A month after posting about getting a new keyboard, I do not have a new keyboard.
But I did break out two of the three (!) mechanical keyboards I already have to test them again.
Playing around with the Filco with brown switches convinced me of two things:
- The form factor without numeric keypad is the way to go.
- Brown switches are not the way to go.
Playing around with the Das with blue switches left me more uncertain. First, the Das specifically is big and heavy and I’m not really into big and heavy for my keyboards anymore. It also has a glossy finish. Note to keyboard manufacturers: NEVER DO THIS. The gloss attracts fingerprints and reflects light like crazy. It doesn’t look good, it just looks distracting.
I still like the feel of blue switches but having used a Logitech K750 for a good long while now, it’s a big shift to go from a low-travel soft touch laptop-style keyboard to one that CLACKS with great force.
So it’s made me wonder if my other choice from the above-linked post, red switches, might be the way to go. You get the reliability of a mechanical switch but without the CLACK, you get the handy non-keypad form factor, and you get keys that actuate without requiring a lot of force.
I’m still undecided.
I’ll pledge to make a decision before National Novel Writing Month starts. That means I have one month. If it goes like my attempts to come up with ideas for NaNoWriMo, I will not be announcing the recently-placed keyboard order I’ve made on October 31. But we’ll see.
I kind of wish Logitech made a version of the K750 without the numeric keypad. I’d grab that in an instant. They do have smaller keyboards, but they all either connect via Bluetooth (yuck) or don’t have full-size navigation keys or both. Why is there no Goldilocks keyboard? Or why can’t I find it?
The answer in one month!*
UPDATE, April 29, 2018: I just ordered the Cooler Master MasterKeys S, a tenkeyless mechanical keyboard with red switches. It’s significantly cheaper than the customizable WASD keyobards I’ve considered, so it will serve as a (still pricey) test drive of red switches. I will make a new post to describe how it goes. And how clicky it is.
*answer may or may not be included.
