Source
r/MechanicalKeyboards•
sixmill

[Help] Help me choose a TKL board, please

help

Hey, everyone! Thank you for taking the time to read this post and help a guy out with a purchasing decision.

I'm currently using a daskeyboard 4C Professional in my work environment, and I'm not content with the amount of space being left over on my desk for mousing. I'd really like to move to a slightly smaller form-factor. I have tried a 60% board, but not having dedicated arrow keys is a deal breaker for me. What I really need is another TKL with a smaller form factor and less extraneous bezel.

My requirements:

A narrow bezel

Would love to have a dark brown case, but standard black would work fine

MX blues or greens - no preference between Cherry/Gateron/etc.

USB cable routing options

No fixed USB cable connection

Barebones kits that save me money would be welcome as I already have my "end game" keycaps

Options I have been considering:

Leopold FC750R

WASD V2 87-Key Barebones

Ducky One TKL

Please let me know of any considerations I may have forgotten, and please suggest some other less well-known options that meet my requirements.

Posted Sep 23, 2016, 3:11 PM UTC

220
bjornvil•

KUL ES-87?

4
sixmillOP•

Oh nice. I like this option! Thanks!

1
bjornvil•

Awesome! I love mine with MX Browns.

1
PlataBearDuck Octagon V2 | Wooden Phantom | 62g B.Face | Ducky/Duck Shill•

sigh since you don't want backlighting, get the Leopold. I'm gonna go kill myself for saying that because I know exactly what is going to be said in response to my typing this.

2
sixmillOP•

Were you expecting something about you being a bad Ducky shill? :D

1
PlataBearDuck Octagon V2 | Wooden Phantom | 62g B.Face | Ducky/Duck Shill•

No, more just the Leopold shill being the Leopold shill. I am a perfectly fine Ducky shill.

2
alose•

If you are already replacing the caps, then the WASD Barebones is an excellent choice. My Code is a fantastic keyboard. You can get a Ducky One TKL for a little less, but I think the WASD is better quality. Any of your choices are good. The only others to consider are KUL ES87 and Varmilo.

Be careful with the FC660 as that has a small left Shift. If you want that size, then I would recommend the Varmilo VA68 instead.

2
alose•

Oh, also the only Brown case options I am aware of are the after market Filco cases. But Filco does not have the USB cable options you want.

2
TeeBaginDragon78g | Carbon Fiber 60% | CODE 87•

I have 2 TKLs, one for work and one for gaming at home. For work I have the CODE 87 and its been my daily driver for close to a year now. I love the build quality and how minimal it is. My biggest gripe with it is the plate that the switches are mounted on scratches SO easily.

My other TKL is a cmstorm quickfire rapid which is even more minimal than the CODE as it has no LEDs. Again the build quality was solid and I had no issues with it while using it in the office (decided to bring it home as MX reds weren't a fun typing experience for me).

In either case I don't think you could go wrong, but if I had to choose I'd say get the CODE as I feel it was better suited for the office (no logos and it seemed to be slightly higher quality than teh cmstorm)

2
RobotMalcolmX•

Leopold FC660M as well.

1
PlataBearDuck Octagon V2 | Wooden Phantom | 62g B.Face | Ducky/Duck Shill•

He wants a TKL, which means he probably doesn't want the FC660.

2
RobotMalcolmX•

Looks pretty TKL to me.

1
Danilo_dk180g Planck•

Technically that is a TKL, as it does not have the numpad. But most people refer to TKL as keyboards that still have the function row, and a normal nav cluster.

3
PlataBearDuck Octagon V2 | Wooden Phantom | 62g B.Face | Ducky/Duck Shill•

It's a 66%, not a 75%.

2
alose•

Well, anything 80% and smaller is Ten KeyLess. Usually we mean 80% when referring to TKL.

1
duynguyenleQFR|Leeku 1800|Dolch Pac•

That's not a TKL

2
sixmillOP•

Good suggestion. Thanks!

1
Featherflight09SSK l VR68M l FC750R l Pok3r•

FC750R has a narrower bezel than KUL, just an FYO

1
sixmillOP•

Thank you for the recommendation. This is the board I ended up ordering.

2
Featherflight09SSK l VR68M l FC750R l Pok3r•

You won't regret it!

2