replaced realforce with deck

[typo]

I  took a chance. I know you guys have bashed deck. it looked promising to me. I have among others a realforce 105u. my daily driver. I got the deck legend today. I am not sorry. in fact I am happy. the cherry clears are nicer than blues imo. the build quality is very good. it is made in usa. the keys look kind of weird. I think that comes with the territory. they are pbt doubleshot and dyesubed. plus of course illuminated. the fonts are very large which I like. no otaku here. I feel it is worth the $200 even if others do not. I actually prefer the flat profile. what else is it's competition.....a razer blackwidow ultimate? yuck. I am not an instant fanboy. I am just saying I like it. in fact, better than the realforce it just replaced. the keys are a little stiff compared to blues but i think I am going to prefer that. it actually feels a lot like the topre switch as far as pressure is concerned. it does not really feel like a mechanical. more like a stiff rubber dome like topre. does anyone like this or am I alone?

[daerid]

Which RealForce did you have before? Uniform or Variable?

[nsrexler]

I haven't tried Deck, or Topre for that matter, but I do agree that Clears feel quite nice. I don't agree that they feel like rubber domes though, they have a distinct "springiness" that I feel rubber domes lack.

[metalliqaz]

Does Deck have a bad rep?  I didn't think so...

[duq]

I'd be happy to take that RF you don't like . Anyway, glad you found joy in another switch type... Don't be surprised if you flip flop for a while.

[typo]

I had the 105u. still do. it is pretty beat up. honestly the key caps are much nicer on the realforce. it is the all 55g. the clear switches I just love right now. I don't know anyone else that uses clears. to me they feel like a very stiff rubber dome. they do not have as sharp a hump as blues. I always liked blues better than topre by a little bit but I like the clears even better so far. I still love my hhkb I think it is 45g or something. I am surprised, I honestly thought you guys were going to bash my decision. I appreciate I did not do something nuts. well, I still have the 105u right on the floor if I change my mind.

now I had a question. why do the keys look like they are put together from pieces? well, I suppose because they actually are?

[daerid]

I don't know if deck uses double shots, but I'd imagine the way they're put together is to allow the backlighting to show through

[typo]

they are double shot and dye sublimated pbt. I asked. I do not know why the tops look like they were stuck into the sides. double shot does not look that way at least from cherry or ibm. I think it is because this more robust design has to let the light through as you said. like a blackwidow looks somewhat nicer but these are way higher end keys. I do not know if it is the clears or heavier keys but the experience blows away a mx blue with abs keys. it is fine I am sure I will get used to it. the main thing is these keys should not be wearing out anytime soon. like what I meant though is the light leaks out the sides of the keys and there is a raised ridge around the top. it is different than anything I have seen. I thought it looked cheap but the legends are really good. much easier to see than the realforce because I think you all know I am no typist lol.

[Polymer]

Are they still doing the method where they basically doubleshot the entire top of the key?  I'm not sure that is technically doubleshot..it is more like a two piece key cap glued together..which is why you get that funny look on top....The Dyesub is to color is so they can have the clearish lettering for LED...

There are some examples of some recent good Doubleshot PBT....but the ones I saw from Deck were not those...

[jabar]

I have owned a Deck Legend Frost Tactile for a few weeks now. I also have a Max Nighthawk X8 and a Ducky Shine II, so I am familiar with the quirks of backlit keyboards.

It is an awesome keyboard. I don't mind the flat profile (although TG3 went flat to save money on different two-piece/doubleshot keycaps profile designs), and as such the PBT keycaps are bar none the best backlit keycaps. I like the big PBT case that is built like a tank. I really like Clears although the Ergo Clear board I have definitely lets me play/type longer.

However, these Deck keyboards have been around for a while now (since at least 2005). The brightness settings for my Frost are negligible; they're all full brightness. The + and Enter keys on the numpad look atrocious as only a small square over the LED has the second shot (all two shots have an obvious box around the dyesubbed areas). The font is meh (although replaceable partially with the TG3 BL82). And, perhaps most importantly in this 2013 mech keyboards economy: the price is absolutely terrible.

It seems there might be some new Deck branded products coming — they look like Duckys (surprise!). I want to write a full review because most reviews out there are either old or affected by the wow factor, but haven't made the time to do so.

If it were $50 cheaper it would be a very competitive (and worthwhile) alternative to Ducky and Keycool and Max.

[BucklingSpring]

I know you guys have bashed deck.

Meh - Deck bashers? - I kill you! 

