Which Cherry MX Red board to get

[Adriel]

So I just got enough disposable income to invest in another mechanical keyboard and this time I have decided to get a Cherry MX Red keyboard and in TKL/60% form factor since I already have a Blue Filco 104 key and a Poker II Brown keyboard. I have owned a Ducky Shine 3 and Filco Majestouch 2 both in Red and in TKL but I got both of them refunded due to problems.

My Ducky Shine 3 was damaged when shipped and I got it RMAed but the second board had some serious ping issues so I just decided to get it refunded. After that I decided to buy the Filco keyboards as I already have a Blue one and it is extremely good in build quality. However, my Filco had issues too which the stabilizers were faulty and were rattling more than usual, even more so than my MX Blue Filco.

I already have my full Filco with blues to do work and data entry for home for my work and I never use it for gaming and only use it for serious tasks like email for work and other reports I have to write. I am currently using my Poker II as my gaming keyboard and the one I generally carry around when I am having a sleepover at my friend's house or a LAN party. The Filco on my desks never moves and it will always be my "main" keyboard.

I have already tried 2 Cherry MX Red keyboards and I personally feel like I like the Reds the most all around. For me I feel like the reds have just the right actuation force for me to type and I like it best for gaming as I can rapidly spam them without any worries and without having any fatigue. So my next Red keyboard will be my all rounder keyboard and will most probably be the keyboard I will be using the most for all the general tasks including gaming and typing.

So it comes down to these choices I currently have:
KUL ES-87
Filco Majestouch 2 TKL
Poker II

Suggestions are welcomed but its all limited to the availability of the keyboards in my country(No HHKB or Topre please, just not yet). I am currently leaning towards the Poker II as the the KUL ES-87 in my country here is overpriced and I had issues with the Filco too. But I have keyboard OCD so it would bug me a bit if I had no TKL board and  2 60% boards and one Full sized keyboard. Also for those who have the KUL ES-87, does the bigger than usual bezel around the keys bother you or do you actually find it better looking? I am almost convinced that I will be getting the Majestouch 2 but I am worried about the Costar Stabilizers rattling. The reason the rattle does not annoy me or is not noticeable on my blues is because that the switches are already making sounds so it covers the rattle (if there's any). Those who owned Cherry MX Reds please give me your advice on which one to get.

[Fragil1ty]

KUL ES-87, not even a contest to be honest, but a few things to consider.

• The ABS keycaps that you get with the KUL are not that nice to type on and they shine, very, very, very easily.
• The dipswitches are amazing, plus point
• If you have typed on reds before, these will not feel the same what so ever (this is not a bad point btw, I like the difference from older red boards)
• Heavy (this is a plus for me, it may be a minus for you)

[lightsout714]

KUL is a very nice board. My favorite as far as build quality in the stock boards I have tried. Plus you already have a filco so why not try something new.

[Adriel]

KUL ES-87, not even a contest to be honest, but a few things to consider.

• The ABS keycaps that you get with the KUL are not that nice to type on and they shine, very, very, very easily.
• The dipswitches are amazing, plus point
• If you have typed on reds before, these will not feel the same what so ever (this is not a bad point btw, I like the difference from older red boards)
• Heavy (this is a plus for me, it may be a minus for you)

I already have a full set of White PBT blank keycaps so regardless I'm gonna put the white blanks on my next keyboard so yea now I'm just looking for the quality of the board and which one looks better.

[Hypersphere]

I have owned two Kul ES-87 boards (one with clears, one with reds). Sold both, mainly because I prefer Topre or IBM buckling spring over any Cherry mx switch.

The Kul boards were reasonably solid. I particularly liked the abundance of options afforded by the DIP switches. The Kul has Cherry stabilizers, which make it easy to change keycaps on stabilized keys, but to me they feel mushy.

I have also owned a Filco MJ2 TLS Ninja with mx blues. Another very solid board. Sold it for the same reason: I don't like Cherry mx switches. It has Costar-type stabilizers, which can be tricky when changing caps, and they tend to rattle more than Cherry stabs, but I prefer the key action to that of Cherry stabs.

I also had a Poker II. Nice concept; I like the 60% form factor, but I sold it and got a HHKB Pro 2 -- a much better board all around. Apart from the HHKB Pro 2 comparison, I thought the Poker II was not of the same high quality as the Kul or the Filco.

One of my first boards was a Ducky Shine II with mx browns. I was disappointed with the quality and gave it away.

One of my preferred Cherry mx boards was a CM QFR Stealth with mx greens. Not bad for a Cherry mx board.

I also like the look and customization options of the WASD keyboards, but I have never owned one of these. They look to me to be on par with Kul, but with a few more features.

If for some reason I were unable to get Topre or IBM Model F buckling springs, and if I had to use a Cherry mx board, I would probably go for reds. I have tried mx blue, green, clear, brown, black, and red; of these, red worked best for me.

[strict]

The first mech I owned was a Filco MJ2 TKL with reds and I absolutely loved it. I could go back to using a board with red switches in a heartbeat and not be disappointed. As far as chosing between the three boards you listed, if it were me I would probably end up choosing the Filco over the KUL and Poker for a couple reasons;

• TKL ftw
• I don't like Cherry stabs. I've never used a board with Cherry stabs that I liked they way they felt. There wont really be as noticeable of a difference on linear switches though.
• I don't like detachable cables. A detachable cable is just another point for failure.
• I don't really like the in-switch LED's on the KUL. I don't want LED windows on my keys and it can make finding compatible keysets slightly harder (assuming you want to keep the windows). Not a deal-breaker but something to consider.
• The dip-switches are definitely a plus for the KUL over the Filco, but you need to evaluate whether or not you would actually use them. Personally they would make zero difference for me since I would end up configuring the layout of the KUL to be exactly the same as what a stock Filco would be.

I think, given your choices, you can't really go wrong. Both TKL keyboards are going to be excellent so it really boils down to personal preference on a few minor differences. If 60% is your thing, plenty of people seem happy with their Pokers. I hate Fn layers so I'll never own one and cant speak to quality or usability.

Also, you can easily fix rattling Costar stabs with some kind of thick-ish lubricant like silicon grease (good), Finish Line Extreme Fluoro (better), or one of the thick blends of Krytox (best). Just apply a reasonable blob to the white key insert and a little dab on the wire where it snaps into the black plate insert. I use thick Krytox on all my Costar stabs and none of them rattle or squeak.