Hello my friends! I have lots of larger projects on the back-burner, so I decided to start a short-and-sweet style series to address questions posed on Reddit – so, welcome to Reddit Asks! Let’s get right into it.

u/Seareeeal from r/switchmodders asks,

Does anyone have a picture of cream v1 and v2 stems?

I have some others I’ll link below, but I took some fresh ones with this comparison in mind:

Our specimens for today; an original Cream on the left, and a Cream Arc on the right.

I picked the Arc to represent the newer Creams because its different color will make it easier to distinguish; the Arc is identical to a contemporary standard Cream save for the color and spring.

The original Cream on the left can be recognized by its smaller logo in comparison to the newer Arc on the right. Now, let’s look at the stems:

Cream stems; OG on the left, newer on the right.

Both come with modest factory lubing in the form of light clear grease. Both have the same basic shape, but looking closely it’s evident the tooling is completely different.

The newer pole is longer, and has a longer portion after the tapered section. The newer stem has a shorter “forehead” section; the block between the cross mount and pole. The rails are also shaped a bit differently.

Not the best photo, but does show some comparative detail from straight-on. OG on the left, updated on the right.

Now, for some slightly more exact science:

OG Cream stem: 13.41mm according to my calipers.

This is effectively consistent with the last time I measured an original Cream, where I got 13.42; I’d call that within the margin of error, either for manufacturing or my measuring device.

Updated Cream stem, taken from a Cream Arc: 13.48mm according to my calipers.

The same Updated stem shape in another color, this time from a Launch Cream – also showing 13.48mm.

It’s not a big difference, but it’s measurable: aside from the other changes in the tooling, newer Cream stems are 0.07mm longer from top to bottom than the old ones.

I’d gotten a different measurement for an updated Cream stem last time I tried this, so I decided to measure a handful and it turns out my old measurement matching the OG Cream stem was the fluke – Launch and Arc Creams indeed have longer stems than the originals. However while testing this I also discovered something I didn’t expect – some other versions I’d assumed to be the same aren’t after all:

This is a stem from a second-run Nolve, which is ostensibly a Cream re-color.

These feature the new-tooling housing with the bigger logo – but it looks like the stems aren’t the same at all. In fact, that measurement is closer to that of a standard Kailh linear stem – within the margin of error, in fact.

The stem from a new Dream switch, which is ostensibly a standard Cream that’s been actuated 600,000 times at the factory; broken-in from the box.

These Dream versions also appear to have standard Kailh linear stems; reading just 0.01mm shorter than the Nolives, this is both within the margin of error and I’ll also note the above stem is supposed to have gone through more than half a million presses at the factory, so it wouldn’t shock me if it shortened the stem just a tiny bit.

I was definitely surprised to find that Dreams and Nolives *don’t* use the updated Cream stems that standard new Creams, Launch Creams, and Cream Arcs use, but instead appear to use re-colored versions of the standard Kailh linear stem found in Blacks and Reds.

Yeah, science!

If you’d like some further comparison between long-pole stems (featuring the above OG and Retooled Creams as well as Kailh Blacks and Pro Burgundys), check out this thread on KeebTalk.

Recap of measurements including those from the long-pole thread, rounded to nearest 0.01mm when that close to another:

• Kailh Black, Dream, Nolive V2: ~13.31 (I think all these use the same tooling)
• OG Cream: 13.41 (older Chocolate Creams & old V1 Nolives should also have same stem, but it’s certainly possible that they don’t)
• Launch Cream, Cream Arc (Updated Cream): 13.48 (should be same as normal-colored new Creams as well as newer Chocolate Creams)
• Kailh Pro Burgundy: 13.65
• Kailh Speed Navy: 13.69

Thanks for reading, and have a good one!

Introduction:

Hello, my friends – I’m back with another review, and this time I’m taking a look at Prevail Key Company’s latest linear switch offering, the Nebula. This one’s un-sponsored; I was curious about these, bought some for myself, and decided to share my thoughts here after a few weeks with them in my daily keeb. Let’s get into it!

Ooh, pretty.

The Basics:

• Type: Linear
• Sub-types: Long-pole, Progressive
• Brand: Prevail Key Co. (with Cobertt of Control On Caps)
• Manufacturer: JWK
• Housing: full Nylon (PA)
• Stem: Custom mold, “LY” material*
• Spring weight: 62g**
• Factory lube: “light”
• Mounting: PCB / 5-pin

*I’ve reached out to Prevail for a little more info about what kind of plastic “LY” might be; I haven’t heard back as of writing, but will update with more information as I have it.

**I don’t currently have a force-curve graph or discrete measurements of starting, actuation, and bottom-out weights. IC’s listed the weight at 67g, sales pages list at 62g. I’ll update this review with that information as able.

Context & Background:

Originally announced with an Interest-Check post in mid-December of 2020, the Nebula switch has taken a long if not terribly winding road from there into the hands and keyboards of consumers. A collaboration between established builder Cobertt of Control On Caps and respected vendor Prevail Key Co., the Nebula switch had its sights set on being a smooth, clacky, progressive long-pole linear – a category with scant representation among stock commercial options.

Discussion around the IC mentioned that full-Nylon from JWK was exclusive to Cannon Keys, but by the time the GB rolled around, full-Nylon was all-systems-go for the Nebulae.

Original render from the Nebula Interest Check post on Geekhack

At the time of its announcement nearly two years ago, the progressive linear segment was vanishingly small – and it’s not very different today. Off-hand, I can only think of two others that actually made it to production: the ThicThock Marshmallow (also made by JWK, with springs hand-installed at the factory), and the NK_ Cream Arc (made by Kailh, no clue about the springs there). At one time, TKC’s Dragonfruit switch was planned as a progressive linear, but the idea was abandoned for an Ergo Clear style tactile instead when it became clear manually-oriented springs would mean a price increase they weren’t happy with. Ever since TKC announced that change, I’d been hoping for other factory progressives to hit the market, so I was naturally excited by the announcement of this switch – and unlike TKC’s, this one made it to market almost completely unchanged from its initial plan.

The Nebula’s core, a roughly 20mm progressive spring. On the left side, there’s about 4mm worth of tighter coiling.

If you’re not familiar, a “progressive” spring is one whose *rate* of rising resistance increases with compression. That is, the more the spring is compressed, the faster the resistance increases per unit of compression. All springs increase in resistance (usually just called “weight” in the keeb hobby) as they are compressed, but the amount of weight increase per unit of compression is generally the same throughout compression. Some springs increase in weight only slightly when compressed (called “slow curve”), others more dramatically (called “fast curve”) – but both of those fall under the “linear” spring category – plotted on a resistance/compression graph (called a “force curve graph”), the data would appear as a straight line; shallow, steep, or somewhere in between. However, a “progressive” spring will produce a *curved* line on the very same graph, increasing in steepness with compression.

Automotive spring graph from the iRacing forums illustrating the difference between a progressive spring rate (left) and a linear one (right).

The nature, efficacy, and character of progressive springs is its own multi-pronged discussion, still fairly rich with debate to this day – so I’ll avoid getting into those weeds for the moment. For now, I’ll carve-out this detail for today’s discussion:

Marshmallow switches cost more than originally planned thanks to hand-installation of the springs at the factory. Dragonfruit switches got turned into something else completely in lieu of raising the price or suffering inconsistency. When I asked Prevail if spring orientation could be a factor for these switches, the initial response was yes, due to the tighter coil at one end. I mis-remembered this as meaning the spring would be conical, which actually would make the orientation matter – but I think they were just talking about pitch.

There’s all kinds of debate about whether cylindrical progressive springs behave differently depending on their orientation inside the switch, with most evidence leaning towards it making no difference – *however* – that story changes when the top and bottom of the spring aren’t the same shape, and may not be interacting with identically-shaped surfaces at either end inside the switch. That is, with a conical spring, orientation *may indeed* matter because the pre-load compression may be different depending on that orientation because of the surfaces the spring seats into / onto.

