HID Liberator controllers will go on a QFR?

I'm pretty sure they don't. 

[aggiejy]

Well, they might physically fit, but I don't think they work.  But, I don't have a QFR to test on, so can't say for sure.  I know when Bpiphany built it, he was copying Filco.  So unless the wiring is identical, then I'd assume it won't work.  Surely someone has tested, but I haven't seen it.

[esoomenona]

They don't physically fit either. The pins are set differently.

[Rule16]

If Filco Majestouch 2 TKL (?) and CM QFR are made by the same OEM, they should technically be just about the same, right?  As far as I can tell anyway, beyond minor details.

No, just because they're from the same manufacturer doesn't mean that they have the same quality. The company says what goes into the making of the keyboard, not the manufacturer. For instance, Filco has a really high quality PCB from what I hear, not so much so on the CoolerMaster.

Just finished watching a video comparing the two (by WhiteFireDragon--highly recommended!).  Filco PCB is definitely top notch!  Although the differences are mostly cosmetic in terms of functionality.  As in the fact that the QFR PCB has a bit more solder should not have an impact on performance.

No I agree, im just saying there are differences even if the manufacturer is the same.

[kaiserreich]

Vortex oni is costar made. Fyi.
I disagree that it is lower quality than a noppoo