Keycap Manufacturer Review
It's been a little over a year since I got into the mechanical keyboard hobby. Not surprisingly I've used keycap sets from different manufacturers. Here's a brief, non-comprehensive review.
GMK
GMK manufactures ABS double-shot keycap sets in Cherry profile.
Pros:
- top-notch quality
- double-shot means legends will never fade
Cons:
- often tend to be pricier than other options
- for group buys, turnaround time is very long (often more than 6 months)
- ABS plastic will shine over the time
- from my experience the shine is noticeable with weeks of use
Verdict: My experience with GMK can be summarized in 3 stages: 1. I love GMK. GMK is the best. 2. I hate ABS shine. GMK never again. 3. I will buy GMK because of high quality.
EnjoyPBT (ePBT)
EnjoyPBT manufactures PBT dye-sub keycap sets in Cherry profile.
Pros:
- PBT plastic doesn't shine (at least far better than ABS)
- dye-sub will never fade too and offers better flexibility with legend design
- often cheaper than GMK sets
Cons:
- PBT plastic is harder to work with and space bar warp is a common problem
- quality control is subpar
- example 1: in one set some caps produce high-pitched noise if fully inserted
- example 2: in another set the cross sections of 2.25U and 2.75U space bars are too wide to fit Durock stabilier (not an issue with other options)
Verdit: I have bought 2 ePBT sets so far. I had issues with both of them. Although it's cheaprer I would definitely avoid this manufacturer in the future.
KeyCreative
KeyCreative manufactures ABS keycaps too but they are most famous for their own KAT/KAM profiles in dye-sub PBT. Here we focus on KAT.
Pros:
- in terms of height, KAT is the middle ground between Cherry and SA which offers great balance
- cheaper than GMK per key
- KAT is extra thick which offers arguably better acoustics
- superb flexibility in terms of kit options since MOQ is based on number of keys instead of number of kits
- for example, KAT Explosion offers 22 kits (in comparison, a typical GMK set offers 2-5 kits)
- dye-sub doesn't fade
Cons:
- KAT is relatively new so there's still quality concern (e.g. no reverse dyb-sub sets have been verified by buyers)
- most custom cases are designed with Cherry profile in mind so there can be compatibility issues since KAT is thick
- example: When I paired KAT Milkshake with Tofu 60 case, the keys in 4 corners scratch the case and sometimes get stuck and don't bounce back.
Verdict: I only have 1 KAT set so far and I love it. I have high hopes for it to become my default profile.
Infinikey
Infinikey manufactures PBT dye-sub keycap sets in Cherry profile. It's also a cheaper option compared to GMK. I have 1 set en route and will update this post once I have my hands on it.