No specific reason this photo is here, I just thought it looked cool.

That confirmation was two years ago, though – and while a surprising number of details have remained unchanged since that time, the one about spring orientation hasn’t. From what I can gather, the story now goes like this:

Prevail decided against using hand-installation of the springs to avoid a price increase, but also decided to stick with the progressive springs, being a core part of the idea behind them. Apparently they determined that with the spring they settled on, orientation made either no difference or not enough to make inconsistency obvious. They also factored-in a safely-assumed high likelihood that people would be opening these anyway, and thus have an opportunity to orient the spring as they prefer. It seems Prevail thought this would be the best compromise between retaining their vision and attaining affordability, and I think they made the right call.

A photo taken in lower, warmer light (and on a Bob Ross deskmat)

Examining the spring found in the final version of the switch, I confirmed that it is not conical, and has the same 3.75mm contact footprint on either end. That is, in theory, flipping the spring shouldn’t have a significant impact on the travel feel. At least when it comes to hard measurable data, there’s slim-to-none supporting the idea that spring orientation matters *unless* the footprint of either end is different from the other. (It probably further depends on how the housing interacts with those footprints; I think it’s easy to imagine some that may tolerate a smaller or larger diameter without changing anything, and others that may seat a smaller coil differently from a larger one.)

Aside from the spring orientation factor, one other significant detail has changed since the IC, and that’s stem material. Originally planned as having a new mold but traditional POM material, the stems are now made of a new-to-switches plastic referred to only as “LY”. As mentioned above, I’ve reached out to Prevail for some more information on this, but so far don’t have much of anything to tell you about it.

A less significant change would be moving from a “milky” plastic look to a clear one for the Nylon housing.

More crystal-y than milky, really.

Alright! It’s time to evaluate these sparkly switches.

Aesthetics:

Whether you caught the IC two years ago or you just happened to see these on Prevail’s website yesterday, the most immediately noticeable thing about these switches is their appearance. While sparkly switches aren’t exactly unheard-of these days, they’re still pretty uncommon – and barely existed at all two years ago. To this day, I’m pretty sure this is the only switch with this particular look: clear purple housing with embedded glitter and an off-white stem.

What an opportune time to have a huge coffee-table book about space

In a sea of many, many MX-compatible switches, these manage to stand-out as visually novel – and I think the aesthetic theme is well-executed. Aside from being unusual, I also think they’re striking and pretty. I’m biased, being a huge fan of purple, but I love the color and finish. IMHO, these are some of the nicest-to-look-at switches in my ever-growing collection.

Subjective to personal opinion as it may be, I’d rate the aesthetics of this switch a solid A. They’re fun to look at and at least for now, very distinctive in appearance.

Sound:

If you’ve heard long-pole linears before, these won’t be unfamiliar. In the realm of clacky switches, I would say these are on the mild end when it comes to sound – they’re clacky, not harsh.

For the most part sound is a subjective thing like other aesthetic aspects, but there are some things I focus on when it comes to gauging quality – or at least when it comes to what I enjoy. I like my sounds clean and deliberate. Loud, quiet, sharp, deep – as long as it’s clean. For me, “clean” means an absence of un-intended sound, or sound that in some way signals compromise. Rattle. Tick. Creak. Chatter. Ping! More rattle…

Another photo in low, warm light – helps to illustrate the stem’s not-quite-white-ness.

So are the Nebulae *clean?* Mmmmm they’re alright. The friction surfaces are all more quiet than average – just about silent – but those springs are a little chattery, wiggling around in there like miniature Slinkies. This is something I’ve seen happen *especially* with springs that have tighter coil sections like progressive springs tend to. These have a long section of wide coils that make up most of the travel feel, but they also have a section of much tighter coiling at one end. That part compresses first; other things being equal, the more shallow the angle, the less resistance offered by the coil. The *down-side* of that is those close-together bits of wire are *way* more likely to smack into each-other and make all kinds of messy vibrations than far-apart coils.

Ah, but nothing a little donut-dip in grease or spin in the oil tub can’t fix. So – if you’re liking everything else about this switch, the slinky-springs don’t need to be a deal-breaker. When it comes to my nebulous, arbitrary, mood-dependent scoring system, however, I’ll mainly be focusing on the stock performance. That in mind, I’d give the stock sound experience of the Nebula switches a whelming, fair, and acceptable B-.

Feel:

When discussing the feel of switches, I’ll be breaking that factor down further into Smoothness, Stability, and Weighting.

Time for another photo! Here you can see the contact leaf through the glittery housing.

Feel – Smoothness:

When it comes to actually using these switches, the first thing you’re likely to notice about these is that they’re very smooth right from the bag. Even since 2020 this has become a much less rare thing, especially considering this is a JWK-produced switch – but it’s no less important of a factor when it comes to evaluation, and the Nebula switches have it.

Specifically:

• There is very little *if any* perceivable grain in the travel
• The only resistance you feel when typing is from the spring; no binding, no slip-stick, not overly tight
• The feel is consistent throughout travel as well as between switches

Considering only the smoothness aspect of feel, the Nebula switches earn an easy A.

Feel – Stability:

I’ll be breaking this down into a few related factors that come together to give the overall impression of stability in a given switch; resting wobble, bottom wobble, travel stability, and housing fitment. While the last one plays-into and affects the other three, it isn’t the only factor in them, so I kept it as its own point of analysis.

Resting position wobble:

This is how much play exists between the stem and housing when the switch is topped-out, or in its base “off” position – the state it’s in when just sitting on its own, not being pressed-down. This is what most people are referring to when they talk about “wobble”, but I like to distinguish it from some other types.

In the case of the Nebula switches, resting wobble seems pretty average, if perhaps a bit more. When it comes to this factor, they don’t really stand out either way. I’d give them a B- for resting wobble.

Just so there’s a little more color variety going on here

Bottom position wobble:

This is how much play a stem has within a housing while in the fully-depressed position; when it’s actively being pushed all the way down. In most switches, this is a factor that isn’t often given much attention – but in “long-pole” or otherwise short travel linears like this one, I’ve seen at least a few people cite it as a high-priority data-point. This makes sense, as long-pole switches *generally* have significantly more bottom-wobble than more traditional designs.

Today’s switches are no exception: the bottom-wobble is real. In context of other long-poles, this one doesn’t stand out as being noticeably worse or better – but in a more general context, it’s definitely noticeable when compared to the broader pool of MX-compatible switches.

This is pretty much par for the course when it comes to long-poles and is to be expected; those in the category that *don’t* suffer from this are vanishingly-small in number. For bottom-wobble (and considering its type), I’d give these a dead-average C.

Travel Stability:

At least until I get some measuring equipment, this is a bit more of a subjective factor – but still one I think is very worth discussing when it comes to the feel of a given switch. One might be rock-solid at the top and bottom, but if it feels wiggly all the way down, I’m not going to call it “stable”. When trying to pin this down for yourself, it might help to think of it this way: “when I push this switch down, does the key stay level as if on a flat platform, or does it teeter and wobble as if balancing on a point?”

The last two factors are important to me, but this one nearly eclipses them both when it comes to my personal priorities. If a switch feels “on rails” as it is moving up and down, that makes a very positive impression on me when it comes to perceived quality. So – how are the Nebulae?

Meh? They’re not bad – but they’re not good, either. This may be the Nebula’s weakest performance factor; I’d give them a resoundingly-bleh C- for travel stability.

Housing Fitment:

Not a whole lot to say here – it’s good. So far, none that I’ve opened seem like they need films afterwards, though I’ve heard you can fit especially thin ones in there if you really want to. Another easy A here.

The housings have a good fit. And sparkles.

Cap Fitment:

While not necessarily always a stability factor, this seemed like the most sensible place to talk about the fit between stem and keycap. When excessively loose, this can have a negative impact on the stability and cleanliness of sound and feel. When excessively tight, this can make the switch difficult or impossible to use – and can even damage or destroy keycap stems.

