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Compact, portable, durable keyboard advice

AroundWayOtherThe
By AroundWayOtherThe
in Peripherals
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Posted

Hey guys,

 

I'm looking for a keyboard that suites the following:

 

  1. Compact - At most TKL, preferably less
  2. Incredibly durable - My bag is the most hospitable environment known to mankind
  3. Heavy, tactile keys - If only my Model M didn't weigh 8 tonnes...
  4. Preferably stealthed keycaps, although I can just change that later with a set of keycaps

I don't really know of any wireless mechanical keyboards, but if they exist then that would be a huge plus.

 

The closest thing I can think of is a CM Quickfire Stealth TKL with MX Greens. I'm really tempted to buy this, but I would like a smaller keyboard if such a thing exists. Is anyone aware of a keyboard with MX Greens, but without arrow keys or the home-key-island thingo I can't think of the name of?

 

And other recommendations?

 

Wit is educated insolence.

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Oh, I just remembered: Do you know of the IBM Model M Spacesavers? Rather rare, but if you find one, certainly nice.

 

Certainly nice, but hardly what I'd describe as portable.....I believe it's bigger than most TKL's from CM, Ducky, Filco and such. 

 

At OP, where will you be buying this KB? At an online shop? If so, please provide link, if you have a mall where IT stuff are sold, like in my neck of the woods (and most parts of Asia), then try going to such a mall and look for it. I was at a local tech mall recently to buy some custom sleeved USB cables when I happened on a Keycool 84 LED......which was pretty rare for my neck of the woods. You can easily find full-sized or TKL MKB's, but <TKL models.....nope! So, when I saw it, I grabbed it.....it was a Keycool 84 LED with Cherry Black switch and it's now my daily driver on my 2nd rig. Not expensive at a smidgen <100USD...

20130808_152609_zps94b616a5.jpg

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you just missed the poker II mass drop, but they only had red and black switches for this run.

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/kbt-pokerII/

Will work for electronic components and parts


Reviews: Meelec CC51P - Monoprice 8323 - Koss Porta Pros  - Shure SRH-440 - Shure SRH-550DJ - Shure SRH-840 - Hifiman He-500 - iBasso D4 - o2 Amplifier  -  SkeletonDac

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Oh, I just remembered: Do you know of the IBM Model M Spacesavers? Rather rare, but if you find one, certainly nice.

 

O.O OH MAN I WANT! But that thing probably weighs a shit tonne anyway :(

 

 

Certainly nice, but hardly what I'd describe as portable.....I believe it's bigger than most TKL's from CM, Ducky, Filco and such. 

 

At OP, where will you be buying this KB? At an online shop? If so, please provide link, if you have a mall where IT stuff are sold, like in my neck of the woods (and most parts of Asia), then try going to such a mall and look for it. I was at a local tech mall recently to buy some custom sleeved USB cables when I happened on a Keycool 84 LED......which was pretty rare for my neck of the woods. You can easily find full-sized or TKL MKB's, but <TKL models.....nope! So, when I saw it, I grabbed it.....it was a Keycool 84 LED with Cherry Black switch and it's now my daily driver on my 2nd rig. Not expensive at a smidgen <100USD...

 

 

Anywhere I can find it for cheap. Only place I've seen it so far is Amazon. I can't think of a place in Sydney that will sell anything with such a niche market involved... not for any reasonable price at least.

Wit is educated insolence.

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http://www.ebay.com/itm/Leopold-FC660M-Mechanical-keyboard-Cherry-MX-clear-switches-W-Black-body-/300910289761?pt=PCA_Mice_Trackballs&hash=item460fa6a361

what do you think of this?

Will work for electronic components and parts


Reviews: Meelec CC51P - Monoprice 8323 - Koss Porta Pros  - Shure SRH-440 - Shure SRH-550DJ - Shure SRH-840 - Hifiman He-500 - iBasso D4 - o2 Amplifier  -  SkeletonDac

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Oooeerr, MX Clears! Haven't even heard much of them, let alone tried them. Can anyone tell me how they would compare to blues? Or even Buckling springs? Otherwise, that is like the perfect form factor for me. 

 

As far as I can determine, they're effectively a heavier MX Brown switch? Which might be good as I'm going to be using this at uni and some people might get pissy in the library with a clicky keyboard.

Wit is educated insolence.

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The bump is more pronounced on clears than browns and I think it uses the black/green spring.

Will work for electronic components and parts


Reviews: Meelec CC51P - Monoprice 8323 - Koss Porta Pros  - Shure SRH-440 - Shure SRH-550DJ - Shure SRH-840 - Hifiman He-500 - iBasso D4 - o2 Amplifier  -  SkeletonDac

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The bump is more pronounced on clears than browns and I think it uses the black/green spring.

 

Ooh, now that sounds tempting. Thanks for bringing it up... now I got a more complicated decision to make >.>

Wit is educated insolence.

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How about the Leopold 660FC?

Extremely compact little mech :)

export PS1='\[\033[1;30m\]┌╼ \[\033[1;32m\]\u@\h\[\033[1;30m\] ╾╼ \[\033[0;34m\]\w\[\033[0;36m\]\n\[\033[1;30m\]└╼ \[\033[1;37m\]'


"All your threads are belong to /dev/null"


| 80's Terminal Keyboard Conversion | $5 Graphics Card Silence Mod Tutorial | 485KH/s R9 270X | The Smallest Ethernet Cable | Ass Pennies | My Screenfetch |

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The bump is more pronounced on clears than browns and I think it uses the black/green spring.

Yes the newer clears and the greens use the same 80g spring.

The old clears used to share the 150g springs with the super black.

About 90% this is the case, don't currently have my alpha work in progress key switch guide on me as a reference.

3k words and counting :D

*was wrong, and way off to.

Whites share the same 80g spring at the greens and the older rev had 150g same as super blacks. Lawl :3

Clears have the 65g spring and a more pronounced bump than brown. They sound great to type on :D

export PS1='\[\033[1;30m\]┌╼ \[\033[1;32m\]\u@\h\[\033[1;30m\] ╾╼ \[\033[0;34m\]\w\[\033[0;36m\]\n\[\033[1;30m\]└╼ \[\033[1;37m\]'


"All your threads are belong to /dev/null"


| 80's Terminal Keyboard Conversion | $5 Graphics Card Silence Mod Tutorial | 485KH/s R9 270X | The Smallest Ethernet Cable | Ass Pennies | My Screenfetch |

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