I own 2 RF's and couples of Decks...

I LOVE MY DECKs, will not sell or trade ever.

[SpAmRaY]

I was actually considering deck because they have a board with clears but ended up getting a ducky. I'll always wonder if I made the right choice.

Good to hear that someone out there likes the board with clears also interested to see what else they come out with especially if its 'new'.

[typo]

ok, now it is pitch black in here. this is where it shines. looks amazing compared to a razer,steelseries. oh, and the cherry clears. like freakin' poppin' edamame! plus pbt case. quite frankly I would not have batted an eye if it were $300! yeah, ok so the realforce still has it's place. it is indeed a more serious business keyboard. this is really a gaming keyboard. the topre does probably have an overall better feel if you typed 130wpm all day I suppose. if they just could combine the best attributes of the two.... come to think of it a lighted board would probably not be out of place in a Japanese bank. that is not an insult it is a complement!

I don't think tg3 will make a board just like ducky. tg3 afaik is very big on build in house in America. they actually build a lot more robust boards than this like for hospitals and such.
I don't care they did not have a new board since 2006. they got it almost right the first time. the solidity of this puts my das to shame. sure, it has some shortcomings but overall I say it is a winner. like they did the single height to save money but that does not bother me. I barely notice that. truth be told at $200 I heard they barely make a profit. remember a $100 ducky costs like $10 to build. these are higher quality materials and probably union workers. it is not a competitive "value" but you get what you pay for. my only gripe is the keys look wack in the daytime but I bet they don't wear out either.

[jabar]

I don't think tg3 will make a board just like ducky.

They have, in cooperation with their Asian partner.

tg3 afaik is very big on build in house in America. they actually build a lot more robust boards than this like for hospitals and such.
I don't care they did not have a new board since 2006. they got it almost right the first time. the solidity of this puts my das to shame. sure, it has some shortcomings but overall I say it is a winner. like they did the single height to save money but that does not bother me. I barely notice that. truth be told at $200 I heard they barely make a profit. remember a $100 ducky costs like $10 to build. these are higher quality materials and probably union workers. it is not a competitive "value" but you get what you pay for. my only gripe is the keys look wack in the daytime but I bet they don't wear out either.

The build quality is really up there. Yes, it is fantastic. However, there is a lot of competition coming from Asia that TG3 needs to address if they want to keep Deck as a name in the mechanical keyboard realm. Also, the Legend commanded a sub-$150 price several years ago which was hiked up to almost $200 more recently.

I'm glad it's working for you. It sure is the best backlight combo with the keycaps TG3 uses. It's been working for me as I've used my Frost Tactile for the last several weeks without wanting to swap it out.

[Hyde]

I think overall Deck has good quality, the only real complaint I heard is price and their crayon scribble fonts.

[jalaj]

If they had a TKL (not the compact 82-key model they have) I would go for it in a heartbeat. OP, you shouldn't mind what others think. It's your own preference, we're not all alike.

[typo]

I really like the fonts. I do not think they could build anything in usa comparable to what is offered from asia for the same price. it would be a good move on their part to offer an Asian made board to "carry" the sales/losses on the legend. it is like Mercedes does not sell a lot of s65 but the c and e series make them all the money. anyways I personally feel it was worth the $200.

[Lunartuna]

I read they had bad key roll over?

[jabar]

I read they had bad key roll over?

the TG3 BL82 has 2KRO but all Decks have NKRO

[typo]

i was just wondering. is this the highest end cherry switch 105 layout there is? i mean in build quality overall.

[davkol]

There are Korean customs, but otherwise probably yes.

[Photekq]

The Deck looks a bit funky but it's probably one of, if not the, most solid non-custom keyboard there is.

[davkol]

I am surprised, I honestly thought you guys were going to bash my decision.

Blasphemy! I $@#!ing love Topre. Burn the heretic!

[typo]

I was just wondering something. do any other high end keyboards have a flat profile?  does anyone prefer it?

edit: I see it is the "standard cherry profile". some may prefer it because you can do any layout. I do not see any modern boards that use this profile except very cheap ones.
I guess they go by different names. topre makes the 104ug,he0100,md01b0. those look flat to me. signature plastics dsa do not seem to be fitted stock to any modern keyboard. I guess flat profile is considered vintage,retro.

[JaccoW]

I have a Deck and I do love it. I took it out of the box yesterday to try it again but lately I prefer my TKL more. The Deck Legend is just an absolute beast of a board and fairly big as well.