The Nebula’s “LY” stems don’t grip caps as well as the average POM one, but they also do better than plenty of UHMWPE stems. When using a GMK cap, for example, the fitment seems pretty normal – but with one of my PBT sets, it’s noticeably easier than average to install and remove caps from the stems.

A look at the LY stem and its tapered long pole; overall length appears to be about 13.5mm.

They aren’t so loose that I’d consider it a problem, and I don’t expect any but the most loose of caps to have any trouble staying on and in-position, but I still thought it worth mentioning that these have a less-tight-than-average grip with cap stems. When it comes to cap fitment, I’d give the Nebula switches a roughly-average C. (It might actually be a little more loose than average, but since I didn’t observe any actual issues with any caps I tried on them, I see no reason to rate this any lower.)

All of that considered, I’d give the Nebula switches a flat C when it comes to overall stability.

Feel – Weighting:

So, how does that weird-looking spring feel?

The spring, as seen through the transparent housing

I’d say I get the most out of them with a medium-light typing style. They’ll tolerate slammy-whammy typing just fine, but their nuance comes out somewhere between that and twinkle-toeing your way along the keys – and you’ll get less slinky-chatter that way, too.

Now – I don’t have a force-curve-graph device – yet – but I’ll do my best to describe my subjective experience of these.

Over well before actuation happens, the first tiny bit of travel is like a light, gentle pillow. Behind that, it feels like a slow-curve linear the rest of the way down to me, perhaps with a mild ramping-up more towards the bottom. On the way back up, that mostly-slow-curve linear action gives you a nice, lively alley-oop – but instead of a follow-through that smacks the stem into a wall, it mellows to the gentle shove of an ice curling champion right at the end.

Easy does it…

Colorful hyperbole aside, the spring manages to impart something of a “bouncy” feel without an aggressive fast curve. Slightly more marshmallow-y than Marshmallows? Maybe. Look, using words to describe springs is hard ok

Is it going to blow your mind with its novel force-curve? No. Is it pleasant to use and a bit more interesting than yellows / reds / blacks? Yes. It’s also more smooth than most chromonymous switches, too. Yes, I just made that word up – but hey, that’s language for ya

When it comes to the spring feel, I think Nebulae get an A, eh? Ay!

Reliability & Caveats:

This is a section where I talk about functional reliability, and consolidate any other caveats that may have come up in any other sections into a list of suggestions for potential improvement.

Functional Reliability:

When it comes to functional reliability, there’s only a few things that can go wrong – and generally speaking, you’re looking at either occasional missed inputs or occasional unintended repeat inputs, also called “chatter”. Other potential caveats may include manufacturing inconsistencies, material durability issues, or significant fitment problems. So – how reliable are the Nebula switches?

Reasonably – but not completely.

*Every now and then* – just often enough to stop questioning if it’s a fluke – the Nebulae will chatter. That is, on rare occasions, pressing a key once will send the signal twice – and you’ll end up with an extra letter or number on-screen. This is rare enough that I don’t count it as a significant detractor – but just frequent enough that I feel ignoring it would be disingenuous.

Said another way, I’ve been using these switches every day for a few weeks, often for many hours each day. During that time, I think the most I’ve seen chatter in a single day is three instances. Some days I don’t see any at all. Most I’ll see one or two. I’d call these reasonably reliable – but if reliable function is critical, I’d look elsewhere. I’d give Nebulae the subjective score of B- when it comes to functional reliability.

Low-light photo with the switch sitting on NovelKeys’ PBT Taro

Other Caveats:

When it comes to detractors for this switch, they’re pretty much all centered around the stem and housing having fairly loose tolerance with each-other, and around the noisy spring. (To JWK’s credit: In my experience, tuning audible noise out of progressive springs is a bit more challenging than with standard ones.)

So, a list of caveats for this switch would be:

• Less than perfect functional reliability: some electrical chatter —> extra inputs
• Not all that stable
• Sound isn’t clean
• Might be a little loose depending on your caps

Suggestions for improvement:

Were I to be in charge of a round two for these switches here’s what I would set out to change:

• Inspect closely the operation of the contacts and see if anything can be done about the occasional electrical chatter
• Adjust the new stem mold to produce an ever-so-slightly larger stem
• If at all practical, include a process in the factory lubrication that involves the spring; both ends dipped in grease or the whole thing soaked in oil – either should take the edge off of these talkative springs

When it comes to overall caveats, how do these measure up? I’d give Nebulae a solid B when it comes to necessary compromise.

Value:

Here’s where it all comes together. We know what the switch is about and how successful it is in reaching its stated goals – but how much does it cost, and is it worth it?

Coming in at ten cents under the target price settled-on at the end of the IC, Prevail Nebulae come in at a very reasonable ~$0.65 per switch. This puts them on the high side of average, and for a switch that performs as well as this one does right from the bag, I think it’s spot-on. At least on Prevail’s website, Nebula switches are offered in packs of 70, 90, and 110 – not the packs-of-ten they’d originally planned on, but a reasonable enough breakdown.

A nice look at the “Prevail” badge.

Cleanliness of sound and degree of wobble are the only real weaknesses here IMO, and they aren’t too bad in that regard – just not impressive like their Epsilon siblings. So, while these may not be quite the “must have” I consider those to be, I don’t have any misgivings about calling Nebula switches a solid value.

If stability or stock cleanliness is a high priority for you, I don’t think these will satisfy – but if you hold smoothness or a nuanced spring character above those, I recommend including Prevail Nebulae among your considerations. They are unfalteringly smooth, pleasantly clacky, and offer a haptic experience a bit more nuanced than the average bear (or Panda, or Alpaca…) – When it comes to overall value, I’m happy to award Prevail Nebula switches a healthy A-.

Quick subjective score recap:

Aesthetics: A
Sound: B-
Smoothness: A
Overall Stability: C
Housing Fitment: A
Cap Fitment: C
Spring Feel: A
Reliability: B-
Compromise: B
Value: A-

Overall subjective score: B+

While I wasn’t as impressed with these as I was with Epsilons, hey – those are a hard act to follow. None the less, these Nebulae have their own nuanced experience to offer, and I’d recommend them for folks who want to see what the progressive business is about. If you’re looking to treat your fingers with some soft, spacey clacks, well – you could do a whole lot worse than these – and there’s really nothing else out there right now that looks quite like them.

Alright! That’s all I have to say about Prevail’s Nebula switch for today – thanks so much for reading, and have a good one.

Introduction:

Hello my friends, today we’ll be taking a look at NovelKeys’ “Cherry Charcoal” dye-sublimated PBT keycap set. This is an un-sponsored review; I bought the set for myself and just wanted to share my thoughts.

An image of Cherry Charcoal from its sales page on NovelKeys’ website

As the name implies, this keyset is sculpted in Cherry profile. Said another way, these will be pretty much the same shape as GMK keycaps – just made of a different material and colored using a different method. If you’ve never used Cherry profile before, chances are it will still be pretty familiar to you – the shape is a lot like the standard one found on just about any and all keyboards from the 90’s and early 2000’s – just a little less tall and wide.

Kit Coverage:

Starting with one of the most objective things about the set, let’s talk coverage. Like NovelKeys’ other house PBT sets, this one only has one main kit, and it comes with 180 keycaps. This should cover most layouts, including Alice / Arisu boards thanks to an extra “B” key. In addition to the wide coverage, the kit also comes with accent keys in three different colors in addition to the base-colored ones. These sets have unusually generous coverage by any standard, and I think it’s great everything comes in one kit.

Here are the images from NovelKeys’ sales page:

All the reverse dye-sub keys in the kit

Included dye-sub accent keys

Packaging:

Well above-average in quality in the world of keysets. I’ll put it this way – you’d have to spend more than twice as much to expect better packaging with your caps.

The box, peeking out from behind some switch jars and a pack of Gaterons.

