Mechanical Keyboards

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Keyboards for travel (self.mechanicalkeyboards)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by fuzzy_goldfish to c/[email protected]

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Hi all, I'm looking for a keyboard for travel that will be quiet enough not to bother folks on a train. Ideally I'd like a mechanical keyboard, but I'm curious what experiences folks have with low-profile switches in a quiet environment. My current daily driver (silent switches, a fair bit of foam and lube, etcetc) is what I would consider office-quiet, but you can definitely hear when I get going and I feel like it'd be a little rude on a leisure train trip.

Right now I'm looking at the nuphy and keychron low-profile keyboards, but I'm open to other options. Currently for travel I use a foldable membrane keyboard so just about anything would be an upgrade.

Does anyone have experience with low-profile keyboards? Are there silent options? Thanks in advance for your help!

Edit: realize I should have specified that I prefer 65 and 60-key layouts for portability.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (4 children)

I use a Planck keyboard which weighs just under 300g with Kailh box switches and XDA keycaps. It's labeled as a 40% keyboard so I was reluctant at first, coming from 65% myself. But since the keys are smaller, especially the space bar, it still has a relatively high number of total keys given the small form factor (there's even space for arrow keys!) and having your layer switch keys right next to the space bar for your thumbs is very comfy IMO. I ended up liking it so much that I use it daily and now I'm wondering what to do with my main keeb. If you're up to trying something new, you can have a look at some layouts. The keyboard looks inconveniently small but once you see the layer layouts, you'll see it makes a lot of sense actually!

[–] fuzzy_goldfish 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I have an ortholinear kit I built but it's caseless so it's not suuuper portable. Which Planck do you recommend? I'd be willing to give a 40% a try even if it's not for this trip. I'm okay with soldering if it's a kit and/or there's decent instructions.

[–] Lrobie 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm a big fan of my OLKB kit. Hotswap, very solid case, and QMK compatible (which is a big deal for 40% boards), but the kit is a little expensive.

I don't have one personally but the YMDK kit on AliExpress seems like a good option and is cheaper. Just know that it will take a month or two to ship from China if you're in the US.

[–] fuzzy_goldfish 1 points 1 year ago

Looks nice! I'm working on a Lily58 but once I'm done burning my fingers on that I'll definitely be looking into this.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I went the easy route and got a Planck EZ because of the plastic case design where the upper part of the case is the plate. It's super lightweight which was my no. 1 priority. I got mine used but if you plan to buy new, it'll be discontinued soon, just a heads-up. I've seen some Planck-style kits on Aliexpress, some with aluminium, some with plastic cases, but haven't tried them myself.

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