Climate Pledge Friendly
This keyboard is amazing.
pros great build quality of keycaps, switch, and body, compact design makes mouse + keyboard more ergonomic, feels awesome and tactile to type on, looks cool, keys do not rattle or ring, sound very satisfying, keyboard feels ergonomic
cons - you're not likely to find a custom keycap set that will work with this layout. Nonstandard esc, del, shift, and maybe a few others mean few if any keycap sets will be compatible. I THINK that signature plastics will let you add extra custom keys when you purchase their keycaps, so i believe it is possible albeit kind of expensive, but massdrop etc. keysets are typically not in this layout. That being said I seriously doubt you'll be disappointed with the quality of these keycaps unless you insist on a more contoured profile. I think the flat DSA profile feels great. I also lay the keyboard flat (don't use the included stands for the back) and it feels very ergonomic. I GUESS that the printing on the keycaps is off center for a few keys but you'd have to be extremely psycho to care. I really love the flat, thick DSA profile keycaps this comes with. That's a $50+ value in and of it's own. If you like the color/style and don't plan on swapping it out you will be very happy.
A note on layout:
I went with 75% over 60% keyboard (Like the Pok3r, KBP V60 to name a few) because I'm an Engineer that uses AutoCAD at work I need my function row and arrow keys. I use a separate numpad (Leopold FC210TP) for any extensive data entry or just whenever I feel like reaching for the numpad instead of the number row. But this keyboard still offers the advantages of a compact keyboard (portability, mouse straight in front of you, not bending wrists to left or right to type). If the keycaps were a standard size or this setup was easier to get keycaps for it would be perfect.
A note on switch type:
I had tried both the Vortex Race 3 and the Pok3r w/ the clear switches because I was obsessed with not bottoming out. However, that was based on my experience with another keyboard. Bottoming out on this keyboard actually feels great, and you get that nice click from the blue switch and clack from the bottoming out. Clears eventually just fatigued my fingers too much to be worth it and I had to moderate my typing force, so ultimately they were just too stiff. I do use it in an office setting and so far have no driven my coworkers mad as far as I know. This keyboard seems to sound better than other mx blues that I've tried, but also I think my office sort of absorbs sound well and people aren't that close to me. Also I'm not typing constantly. I haven't tried the MX browns, but if you work in an office you may want to go with that I"m sure they feel great too.
A note on programability:
This keyboard offers 3 layers of programmable keys similar to the Pok3r. However, you have to cycle through the layers, vs the Pok3r where you could skip to layer 2 or 4 etc and then switch back to normal layout. I don't use the programming feature of this keyboard because for me it has all the functionality I need, vs. the Pok3r, which I needed to program so I could jump between layers for use of arrow keys or function row. So it's not a downside for me, but if you need to program the layers for some reason and want to jump around, you'll have to cycle through the layers.
| Manufacturer | Vortexgear |
|---|---|
| Brand | Vortexgear |
| Item Weight | 1.76 pounds |
| Product Dimensions | 12 x 4.25 x 1.25 inches |
| Item model number | Race 3 - US |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Color | Silver |
| Material Type | Polybutylene Terephthalate, Aluminum |
| Size | Mx-Blue |
| Manufacturer Part Number | Race 3 |