We’ve got a black cardboard box with a printed paperboard sleeve featuring themed branding for the set. Inside the box are four layers of plastic trays, each sandwiched between layers of black filter foam. I’d call it a decent balance between space-saving and protection, leaning more towards protection. Presentation is also nice. I mean, hey – overall this is better packaging in almost every conceivable way than you’ll get from either of the two top-shelf manufacturers GMK & Signature Plastics.

Material Quality:

Sets sold as “PBT” come in a variety of blends, composites, and qualities. Many pure sets feel extra dry, almost bony – while some blended sets feel more or less like ABS down to their tendency to shine after a while. For me, these hit the sweet spot: between the feel of desert-dry bone and amorphous plastic is the feel of time-worn stone, and that’s the feel the surface of these caps has. More dry feeling than ABS, but not so dry as bleached bone. Texture is on the fine side of normal for PBT; the grain is fairly small and it’s not rough. Enough to feel but not enough to get caught on.

Charcoal on a black KBD67 Lite

The caps have an ample thickness; an average of 1.4mm according to my calipers. Like many other aspects of these sets, I’d call the amount of material on-offer here well balanced. Plenty to give the impression of quality, but not so much that anything else is sacrificed for it (like straightness or compatibility, for example).

Like pretty much any pure PBT set, these are shine-free and should stay that way for a very long time. I’m talking about those glossy spots that form over time from wear and finger oils; the caps do have a base level of shininess like most plastics, as you can see above.

I type a lot, to the point where I gloss-up a GMK space bar within the first day. After nearly a month of use, this NK_ set doesn’t have any more shine than it did in the box. I’ve been using another of NK’s PBT sets, Taro, as my daily driver and switch testing set for about three times as long, and it still looks brand new. These sets do a fantastic job of bridging the gap between aesthetic quality and workhorse durability.

Molding Quality:

When it comes to PBT, I think this is the make-or-break quality point. Excelling here stands-out, and failing here places a set in one of the lowest rungs: warped and useless. PBT is notoriously difficult to mold accurately and reliably when compared with something like ABS, and countless manufacturers have failed in valiant attempts at making straight space bars from the material. In days past, manufacturers just considered the feat impractical enough so as not to be worth trying – this is why so many vintage keyboards have pristine keys but a yellow space bar – PBT doesn’t yellow, but ABS does. Thanks to consistent demand from the custom community, modern manufacturers have kept trying, and at least a few have nearly mastered it – at very least to the point of being competitive with the average ABS bar. So where do these sets stack up?

The underside; here you can see the sprue mark, stem, support ribs, and penetration of the black dye into the already-dyed-grey plastic.

An extra-close look at the tooling marks.

Well – I’m happy to report that the molding quality on NovelKeys’ latest PBT sets is excellent. Sprue marks are on the bottom-inside rather than any of the outer surfaces – always a plus. Cap walls are nice and flat where they should be. The space bar is flat! Stems are straight and do a good job gripping switch stems – at least most of them. Depending on the brand of stabilizers you are using, the space bar may not grip the stems well enough to stay seated; for example, they lose grip on the C3 Equalz V2 stabs on my Portico – much like Infinikey (IFK) sets, but they seat onto Owlstabs just fine. If you have stabs with small-ish stems, fear not! There is a safe solution:

This stuff! Photo from ThockPop, who sells it in a convenient size.

PTFE (Teflon) thread tape – the stuff that probably came with your last shower head. Alongside OKLB’s compatibility washers, I consider this stuff absolutely essential to keep on-hand for any keyboard enthusiast. I also consider it to be the only material safe to use for shimming keycap stems – even plastic wrap can break them, but PTFE tape just mushes out of the way when it has to. Between two and four layers pressed onto the stem is enough to make the space bar work exactly as intended on the C3 Equalz V2 stabs.

Printing Quality:

Another hallmark of PBT keycap set quality is printing clarity and alignment. Dye-sublimation will never be as crisp, clean, and consistently accurate as double-shot molding, but the closer it gets, the better. Cheap or poorly-executed dye-sub legends tend to be blurry, muted, crooked, and off-center – and sets like that are a dime a dozen.

This set relies on a technique called “reverse” dye-sub, where the legend color is actually the main color of the plastic, and the background color of the cap is actually the sublimated dye. Any dye-sub set with legends a lighter color than the background must be done this way because dye-sublimation can only darken a material, never lighten it. For the most part, this just meant that nobody even bothered trying to make dye-sub sets with lighter legends than backgrounds – but eventually the custom community pushed this innovation into viability.

A close look at one of the keys to show the legend clarity

The last time NovelKeys tried doing a house PBT set, they chose a manufacturer that uses a double-shot injection technique – unfortunately for them, this manufacturer cut some corners and sacrificed fully-functional stems for super-crisp legends. It takes carefully-developed tooling to reliably produce a double-shot PBT set, and this company made a fatal compromise that resulted in multiple stems being unable to hold the caps on straight. NovelKeys quietly sold out of those and never spoke of them again, and I don’t blame them.

So – how did these turn out?

Great!

While not the very most crisp I’ve ever seen in the medium, the edge clarity of the printing on these keys is quite good. Above average, at least – especially for reverse dye-sub. Alignment is very good – no registration issues of any kind have stood out to me as I’ve been using the set for the past few weeks.

Color:

The main color is a nice, rich black – both in the common use of the phrase and the printing-industry specific one. That is, the black dye has color in it, giving it a deeper appearance and in this case giving it a “cool” (as in color temperature) quality. Depending on the lighting conditions, this keyset either looks a neutral jet black or a slate blue-black.

Our example key shown in different lighting conditions to illustrate how this can change perceived color.

For most of the keys in this set, the base color of the PBT plastic is a cool, “battleship” middle-grey, and the sublimated dye is a cool slate-black. There are also three sets of accent keys; one set with the same color plastic but normally dyed instead of reverse – that is, black legends on the grey background. Another accent set is ivory-white with black legends, and the last set is a very warm light ash-grey that’s between the ivory and battleship in terms of shade, but markedly warmer than any other greys in the set.

Seen here, the four colors available in the set. The darkest is reverse dye-sub, the rest have the legends sublimated.

Caveats:

This is a section where I’d normally consolidate all the nit-picks I’ve had throughout a review and assemble them into a succinct package of suggestions for the retailer and/or manufacturer – but in this case I really only have the one: the space bar stems don’t grip some brands of stabilizer stems very well. This is pretty common with PBT sets in general, and something I’ve seen consistently with brands like IFK (which has also made me wonder if they’re the manufacturer for this set), and thankfully it’s pretty minor here and completely addressable with just a smidge of non-adhesive PTFE tape.

Value:

Here’s where it all comes together. By now you’ll probably know how good the set is and if you want it – time to figure out if its worth the price. How much are these, anyway?

$95 in-stock.

Considering the coverage, quality, and performance of this set, I think that’s a spot-on retail price.

With cheap PBT sets, you’re always getting into a gamble: Is the printing good? Is the space bar warped? Are the stems straight? Does the set support my non-standard layout? With these, you know what you’re getting: full-coverage, clear printing, good color, and controlled quality.

I really can’t think of a keycap line I’d sooner recommend for daily driver sets: these have all the durability I’d want from a work-horse but also much of the aesthetic flair I’d look for in a luxury or premium set. I think right now, NovelKeys’ PBT sets are as close as one could possibly get to having truly the best of both worlds. All that in mind, I consider $95 to be a solidly fair price – and at that price, I consider NovelKeys’ PBT Cherry profile sets like this one to be an excellent value.

Who is This For ep. 2 • CIY GAS67 • First Impressions Review

Introduction:

Hello and welcome to the second entry in my WiTF review series, where I focus on the question, “Who is This For?”

I include reviews in this series if I feel there’s something about the product that places it firmly in one demographic category or another – or if there’s something about the product that defies being categorized demographically. Cases where one market may see a decision as strange while another may appreciate the choice.

We have one such product on our hands today, and I intend to explore where it fits into the greater keeb-verse as well as relate my first impressions of real-world use. This is not a sponsored review; I was just curious and bought a GAS67 for the purpose of writing one. Let’s get right into it!

