tech: Too many Keyboards Keychron, NuPhy, GMK…

You know you have too many keyboards when you forget the four builds you’ve done and how they are constructed, so here’s a review of current keyboards and this is an update to my 2022 rankings of my daily drivers:

So here are the keyboards that I’ve been using by ranking. The big change is of course the addition of three keyboards with incomparable GMK Keycaps listed in Tonight Show reverse order (and please don’t tell anyone I have 15 keyboards for one person!):

15. WASD Code V2 with Cherry Brown. After 10 years of use, the ABS keycaps are beginning to get shiny. It is now not used anymore. The travel is pretty high and it feels mushy now compared to my other keyboards, but I do like the backlighting. It’s currently sitting in a drawer until I need a new keyboard.

14. WASD Code V2 with Cherry Blue. I do like the Cheryy Blue clicky keyboards quite a bit but it finally broke late last year I think at least I can’t find it.

13. Keychron K2 V2 with Gateron Blue. Sadly, I can’t even figure out where this one went. But at $100 it was wireless and had stock keycaps which were just OK.

12. MagicForce 68 with Cherry Blue (probably counterfeit). This is a wired keyboard and it looks surprisingly good and is very compact. It does wobble a bit. I don’t use it much anymore since the wireless ones are very good. I need to figure out where this went.

11. Fujitsu Realforce TKL Topre. I’ve debated dropping this one a bit, it uses a unique domed key switch, which at first I loved, but now find a bit mushy. Currently use with my MacBook 2014 for photo editing and workflow.

10. Varmilo VA97M Mac with Cherry Brown. This is the keyboard I use when I’m doing podcasts because browns are pretty quiet. The backlight is nice as well. It is a nice deal at $129, but it is not wireless or key switch-swappable.

9, 8, and 7. Anne Pro 2 with Gateron Brown linear, Gateron Blue clicky, and Kaith Box White thocky. I got these because they are incredibly compact. I listed them in order and the main issue is there is something about their Bluetooth and. my Macbook Pro 2021. But the Gateron Browns are linear and quiet, and the Blues are nice and clicky, but my favorite is the Kaith Box White which has a nice Thocky sound. I have the Brown in rotation and am looking for the Blue and the White.

6. Keychron K6 with Gateron Brown and YMDK Pudding. This used to be my favorite keyboard, but now I find the YMDK Pudding keys a little ugly and they don’t have a s nice feel. I swapped in Gateron Browns because I destroyed the Keychron K2 and moved the keys to this one. Currently in rotation with my main desktop setup.

5. Unicomp New Model M. This one has been growing on me. At first, I really didn’t like the cheap plastic and the sheer weight of a 104 keyboard, but over time, the traditional buckling spring has me going, so I love it for retro computing. In rotation with the desktop setup.

4. F77 Model F Keyboard. This one is retro and for a while, the keycaps kept popping out, but now it has settled down. This is a labor of love by a huge power nerd who had everything reengineered, but the main thing is the buckling spring works well now that the keys stop popping out. Incredibly expensive (but now as much as the next four keyboards). In rotation with the desktop setup.

3. NuPhy Gem 80 with GMK UniQey Klassiker and Gazzew U4T 64G Thocky. This is a new keyboard that I got in a fit of, well, I need something different than the Keychron Q2 Max. The NuPhy is an 80% keyboard and I moved the Gazzew’s to them. Now that they are on this keyboard, it’s hard to tell the difference between them and the Gateron Melodic clicky keys. This shows that the keyboard body does make quite a bit of difference. The larger layout is sort of nice, but I never use the function keys which is why these 66% keyboards work fine for me. In rotation with the desktop setup.

2. Keychron Q2 Max with GMK Muted Retro Blue+Pink and keychron . This one is an amazing keyboard. I like the Muted Retro, GMK keys are so expensive (more than most keyboards), but the feel is incredible. They use ABS but they are so thick and the lettering is great. You also can’t tell they are linear because the sound is so satisfying. In rotation with the desktop setup.

1. Keychron Q2 Max with GMK Omnitype Botanical 2 and Gateron Melodic Clicky keys. This one surprised me. The Q2 Max is IMHO just such a fine compromise. It is 2.4GHZ USB RF and Bluetooth and the keyboard layout is just so small and great. It is not quite as compact as the Anne Pro’s are and too heavy for travel, but Gateron Meloidics surprised me the most. I kind of think of Gateron as a high-volume manufacturer, but the Melodics are as Theremingoat says just awesome. In rotation with the desktop setup.