Author Topic: EK 104-key Mini Review (Read 7714 times)

Sent · « **on:** Tue, 20 August 2013, 18:02:55 »

Disclaimer: I'm new to the keyboard scene so forgive me if I sound like a complete idiot at any point in this review. Feel free to correct any information that is incorrect. All of this is just my opinion from my limited exposure so far to this money sink of a hobby. Thanks for reading. And sorry for potato pics.

This is a review for the sets from Elite Keyboards as seen here.

Initial Impressions: Well, I wasn't expecting much from $20 keycaps and can't say I was really blown away by what I saw. They're just that...$20 keycaps. The box that Fedex dropped off was bigger than I expected so I can see now why shipping was a bit more.

After getting through the bubble wrap and tape, this is what I saw.

[img]http://i.imgur.com/OXAFFIxh.jpg">>

It's easy enough to open with a typical clam shell design. Just pop the two halves apart and the top part swings up.

The case uses these "dimples" to hold all the keys in. They're really really snug and I had to wrestle with a few of them to get them out.

Keycaps: Not surprisingly, they're not thick but they do seem a tad bit thicker than the SP Klaxon keys I was comparing them too. They're also OEM profile as many of us suspected in the other thread. I'm not sure if it was just my set (though I suspect it won't be) but the caps were generally very difficult to get back off the switch once I actually got them on there. The stems seem really tight. Here's a bunch of photos I took comparing them to a double-shot GMK cap from EK, IMSTO thick, SP Klaxon and a KBT pure cap.

Here you can see the two OEM caps together.

And here are some photos so you can look at the printing compared to the other keys. I'm not sure if it's just my eyes playing tricks on me and I'm not sure if it's intentional or not but the font seems slanted...just ever so slightly. Drives my OCD a bit crazy. Another thing is that if you look very closely at the caps, you can see a faint outline where it looks like the legends were just "stamped/glued" on.

And here's a shot of the spacebar which is pretty textured and stands out against the rest of the set.

Final Thoughts: Like I said earlier, they were $20. I wasn't expecting something like the Olivetti set from Sherry. I'm neither disappointed nor enthused. To be honest, I probably won't use these caps at all and they'll sit somewhere collecting dust. The much talked about case is somewhat nice. Ray mentioned on Skype that it was something you'd see hanging from a convenience store and I agree. I can envision this packaging at my local Walmart or Staples and I'll probably be using it to store another keycap set. Typing on them for a brief couple of minutes just really reminded me of the caps that came on my Pure. Did I waste twenty bucks that could've gone towards drinks on a Friday night? Maybe. But, my curiosity is satisfied and I know that I won't be buying any more of these sets. Perhaps I'll pick up another case or two if the price is reasonable when they go on sale on the site. That's about it.

rowdy · « **Reply #1 on:** Tue, 20 August 2013, 18:07:35 »

Great review - thanks for that!

A few people have been waiting for this - great pics too

Sent · « **Reply #2 on:** Tue, 20 August 2013, 18:09:50 »

I wish I had a real camera.

Edit: Also, just realized this is the first thread I've actually started on GH.

)

rowdy · « **Reply #3 on:** Tue, 20 August 2013, 18:13:57 »

Quote from: Sent on Tue, 20 August 2013, 18:09:50

I wish I had a real camera.

Edit: Also, just realized this is the first thread I've actually started on GH. )

The pictures are more than sufficient to give a good impression of what the keycaps and case are like.

I think a few people were waiting to see the case too - this is the third keycap case announced here recently.

Congratulations on your first new thread

Photoelectric · « **Reply #4 on:** Tue, 20 August 2013, 18:18:12 »

Thank you very much for this review!

stealthycow · « **Reply #5 on:** Tue, 20 August 2013, 18:22:13 »

thank you for risking $20 so I didn't have to

Sent · « **Reply #6 on:** Tue, 20 August 2013, 18:29:20 »

Quote from: stealthycow on Tue, 20 August 2013, 18:22:13

thank you for risking $20 so I didn't have to

Taking one for the team.

rowdy · « **Reply #7 on:** Tue, 20 August 2013, 18:37:59 »

Quote from: Sent on Tue, 20 August 2013, 18:29:20

Quote from: stealthycow on Tue, 20 August 2013, 18:22:13
thank you for risking $20 so I didn't have to

Taking one for the team.