Promotional image for the GAS67 from banggood

Today we’ll be taking a look at the CIY GAS67; a budget bare-bones kit featuring a gasket mounting system.

That’s right, folks – gasket mounting has officially landed in the budget sector. Have the benefits of this innovation truly trickled down to modestly-priced keyboards? Is the middle market dead? Are customs redundant!? Hyperbolic attention-hooks aside, let’s find out.

RGB go brrrrr

TL;DR bullet-points:

· Very hard to beat for the price
· Only complaint is no metal inserts for the case screws
· Otherwise a fantastic kit

Other points of interest:

· This keeb has a daughter board for the USBC; killer inclusion at this price
· The build is solder-free and tools are included
· Plate is CNC cut from a sheet
· There are no standoffs in this build
· The dampening works, and there’s even some deck flex
· The bottom “badge” is actually a solid aluminum wedge …neat

The bottom “badge”

I wouldn’t call it a “weight” per-se, but it is a solid wedge of aluminum.

Context:

Without a doubt, the most special thing about this kit is the fact that it features gasket mounting at such a low price. Plenty of you are likely already familiar with what that means, but if not, here’s a brief primer:

“Gasket mounting” is an umbrella term referring to a variety of construction styles that share a specific feature; namely that the functional part of the keyboard is in some way isolated from the case by some kind of dampening material – the “gasket”. From there, you’ll find a large variety of executions with this concept – but what they all have in common is an elimination of hot-spots that would otherwise be caused by a traditional standoff mounting system. Most of them also soften high-frequency vibrations, and some of them also introduce flex and/or bounce into the typing experience.

Sometimes this comes in the form of a big rubber band that wraps around the assembly. Sometimes it’s adhesive pads in the case or on the plate. Sometimes it’s rubber or silicone inserts. In any case, these various permutations of “gasket mounting” all act to improve the consistency, sound, and feel of a given keyboard.

When first introduced, gasket mounting was exclusively found in the realm of high-end, bespoke custom keyboards. We’re talking engineers designing their own luxury products for themselves at a professional level and getting like-minded folks to buy-in on a production run – but these also acted as proofs-of-concept for other boards to follow:

The whole landscape of expectation shifted with the release of the KBD67 Lite – at the time, this was the first “gasket mount” keyboard available for the masses – though even at that it’s still mostly sold through group-buy pre-orders. This kit generally goes for around $110 bare-bones, and when it released that was the least expensive gasket option by a very wide margin. It simultaneously elevated and expanded the middle-market.

An over-exposed shot of my KBD67L at work

Fast-forward a few years and the 67L has plenty of peers, but nothing that undercuts it significantly in terms of making gasket mounting more accessible or budget friendly. That is, not until now.

Another promo image from banggood, showing the structure of the keyboard – complete with gaskets.

The Kit:

The box and everything in it.

This is a 67-key layout with a fairly traditional configuration as far as those go.

With switches and a pretty standard set of caps, the fully-assembled board weighs 608g / 1.34 lbs.

In the box, the first thing you’ll see are the blister packs containing the stabilizer parts. They’re pretty decent ones, too.

Opening the box

Below that you’ll see the rest of the parts; case, plate, PCB, hardware, pads, switch & cap puller, and of course the cable. There is software available for the PCB [ here ]; covered in more detail below.

The Cable:

The cable is pretty typical of what you’d get in one of those middle-market kits, and honestly it’s a bit nicer than at least a few of them. Considering this kit is between $40 and $60 cheaper than those, I’d say that’s a notable inclusion.

A fully-assembled GAS67 with its included stock cable. It plugs into a center-mounted USBC daughter board.

It’s got a braided sleeve and is on the firm side. It has a nice, even coil and gold-colored connectors. As pack-in cables go, this really is one of the better ones, and frankly better than this kit needed to come with; I wouldn’t change a thing about it.

The PCB:

Nothing super fancy, but it’s no slouch. We’ve got RGB LEDs for each key as well as hot-swap sockets, which I believe are CIY’s own but patterned after Kailh or Gateron ones. There are holes to accommodate fixing pins for “5-pin” switches. The LEDs are oriented North of the contacts; more on that later. There are also holes for stabilizers – that’s right – a cheap kit with PCB-mount stabs, and they don’t even suck. They’re not perfect, though – more on that later. There’s also a physical toggle switch positioned between the arrow cluster and right CTRL key.

A look at the PCB, where you can see the toggle switch and shiny stab dampening stickers.

The most notable thing about this PCB, especially at this price point, is the fact that I/O is handled through a daughter board. Probably not that expensive to execute given how many pre-builts rely on it, but for whatever reason this feature has been notably absent on almost every budget and middle-market kit, despite being objectively better for gasket-mount boards, or any board with a somewhat mobile assembly. We’ve got it here, though – and that’s a very welcome feature.

The Stabs:

As far as I can tell, these are CIY’s own screw-in PCB-mount stabilizers. They’re shaped pretty similarly to KBDfans’ polycarb ones, but I believe these are POM. They also don’t have metal inserts, more like GMK screw-ins. They’re made without the dampening legs that most prefer to clip-off anyway.

A close look at the stabs installed in a complete build. They almost match the FLCMMK Ice Mint stems – almost.

They’re a baby-blue color with a glossy finish and generally seem well-made. I lubed them with a mix of 205g0 and 206g2, and I don’t have a complaint about them.

The Case:

Pretty simple sandwich style design; the top and bottom halves carry the gasket pads, and those hold onto tabs on the sides of the plate. The case is available in three colors; bluish-green, light-purple, and smoky grey. All three are translucent. I think the plastic quality is surprisingly high for being a budget kit – not bad at all.

Case, foam, silicone, adhesive bits, hardware, manual.

My one and only real complaint about this case is also my one and only real complaint about the entire kit: the case is held together with screws, and those wood-style screws carve their own threads into plastic holes. With no metal inserts, those threads will get chewed-up with repeated use, which is not great for a keyboard that’s otherwise supposed to be “hot-swap”. More on this later.

The case features areas to place the gaskets, as well as a slider built into the blocker that meshes with the toggle switch on the PCB. There are a pair of guide posts that the plate slots onto, one on each side.

The Gaskets:

I don’t know if these would technically qualify as “gaskets” or not in the traditional engineering sense, but in terms of our use-case here, that’s the function served by these little pads.

Gaskets on the clear sheet. Stab stickers on the white shiny one. Case screws in the red bag, stab screws in the blue one.

Nothing fancy but they do the job: simple Poron foam rectangles with adhesive on one side. Simply install them into the similarly-shaped slots in the case and you’re good to go.

Other Goodies:

Also included is a thin layer of dense foam for the PCB, and some minimal dampening stickers for the stabs. They’re shiny!

Here you can see the PCB foam, toggle switch, and shiny stab stickers.

The Plate:

This right here is the star of the show, isn’t it? Very simple when it comes to material and manufacture, but the design is refreshingly thoughtful. In general that’s something I think this kit does really well: making excellent economic use of material and design to perform otherwise high-end functions with modest materials and manufacturing methods.

Plate in the middle; top shell above, gaskets and stickers below.

What we have here is a simple sheet of plastic cut with a CNC router – just like the KBD67L had in its first run. Unlike that plate, however, this one has a smooth surface and is made of a milky polycarbonate, which makes it perfect for diffusing RGB light.

The eight winglets sticking out around the periphery are the mounting tabs; these are what interact with the gaskets and generally what supports the internals of the keyboard. The flexibility of the plate material as well as the flexibility imparted by the shape and size of these tabs play into the final product of typing quality. In this case, we have plenty of dampening, a little bounce, and even some deck flex despite the absence of any flex cuts on the PCB or plate interior:

Lastly – this build features zero standoffs – this means that the PCB is held by the switches, themselves being held by the plate. This may add a tiny bit of complication to installing or changing switches, but I actually prefer this execution to using standoffs to hold the “sandwich” together. Even though they’re not nearly as bad as support standoffs, sandwich standoffs can still create their own hot-spots, and aren’t strictly necessary. I think electing to skip them here was a good call; both for the lower cost and for the quality of end-user experience.

