Designed in collaboration with UK-based digital artist Elora Owakita, The KapCo’s limited-edition “Night in the Neko City” keyboard accessory set transforms your desk into a vibrant, feline-friendly cityscape with nighttime neon vibes. ⌨️

I’ve always been a sucker for cartoony evening/nighttime art + color schemes, and while this set is a bit more cutesy than what I would normally post about on T&T, I just love how this stuff looks and couldn’t help but share it.

The set includes 121 MX-compatible ASA profile keycaps, an XXL anti-slip deskmat, and a spongy wrist rest, all adorned with Owakita’s distinctive art style that blends whimsical urban nightscapes with adorable cat motifs, granting your deskspace a whole lot more personality.

What’s more, the fact that they’re translucent on four sides allows RGB lighting to shine through, creating a mesmerizing effect that brings the city to life right under your fingertips.

Whether you’re coding late into the night or writing your next novel, the NiTNC set invites you to do it with style, comfort, and a touch of feline charm.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

The full NiTNC keyboard bundle — which includes the keycaps themselves and a purple Zuoya LMK67 keyboard with pre-installed Gateron G Pro Yellow 2.0 switches — is $175 at The KapCo, or you can buy the accessories individually to kit out an MX-style keyboard of your own choosing:

• Keycap set ($80)
• Deskmat ($50)
• Wristrest ($30)

If I may also suggest, this pastel purple coiled keyboard cable that I recently wrote about would make a fine addition to the set.

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Computer users everywhere love to drool over their dream mechanical keyboard, but let’s not forget that pairing a keyboard with the right accessories is just as fun and makes your workspace all the more enjoyable. These coiled “Macaron” keyboard cables are a perfect example of what I mean.

Available in a handful of pastel colorways, these vibrant cables derive their name from those colorful sandwich cookies often displayed in bakery windows, lending your desk a refreshingly airy — dare I say whimsical — flair, all while keeping things neat and tidy.

Despite the cables’ delicate-seeming coloration and relatively low price point, the manufacturers didn’t skimp on build quality or convenience. Each cable features a TPU outer coating surrounded by a durable PP fiber braid, meaning it offers rubber-like flexibility while protecting against tangling, stretching, and fracturing.

The cables also boast a two-piece design, with coiled and straight sections merged by a 4-pin aviation connector that allows for quick disconnects and cable swaps. Out of the box, the coiled side ends in USB-C and the straight side ends in USB-A.

Each cable is $20 a pop on Amazon and comes in your choice of green, purple, pink, yellow, or blue. (The only one missing from the photos above is the red version, which you can buy directly from the EPOMAKER site.)

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If you adored 8BitDo’s line of retro mechanical keyboards I wrote about last August — which has since expanded to include Commodore– and IBM-inspired models in addition to the NES and Famicom ones — then you’re gonna love their upcoming series of matching numpads.

Dubbed the Retro 18 Numpad, each of these gizmos acts as both a numpad and a standalone calculator (with 9-digit 7-segment LED display), with connectivity to Windows 10+ and Android 9.0+ devices via your choice of USB cable, Bluetooth 5.0, or using the included 2.4GHz wireless adapter that magnetically tucks into a hidden compartment underneath.

These mechanical numpads make use of the same satisfyingly clicky Kailh BOX V2 White Switches and hot-swappable PCB as their keyboard counterparts, and along the top row you’ll find controls for wireless connectivity, the built-in calculator mode, and a shortcut button for the Windows calculator app.

Each numpad is powered by a 1,000mAh Li-on battery, with up to 160 use-hours and a recharge time of 4 hours.

The numpads are set to ship on July 15th, 2024 and can be pre-ordered for $45 on Amazon in one of four variants:

1. “N” edition (modeled after the NES console) — Dye-sub PBT keycaps
2. “Fami” edition (modeled after the Famicom console) — Dye-sub PBT keycaps
3. “M” edition (modeled after the IBM Model M keyboard) — Dye-sub PBT keycaps
4. “C64” edition (modeled after the Commodore 64 computer) — Double-shot ABS keycaps

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To preface this post, I want to point out that the product I’m about to mention is currently a prototype, not an actual existing product — at least not yet. If you’re cool with that, then read on.

