I used this thing extensively, for more than 10 months, including a period of time in Iceland. The other keycaps are a combination of ABS Tai Hao keycaps, and a custom set I made from WASD Keyboards.

These keycaps tend to be a little bit expensive, and they are a little bit of a rabbit hole. In this case, I replaced the Esc key with a “artisan keycap” from Hotkey Project. The layer buttons are well thought out, and in general are laid-out so that you never need to move your hands off the home row in order to access any function. You might think that that’s less efficient and inconvenient, but you’d be surprised how in reality, its the opposite. For example, on most 60% keyboards, in order to reach the F1~12 keys, you hit a combination of Fn + 1~12 keys. That’s where multiple buttons need to be pressed simultaneously in order to access a function layer that allows you to input a particular command. The thing is, on a compact keyboard like this, these extra keys are in an even more accessible location.Ĭompact keyboards work on the principle of “ chording”. “Where are the arrows keys?” and “what about the function keys” were common questions. I remember taking it to work, and my colleagues saying that they’d find it impossible to type on it since “so many of the keys were missing”. An aluminium case, PBT keycaps, 3 fully “programmable” layers, steel back plate, and just about any switch type you could possibly want. The Pok3r come with everything the average enthusiast would want on a keyboard. Since the Pok3r, every keyboard I’ve gotten has been a compact one. This would also be my first foray into 60%, and would start a whole love affair with the world of compact keyboards. This trip coincided with the launch of the Pok3r, so I decided to get one, with Cherry MX browns. Wall to wall mechanical keyboards and RGB. I visited the local keyboard shop, Xtreme Solutions. So I did the smart thing and use a bit of my pay to get a new keyboard. The pay was pretty good, and the keyboards in office were terrible. This decision coincided with when I started my internship. I decided that my next keyboard would be with Cherry MX Browns. During this time, I learnt that I wasn’t a fan of switches that were too heavy, and I didn’t like the clicks, though I did enjoyl linears. The clicks and clacks did make me feel incredibly productive though. Unfortunately, being a student, money was an issue, so “tahan-ed”, as they would say in Singapore, the annoying clicks. I think it was the high pitch of it that really made it extremely annoying after a while. The honeymoon lasted for a while, but eventually, I started to get a little sick of the clicks. The way it felt was truly something special. It was a huge improvement over keyboards I’d been using previously. The clicks were incredibly satisfying to type with, and the tactile bump made a big difference on the typing experience. Yeah not the most coherent colour composition, but I liked it. TL DR- looking at 60% boards, like the Code because I already have the full size one and love it, but the HHKB is looking really appealing, in spite of the high price tag.That first keyboard, with custom keycaps. So, bottom line here, what does everyone else think? If you were gonna buy a 60% right now, where would you go and why? What's better about your choice? Obviously very subjective, but hey, that's to be expected. So, naturally, a 60% version seemed great when I heard about it, but I'm now realizing it's basically just a Pok3r with some logos removed- which isn't necessarily bad but it's got me thinking. I already own a full size version of the Code and I love it, use it all the time. The only 60% boards I'm really aware of are Mini Ducky models (which I don't know much at all about), the HHKB (really expensive and Topre switches are my notes on that), the Pok3r (most popular as far as I can tell) and the just released 60% CODE. That being said, I'm not really sure what to think and I'm looking to start some discussion and get some opinions about the 60% market at the moment. Just saw the release of the WASD 60% CODE Keyboard aka Pok3r rebrand and, as someone who has been casually looking into purchasing a 60% board for awhile now, they've certainly caught my eye.

Pok3r with hhkb layout