A shot of the full “sandwich”, featuring the blocker toggle switch.

Assembly:

As mentioned before, this is a kit – that means it’s a collection of parts you get to assemble yourself! As far as keyboard kits go, this one is fun and easy – I’d definitely consider this one beginner friendly. One tool is required, and it comes in the box.

First thing’s first, tune and assemble your stabs. I won’t go over that here, but if you aren’t familiar with the process here’s a fantastic guide. With the stabilizers tuned and assembled, install them into the PCB using the included screws (blue bag).

These 4mm led clutch pencils are pretty helpful with stabs.

Now – here’s where the one obvious weakness of these becomes apparent: the clip side is quite loose with this PCB. Still, I do think that’s preferable to being too tight – you can add shims if you really want to, but since these are screw-in, I don’t think it’s necessary. Just be mindful the housings can twist a little bit because of the play on the clip side.

Installing the gasket pads; these are the short ones with the alignment post in the middle.

Adding the rubber to the flip-out feet.

Now add the adhesive Poron pads into their slots on the case; the smaller ones go on the short sides, with the guide posts in between them. All the other ones are the same size. The tallest two rubber pads go on the included plastic flip-out feet; just match the angle in terms of orientation and you should have an easy time. The other four black rubber pads go on the bottom case, in the similarly shaped recessed areas at the four corners. Pop the flip-out feet into their respective recesses on the case, and flip it back over.

The flip-out foot in-place.

Place the silicone dampeners on top of the PCB, and then the plate on top of that. The holes should line up with the sockets, so let that be your guide for orientation. The silicone has one big part and one small part; the small one goes on the outer side of the space bar area. Holding the “sandwich” together, begin to snap the switches into place, starting at the outer corners.

When installing switches, first make sure the pins are straight, and gently line them up with the sockets. Supporting the socket from the other side, push the switch into the socket – you’ll likely hear and feel a click from the clips grasping the plate.

Another angle of the assembled “sandwich” – complete with FLCMMK Ice Mint switches made by Kailh. You can also see here the baby-blue stabs that come with the kit.

Once all the switches are installed, place the sandwich assembly near the bottom case, and carefully connect the cable from the daughter board to the PCB. With this connected, place the sandwich atop the pads, with the guide-post on each side interacting with the associated slots in the plate.

Daughter board connection

Alignment post

Next, place the top shell, taking care that the toggle switch slots-into the slider built into the blocker. Flip the keyboard over, and install the case screws (red bag), starting with one corner and alternating opposite remaining corners. Tighten these screws gently, as they cut their own threads into bare plastic and can easily strip those threads out.

Case, screws.

That’s it! Install some keycaps, plug it in, and start enjoying your keyboard.

Fully-built CIY GAS67 with pudding caps

Features & Performance:

Alright – now we can get into what this keyboard can do and what it’s like to use.

As mentioned before, this is a 67-key layout in a fairly standard configuration by default. The biggest variable with these tends to be the right column, and in this case it starts from the top with Tilde, Delete, Page Up, and Page Down. These can be re-defined through the available software, which you can download [ here ].

There is a toggle-switch situated in the blocker to the left of the arrow cluster, and this switch changes the Windows / Command key into a second FN (function layer) key. This acts as a “gamer mode” since striking the key accidentally while in this mode won’t call-up the start menu and tab-out of your game – though it does still have a function in combination with other keys, which is pretty neat.

A right-side view that shows the toggle-blocker.

We’ve got a USBC connection on the aforementioned daughter board, which powers some respectably-bright RGB lights. RGB lights positioned to fire straight into shine-through legends. I *know* – trust me – we’re getting there. The PCB accommodates (but of course does not require) 5-pin switches, which is always nice.

There’s the aforementioned function layer, accessible through the FN key(s). This layer gives the user access to all the keys otherwise not included in the layout, and also controls some on-board functions such as all the RGB options as well as toggling a full key-lock. Here’s the default keymap, including the function layer:

Image from banggood

Speaking of RGB, it’s nice and bright here. It diffuses well through the frosty / milky polycarb plate, (and the milky POM switches and pudding caps I have installed). It has a typical handful of modes and four brightness settings.

Aesthetics:

It’s nothing fancy, and I’m not particularly a fan of the stepped-bevel on the top shell, but I also have no real complaints about the look of this keyboard. It’s simple and minimal, and I think the toggle-switch placement is actually pretty clever and works well with the intention of the keyboard. ~more on that laterrr~

The three currently available colors; image from banggood

The frosty translucent case lets some light through, but the black version I have more or less looks solid at first glance. The bezel is a little chunky compared to your typical minimal design, but it’s not super thick. When looking from above, the thickness it does have is uniform on the front and sides with a little more at the back. Looking at the side, there’s a slight wedge shape to the case. Typing angle is adjustable with the flip-out feet, which have a nice snap-action.

A view from the side; note the slight wedge shape, moderately chunky bezel, and extended flip-out feet.

Functionality:

It works, no complaints. It’s a wired keyboard with RGB, and I haven’t observed any reliability issues. I’ve tested it with one set of switches so far, and haven’t gotten into the software yet – this first impressions review will get an update that includes more information on the software among other aspects of living with the keyboard.

The RGB is pretty darn bright. Seen here glowing its way through a bunch of milky plastic.

Sound:

This is going to depend heavily on the switches and caps installed and I’ve so far only tried one set each with this board, but I can tell you that the plate material, mounting style, and dampening elements do their job when it comes to consistency across the rows and mitigating harsh vibrations.

The all-POM switches and half-POM caps I’m using are on the high-pitched side themselves so it’s hard for me to comment so far on how the chassis affects that; the caps aren’t new to me but the switches are. All that considered I’d say it’s a fairly typical timbre that’s also consistent and relatively free of harshness.

Another look at the all-POM switches I’m using today; Kailh FLCMMK Ice Mints. Smooth, stable, and clacky.

I think they really do match the plate quite well.

Feel:

If the mounting style & plate are the selling points of this keyboard, this is where it really has to perform beyond the aforementioned consistency and cleanliness in sound. This is the make or break performance point for this build – so does it bring home the bacon or swing and miss?

Well, I think it’s pretty good!

After a week or so of being positively spoiled by the Portico68 Black Label, a keyboard that costs around 5x what this one does if we’re comparing the barebones kits, I’m impressed with how well this budget keeb stacks up when it comes to feel. (I don’t think it can compete as much with sound, but at this price point it’s impressive how much it does.)

Specifically: the mounting has been executed successfully.

The polycarb plate does its job, and so does the gasket mounting. Impacts are dampened, and have a slight bouncy reverb to them. As mentioned before there’s a bit of deck flex; maybe not a ton but hey, more than any version of the KBD67 or Portico! The gaskets aren’t the fanciest or most nuanced – but they do work, and that’s pretty awesome.

Value:

That’s right, folks – it’s legit.

You can get a gasket-mounted keyboard for less than a hundo all-in. Price ranges from a little over $50 to around $70 with some people trying to hawk them for just under $100 on ebay. At $70 this is the least expensive competently-executed gasket keeb kit I know of (at time of writing, of course), and represents a major shift foward in the budget landscape. At $50 it’s a straight game-changer, no less than the KBD67L before it.

I’ve haven’t had a ton of time with it yet, but I don’t have any trouble telling my fine readers that I think this kit is a great value in general. If you’re still considering whether or not the kit is right for your use-case, the next section is here to help you off the fence into the greener pastures of yay or nay.

Who is This For?

As much as sharing this keeb with folks in general, this question is the biggest reason I wanted to write this review sooner rather than later.

Yep, it’s finally time to talk about the North-facing sockets, and come-around to why this keyboard is included in the WiTF series.