But he's not the only one that ordered.

SpAmRaY · « **Reply #8 on:** Tue, 20 August 2013, 20:25:14 »

Nice write up!

therecorder · « **Reply #9 on:** Sun, 25 August 2013, 10:04:07 »

Really helpful review... Thanks much.

Latin00032 · « **Reply #10 on:** Sun, 25 August 2013, 10:39:49 »

What would be good is to see if they can sell the case by itself. Like 50 cents per case. MOQ of 20 GB.

SpAmRaY · « **Reply #11 on:** Sun, 25 August 2013, 10:49:02 »

Quote from: Latin00032 on Sun, 25 August 2013, 10:39:49

What would be good is to see if they can sell the case by itself. Like 50 cents per case. MOQ of 20 GB.

From what I was told it will be much more than that.

zoolzoo · « **Reply #12 on:** Sun, 25 August 2013, 11:50:37 »

nice newb set

Jocelyn · « **Reply #13 on:** Sun, 25 August 2013, 12:08:38 »

Thanks for the review

Danule · « **Reply #14 on:** Sun, 25 August 2013, 17:04:45 »

what was a good review. How do you feel about the quality of the pad printing does it look like it can be peeled off easily?

Sent · « **Reply #15 on:** Tue, 27 August 2013, 15:43:22 »

Quote from: Danule on Sun, 25 August 2013, 17:04:45

what was a good review. How do you feel about the quality of the pad printing does it look like it can be peeled off easily?

Personally, I'm not holding my breath for the longevity of the pad printing. I don't think you can peel it off "easily" but they'll definitely wear over time.

CPTBadAss · « **Reply #16 on:** Fri, 13 September 2013, 13:33:43 »

Thanks for the comparison pictures. Those are really nice ^__^

rowdy · « **Reply #17 on:** Sat, 14 September 2013, 03:35:31 »

Quote from: Sent on Tue, 27 August 2013, 15:43:22

Quote from: Danule on Sun, 25 August 2013, 17:04:45
what was a good review. How do you feel about the quality of the pad printing does it look like it can be peeled off easily?

Personally, I'm not holding my breath for the longevity of the pad printing. I don't think you can peel it off "easily" but they'll definitely wear over time.

EK is selling blank sets in all the previous colours now.

No worrying whether those legends will rub off - there aren't any

uzoc · « **Reply #18 on:** Sun, 15 September 2013, 19:11:57 »

Thanks for the review.
Have my two sets, awaiting shipping...
Anyone have pics of the keys installed on different keyboards?

terran5992 · « **Reply #19 on:** Mon, 16 September 2013, 08:45:10 »

Are the caps thicker than standard filco keys?

oaklandishh · « **Reply #20 on:** Tue, 17 September 2013, 03:23:49 »

good review. Still not sure if I want to pick some of these up though.

rowdy · « **Reply #21 on:** Fri, 27 September 2013, 06:16:59 »

Here's a few photos of my EK green printed set, for comparison with the purples ones above. The legends are a bit hard to read in dim lighting, but with good lighting the keycaps almost seem to glow.

Jixr · « **Reply #22 on:** Fri, 27 September 2013, 10:17:22 »

Those pics may have just sold me. shiping is $10 but still one of the cheapest keysets around.

uzoc · « **Reply #23 on:** Fri, 27 September 2013, 13:50:56 »

Shipping is $10, but if you buy two sets, shipping is the same (if so, you pay 25 cents per cap).
I got the green and the red.

But I fell in love with WASDKeyboards Red (got it in the sampler pack).
WASDKEyboards Red, seems to have some orange and grey in it.

rowdy · « **Reply #24 on:** Sat, 28 September 2013, 02:00:39 »

Quote from: Jixr on Fri, 27 September 2013, 10:17:22

Those pics may have just sold me. shiping is $10 but still one of the cheapest keysets around.

They are cheap, mainly due to the pad printing (which is obvious - you can see the light shining off the legends).

I was surprised how consistent the keycaps are - all exactly the same thickness and everything.

If it wasn't for the pad printing, these would be excellent, but also probably somewhat more expensive.

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Author Topic: EK 104-key Mini Review (Read 7714 times)