Got this keyboard in the mail today. First, my initial impressions: This keyboard is cheap. Cheap, cheap, cheap. The cherry clones seem to be plagued with a naggingly inconsistent feel. When slowly depressing each key to actuation, I notice a large disparity between the force curves from key to key. Some of them are a bit lighter, with a short, smooth tactile bump. Other keys fight back a bit more, and it's pretty noticable. Hopefully, this is due to the keyboard sitting in a box for 19 years and not a design feature.
When I remove the outer case, the first thing I notice is the PCB: It reminds me of a stale saltine cracker. It's thin and dry, and is composed of mostly wheat flour and salt. It's so thin and bendy that it actually aids in dampening each keystroke. More on that later. The PCB construction is so cheap that It bends to almost a half-circle with nothing but gravity. I could be wrong about it being brittle, though. It might be discovered that the 5191 PCB has no proportional elastic limit. It might actually be possible to bend this keyboard into any number of ergonomic positions. Unfortunately, until I know that, I'll begrudgingly accept the idea that it will break simply by breathing on it. Oh, and the fake cherry switches are barely mounted on the PCB! It's really a sight to behold. However, It's an exhausting process trying to remove keycaps without seeing the switch shift around, coming ever so close to ripping away from the PCB. Other than that, the construction is pretty good. I really like the profile-view, the design of the case, and the "On Line" power light, which is cool only because it's useless 99.9% of the time.
Now, for just a second, I'm going to judge this keyboard solely on the typing experience: It's phenomenal. The cheapness of the PCB, combined with the "sandwich" construction add to the springy feel of the keyboard as a whole. In essence, the keyboard acts like a leaf spring. It really, really does. The force of each keystroke radiates from your fingers, down in the PCB, and throughout the length and breadth of the entire machine. Truth be told, it's almost as if this cheap little man-made machine succeeds in imbuing organic qualities. I think of it less like a keyboard and more like an avacado, a palm tree, or a deep-sea trench. Typing is pleasant, especially when you really get kicking at 40wpm+. it's not awkward or fake-feeling. The force curve is just about right. It's smooth, the resistance builds up very evenly until you hit the top of the curve, then it clicks and the force drops slightly before shooting back up again. By time time you near the bottom, the force peaks and it pushes your finger back up. It's REALLY easy to avoid bottoming out on this keyboard, almost effortless.
Sound-wise, I like it more than a blue cherry g80 and less than a buckling spring. Like the BS, these Clones have 2 distinct clicks: a high-pitched, but muffled click on the downstroke and a lower, softer click on the up. it's almost identical to the "tick, tock" that comes from an old metronome or wall clock. Once again, very familiar and pleasant.
These are just my initial impressions, and they may change after a few weeks on this thing. I'm a pretty cynical guy, and it's not often that i'm impressed by anything for any reason. It might just be due the alcohol in my liver, the hydrogen in my veins, or the radium in my wrist watch- but i've got a good feeling about this keyboard. a nice, warm feeling. YMMV.