Who is this keyboard for? I think that’s a genuinely important question to ask when assessing its value for an individual buyer. While I think it’s an objectively good deal, generally speaking, it still might not be a good choice depending on what one is looking for; so let’s hone-in on that.

Two things I think make this a gaming-focused keyboard:

1. RGB (and specifically shine-through performance) is prioritized over custom keycap compatibility; this is dialed for pudding and other shine-thru caps, not GMK, and that’s a concious choice with its target market in-mind

2. The dedicated switch sitting in the blocker has one job: turn the Windows key into a second FN key. Like a win-key lock, but with a little more utility. The only user-group in particular I know of that prioritizes disabling the OS key would be keyboard-and-mouse gamers, and this feature is given priority for them.

If you’re looking to dip your toes into the custom keyboard market, this might be one of the cheapest and best for buck options out there right now no matter how you slice it – but I think who this is really for is the gamer who wants to enjoy some of the benefits offered by custom keyboards without sacrificing great RGB.

It’s bright! Here you can see it peeking through the case as well.

I think one reviewer I happen to be a fan of said this keyboard’s “fatal flaw” is that it has North-facing switch sockets (meaning this keyboard won’t play nice with popular expensive keycap brand GMK, whose caps are patterned from Cherry’s original standard). I don’t really think that’s a flaw for this keyboard, as much as I’d personally appreciate GMK compatibility.

As a fairly budget-oriented gaming keyboard, I think North-facing sockets is exactly what it should have.

No – I think this keyboard’s actual “fatal flaw” is that the case has plastic screw-holes and self-threading screws. In one swoop that pretty much kicks this keeb out of what I’d consider the “hot-swap” category and firmly into what I call the “solder-free” category.

The real “fatal flaw” – self-tapping screws and soft plastic holes to thread them in.

That is, this keeb is not suitable for frequent switch swapping – but – you also don’t need a soldering iron to assemble it.

You can change the switches a few times without major consequence – but much more than that and the threads will start to give out. Adding metal inserts here would literally be the only thing I’d change about this board. CIY if you ever see this – revise the case to include those and make that case available as its own product as well, for those of us who already own the GAS67 but want to turn it into a switch testing platform without chewing up the case!

Another side view; here you can appreciate the subtle transparency of the black case.

I think this fact does represent a knock against the keyboard for a potential enthusiast, but for someone who is buying this thing for its function as a solder-free gasket gaming keyboard, I don’t think it’s too much of a problem – especially considering the price. You build it, you use it. Maybe one day you decide you want different switches – no problem, don’t even need a soldering iron and the board comes with the tools to switch them.

If you’re really interested in trying lots of switches, though, this might not be the very best choice owing to those plastic case threads. The sockets will last a lot longer if you support them from below while installing switches – and you can’t do that without opening the case – which you can’t do without putting significant wear on those threads. You can still use this keeb as a switch testing platform, but you’ll either need to really trust yourself with lining up pins or be at peace with the fact that those threads will not go the distance. If you’re planning on testing lots of switches, maybe consider a Portico instead – you’ll get a lot more durability for that particular use-case for your extra money.

The RGB color really is no slouch on this keeb.

So, all that being said, I think the CIY GAS67 is a fantastic option for a gamer that wants a better, more consistent experience than the typical gaming keyboard provides – and at very least a decent and inexpensive option for those wanting to dip their toes into the pool of custom keyboards (or at least some of the features they’re famous for) without committing to a big expenditure up-front. For keyboard customers on a tight (specifically $100 or less) budget that really want to squeeze the most typing quality out of the least money, well, they could do a lot worse than this keyboard – and I think they’d find a challenge in doing better.

Alright! That’s all I have to say about the CIY GAS67 for today. This has been Deadeye Dave – thanks very much for reading, and whatever you’re typing on today, remember to enjoy it!

Introduction:

A few days ago, I visited thekey.company and and saw something neat on their front page – a new, metal Portico. The Portico68 Black Label, apparently – an updated design featuring an aluminum case.

Hey awesome! …it’s still got 67 keys, right? (It does.)

Now I don’t know about you, but the idea of a premium Portico is one I’m very happy to hear about. The KBD67L might still be my favorite “entry” board, but I actually put a lot more mileage on my Portico for a few specific reasons, and as such that keyboard has become my true stand-by daily driver.

That being the case, I was pleased indeed to find out about the metal one being a thing. I followed the link expecting an interest-check, group-buy page, or perhaps pre-order form.

Nope! This thing is in-stock and ready to go.

I bought one for myself because I wanted one, and am writing this to share my first impressions as a customer – this one isn’t sponsored.

A shot from TKC’s website of the four colors available.

Now. Before I go any farther I want to address the innocuous if quirky pink elephant in the room: the name. No, I have no real idea why a 67-key layout with a white label on the bottom is called the “Portico68 Black Label”.

My first guess is intentional dissonance to drive discussion. (If so, success here lol) My second guess is “67 +1”. My third guess is they associate “68” being in the name of many 65% keyboards while somehow missing it refers to the 68-key version of the layout. Naaahhh…

As for “Black Label”, I suppose that’s simply meant to be “fancy” – to communicate a premium, even exclusive identity for the product. There are lots of mildly-curious, head-scratching names in keeb-space, and this is just one more of them. Well. It is a 65%, and it is pretty fancy. Moving on.

Context:

As far as I can tell, this keeb was released with very little fanfare.

It’s at the top of TKC’s homepage as a featured product at the moment, but no special banners, no influencers talking about it all over the place (yet), no ICs on geekhack – just, “oh hey by the way we massively upgraded our really great entry keeb, and oh yeah it’s in stock” – definitely not how I would have expected this keyboard to come on the scene.

Here’s mine. Yes, I got the pink one. Yes, I love it.

I’m wondering if this means they don’t think of it as much of a big deal or big product – or perhaps they intend for the product to speak for and sell itself. I do have to say, the product page is almost NovelKeys-level scant in terms of detail… almost. The linked build guide and FAQ are for the plastic version. Not all the specs are correct (says it comes with felt instead of Poron, for example). BUT – what is clear on the page is this – what we have here is an aluminum take on the Portico, and to me, that’s a tantalizing prospect.

I bought one, I’m using it – now let’s see how it’s living up to my expectations so far.

Unboxing / In the box:

As noted in the sales page, this first run of P68BLs come with a generic hard-shell “gun-style” case rather than a typical keyboard bag. Apparently this was the result of some mix-up in the pipeline, but hey – good on them for finding an alternative solution that gets the job done. It is in fact a hard-shell pistol case, and it holds the keeb just fine. It’s a bit bigger and more chunky than a typical 65% case – but you won’t have to worry about protection.

This is ample but… well… I’m not taking this to work. Or school. Or anywhere I might otherwise take my keeb.

A look on the inside – yep, that’s a gun case, but hey it works. See inside the bonus FR4 plate that comes with the kit. You can even download the plate file on their website if you’d like it in some other material.

The MFR logo of the case is covered with a vinyl sticker indicating the Portico68 Black Label contained within; it looks a little slap-dash since the case logo is embossed, which you can see through the sticker. Gets the job done, though!

Included in the case is the mostly-assembled keyboard with flex-cut polycarbonate plate pre-installed along with some other accessories. There’s an additional FR4 plate, an optional foam/plastic composite layer for the PCB, and a set of C3 Equalz V3 stabs – complete with an accompanying kit of adhesive pads and gaskets for all sorts of modding options.

Another side-by-side comparing the two Porticos. On the left you can see the translucent polycarb case. On the right you can see the flex-cut plate, and the foam layer beneath it.

While it’s normal for a kit of this kind not to come with caps and switches, a cable of any kind is notably absent. I suppose that’s normal enough for keebs getting into the higher end of things, but it stands-out just a little in context of the plastic version including one.

