MechLands MCHOSE K99 96% Wireless Gaming Keyboard, Gasket

 

Ok, so it’s a lot of money for a keyboard. But I use one for most of the day. For work, playing games, or email, domestic bookkeeping etc. (Or, indeed, writing Amazon reviews!) And I think it was worth the investment so far.

It is definitely the best keyboard I’ve ever used. The build quality/styling is amazing. Such a solid feel to it.

I did try the full-sized version with the numeric pad, but the extra ‘function’ keys on the left hand side annoyed me like crazy and made touch-typing almost impossible. Especially if you also regularly have to use a ‘normal’ keyboard for work. The small version is much nicer imo. It’s actually handy to have something a little more compact on a crowded desktop. So far I’ve missed not having a numeric pad about three times. All while using spreadsheets. I suppose I could clutter my desktop up again with an external numeric pad; but I really doubt I’d use it more than a few times a year anyway.

Other features are also pretty useful at times, and show some thought has actually gone into it.
+ The key action is really satisfying.
+ Switching between wireless and Bluetooth basically means I can use it simultaneously with computer and laptop.
+ The game mode button stops you irritatingly pressing stuff you don’t want to (and this isn’t just for games).
+ The media buttons are actually pretty useful. Something I’ve never bothered with on other keyboards. Using the volume control is just somehow really satisfying; it’s a far better to use that it looks in the pictures.
+ Two levels of adjustable height for the back.
+ There’s all sorts of clever stuff it can be set up to do with function keys and multiple configurations and macros and so on. I haven’t even looked into all that; I just want something to type on in the normal way. But I guess to someone wanting such things they can be really handy.

Is it perfect? Unfortunately not. There is still definitely room for improvement.
– No doubting it; it’s noisy. Look; if you’ve spent all that money on the thing – surely you’ll want everyone else nearby to know about it, right? 😉
– Only the letters / primary functions of keys are illuminated. This means in a room which isn’t really well lit all the shifted characters (which are darkish grey on black) are practically invisible. Let’s just hope ’tilde’ is where I expect it to be…
– Micro USB charge socket. Really? In 2021?
– I did have some problems with the connection until I moved all my USB stuff around. Now it works flawlessly, but only after spending some money and considerable time getting the right USB devices in the right places.
– I wish it had simple support for more than 1 Bluetooth connection. Yup; too many PCs and laptops in use in here.

~ They keys do actually feel rather loose if you wiggle them. This is the first mechanical keyboard I’ve owned, so it may be the same for all of them. For ‘normal typing’ this isn’t a problem, though.
~ I also had a problem with the battery only charging to 80% after a few months. But on contacting support and going through the usual check list of irrelevant-sounding ‘fixes’ it turned out that it really WAS the source of USB power I was charging it from. An eat-humble-pie moment for me. But at least it was resolved quickly.

Overall I’d definitely recommend it so someone who, like me, spends a lot of time using a computer keyboard to earn their living, for entertainment, and/or keep in touch with people.