Material Impressions:

On first glance, what we have here is indeed an aluminum take on the classic Portico. It has the same shape and format with a few small but notable changes:

• USBC daughter board: this puts the port lower-down and improves the durability and serviceability of the keeb
• Gasket placement: aside from being a bit thicker, the gaskets stay with the case instead of the plate this time around
• Feet: generic bump-ons replaced with wider silicone bars that perform better
• Materials: aluminum case aside, the kit now also comes with a polycarbonate flex-cut plate

Portico siblings. Classic version seen above with PBT Taro from NovelKeys, and the Black Label version with GMK Noire.

The quality of the case looks excellent. The finish is smooth and consistent, and I don’t see any imperfections on it. Only the tapped screw holes on the inside have a little silver showing around them. Just like with the plastic version, the seams face down towards the desk and the halves are joined with standard Philips-head screws.

I know a lot of custom enjoyers out there tend to prefer hex or torx head screws for their metal keebs, but in the case of a hot-swap board like this one, I actually appreciate how quick and easy this one is to get apart. That fact is half of why the original Portico has been and continues to be my test-bed for new switches. Aside from that, it’s stock FR4 plate sits in a happy medium in terms of grip – the NK65EE R1’s plate is too tight – so is the CIY TES68’s. The KBD67L’s stock plate is nice, but is honestly a bit loose for regular switch testing.

The Portico’s is just right. On that note – I do recommend using the FR4 plate if you’re going to be swapping switches regularly – it’s just a bit faster and easier to get the clips engaged compared to the flex-cut (and thusly flexible) poly one.

I put TTC Heart (aka Honey, Love) switches in mine; just seemed thematically appropriate with the case color, but I also really like them as switches.

Between the two versions I’d still say the classic Portico is a little more convenient for regular swapping; no wires connecting the top and bottom, and the brass thread inserts are more smooth to screw in and out of than the tapped holes in the aluminum case. This just means the plastic version is a little faster to dis-assemble and re-assemble, and that it can be done with a little less care – but this aluminum version remains an excellent switch testing platform that’s very easy to break-down and re-assemble.

A closer look at the TTC Heart / Honey / Love switches I installed in today’s keeb. These are fairly light, slow-curve linears with some very unique qualities.

Performance:

Now I’ve only had a few days with this so far, and that’s why this is a First Impressions article rather than a full review – but I do indeed have some of those impressions to share with you today.

While the original Portico feels almost surprisingly light until you put the silicone weight in it, the 68BL is no dainty keeb. The frame is nice and minimal, but the build has enough heft to keep it firmly planted where it’s placed on the desk – it has a solid stance that inspires typing confidence.

So far I’ve only tried the polycarbonate plate with flex-cuts, and I have to say I like it quite a bit. Because of the design there’s not a lot of “flex” per-se – no real trampoline action going on here – however the dampening does its job of absorbing high-frequency vibrations and eliminating hot-spots, while also taking the edge off of any hard bottom-outs. So far I’m finding the typing experience on this keyboard to be very pleasant.

A close look at the finish, and a view of the USBC port.

A note about the RGB: the previous Portico was unfortunately plagued with instability when it came to the RGB behavior, but I’m happy to report having seen no such issues so far with the 68BL. This doesn’t tend to be a big deal for custom keyboard buyers, but it’s nice to know the option is there and fully functional.

The last thing I’ll mention for performance today is sound. While the typing feel is better than I thought it would be, it’s almost eclipsed by how much better the sound is than I was expecting. By that I mean I fully anticipated this keyboard to be firm, harsh, and ping-y… I was impressed to find that it’s none of those things.

Have a listen:

I’m currently using the included foam sheet, which is actually a composite of foam glued to plastic. At first I thought the plastic was backing meant to be taken off, but the glue is pretty strong so it seems the plastic is meant to stay with it. I decided to give it a shot that way. I’m not sure how much of a role it’s playing yet, but the sound I’m getting from this keyboard is delightfully clean and poppy, sounding like a build that might easily cost twice as much. Not bad!

I’m happy with just about every aspect of this keyboard so far, but I think the sound is what impresses me the most. In terms of my own collection over the years, this is the first all-aluminum enclosed keyboard I’ve ever used that isn’t harsh or ping-y – and that counts for a lot in my book. Switching to a heavy metal keeb pretty much always meant sacrificing sound, feel, or both – but not with this one, and that’s awesome.

I think this keyboard is very pretty. I didn’t plan to use Noire with a pink keyboard, but I think it’s quite suitable.

A quick note about software; this keeb is sold as VIA-compatible, but I haven’t yet tested that feature. I can confirm it works on the previous iteration, but since the layout is already how I like it I haven’t had a reason to fiddle with it just yet.

Quick comparisons with peer products:

I see this keyboard’s most direct competitor as the KBD67 v3, and it’s a direct evolution from the classic Portico, so those are the two boards on which I’ll focus comparing with the 68BL.

I’m really quite a fan of both of these.

Compared with the classic Portico it’s obviously more heavy and planted on the desk, and unsurprisingly it feels more solid as a result. Since someone asked: the classic Portico pictured above weighs-in at 709g, while the Black Label next to it weighs 1209g. That makes the Black Label about half a kilogram – or just over a pound heavier.

It should also come as no surprise that the Black Label comes across as more premium with its material and finish. Functionally, I suppose the biggest difference is the addition of the daughter board – this means the cable is sitting lower to the desk, and that any potential servicing of the port will be easier.

Here you can see the rear side profiles, and the differing locations of the USB ports.

Compared with its ostensible rival the KBD67 v3, I think there’s a bigger gulf between these two than between their respective plastic versions. While the 67L and Portico are pretty comparable in terms of quality, features, and price with reasons to choose one or the other coming down to small feature differences, these two metal keebs aren’t quite so similar. With the KBD67 v3, moving over to metal sacrifices the sound the 67L is known for – and it also significantly firms-up the feel. The v3 isn’t a bad keeb by any means – but it does give up just about everything that makes it special for that weight and material.

In my mind, the main reason for getting a metal version of a keeb instead of a plastic one is to have that premium feel and presence on the desk – something about which I think the 67 v3 shoots itself in the foot. All of these keebs are some variation on a sandwich; top and bottom halves holding the rest together.

The 67s have a visible seam in the middle – itself not really a problem or anything – but on the aluminum version especially it comes off looking like an after-thought. It’s not beveled or chamfered like other edges, and the faces don’t meet up exactly – nor do the faces often reflect the same color at the same time, making the separate nature of the halves all the more evident. It’s the only kinda derpy looking thing on an otherwise very well-resolved design – kind of a non-issue for me on the plastic one – but on the metal version, I think it stands out just a bit too much, undermining that “premium” quality feel it’s going for.

KBD67 v3 – also known as the metal case upgrade for the KBD67 Lite. It looks good – but not great. So close – but that seam…

The Portico68 BL, on the other hand, has its seems thoughtfully hidden at the bottom of the keeb – just like its plastic version. More impressive than that, however, is that moving from the plastic to the metal Portico does not mean sacrificing good sound. Obviously it won’t be the same, but the P68BL has a nuance and cleanliness to the sound and feel that the 67 v3 just doesn’t. Going from a 67L to a 67 v3 feels like a lateral movement that involves compromise. Going from a Portico to a Portico68 BL just seems like an objective upgrade to me.

A closer look at the main PCB and lower gaskets. I think these traces look pretty cool.

Early Conclusions:

I’m still in my first week with this keyboard, but it’s quickly and comfortably becoming one of my very favorites, if not my absolute favorite. If it had bluetooth I think it actually would be perfect – but I don’t take off any points for that being absent. It really does check all my boxes: it’s beautiful, it’s reliable, it has excellent haptics, it sounds great, and it’s well-built.

I really like this keeb. I also really need a bigger dust filter for my house.

As of yet, I don’t have a single complaint. I like most of the keyboards I buy, but I’m especially pleased with this purchase.

That very well could change over the next few weeks so take it with a grain of salt – but my experience with the oddly-named Portico68 Black Label so far has been exclusively and remarkably positive. Right now I really can’t find a single reason not to recommend it to anyone looking for a premium (if not high-end custom) 65% keyboard.

As of writing the kit is currently available for sale, and you can find it here.