Designed in collaboration between keyboard startup Work Louder and 3D artist/motion designer Ben Fryc — who’s been documenting mockups on his Instagram page — the k•no•b•1 (aka “Knob” or “KNOB1”) is an interestingly designed mechanical keyboard going into production very soon and should be shipping later this year.

Here’s how Fryc describes it in his own words (bold emphasis mine):

But what is the k•no•b•1? At it’s core it’s a low-profile mechanical keyboard with uniquely designed keycaps that are designed look amazing and feel great to type on. Another novel feature is a small screen on the right hand side between the right arrow key and two rotary encoder knobs above. It’s only 100×310 pixels so pixel art should look great on it. We plan to support custom wallpapers, a timer, and computer control features when we ship. Down the road, we want people to be able to create their own features. Stay tuned on that front.

Before you ask, because I know you’re wondering: No, that small screen he mentions isn’t touch-sensitive. However, it does promise to be a UX playground of sorts where you’ll be able to create your own widgets and such, and in full color:

The bottom knob is what you’ll use to interact with the display, and the top one will be programmable to prefer whatever function you deem suitable. As for the keycaps, they’re mounted on custom-tuned MX Gateron low-profile hotswap switches.

All of this is encased by an anodized aluminum top and bottom shell (silver- and gunmetal-colored, respectively) for max durability and aesthetic appeal:

Gotta love those orange accents 🧡

The keyboard will support up to three saved Bluetooth connections and will also come with a braided USB-C cable (also orange) for wired usage.

The team’s current shipping target for the k•no•b•1 is Q3 2024, and while they still have yet to test any production models as I write this on April 23rd, you can bet I’m excited for the project and will be keeping an eye on it in the meantime.

If you feel confident in what the keyboard will bring to the table (or desk, as the case may be), then you can pre-order it now for $439 USD from the official website or from the Work Louder page. In a Product Hunt comment, Fryc states that the purchase price will increase to $479 USD once models are actually in stock.

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We’ve written about quite a few Satechi products over the years, but to my knowledge we’ve never written about any of their keyboards. Today that changes thanks to the launch of their first ever mechanical keyboard.

Dubbed the SM1, this Mac- and Windows-compatible wireless mechanical aluminum keyboard sports a compact layout (75%) for a more efficient typing and gaming experience without sacrificing essential keys.

It also makes use of low-profile brown switches (with removable keycaps) that provide wonderful tactile feedback without the loud sounds of clicky switches, so you can use it at the office without your coworkers hating you.

The switches themselves aren’t hot-swappable though, so keep in mind that you won’t be able to customize it to that level like some mechanical keyboards.

The SM1 can connect via Bluetooth 5.0 with up to four devices at once, and it offers a pleasant white backlight with 14 different lighting patterns you can switch between by pressing the lightbulb button near the upper right corner. (Note: The CAPS Lock backlight in particular will switch to turquoise when enabled.)

If you use the SM1 without the backlight on, it can last about two months on a charge. Keeping the backlight on constantly will shorten that to a mere 16.5 hours, so I would personally use it sparingly. The battery’s power indicator is located on the spacebar, so it’s easy to see when it’s starting to run down and needs a recharge.

You can get the Satechi SM1 mechanical wireless keyboard for $100 on Amazon. As I write this on March 1st, 2024 however, the Amazon page is showing me a 15%-off coupon checkbox, so look for that when you go to buy.

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Somewhere within the Geek Venn Diagram™ there is a particular spot where the circles of “mechanical keyboards” and “retro gaming” overlap. And every person who lives in that segment will undoubtedly be shouting “TAKE MY MONEY!” when they see the upcoming Retro Mechanical Keyboard by 8BitDo.

With two designs inspired by the classic Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and Family Computer (Famicom) gaming consoles, along with its compatibility with Windows and Android devices, the 87-key Retro Mechanical Keyboard evokes the nostalgic design of 1980s electronics combined with the usability modern users expect.

For starters, you can connect the keyboard via Bluetooth, wireless 2.4G, or simply a wired connection — your choice. For wireless usage, you have a 2,000mAh lithium-ion battery to work with, which is enough juice to work for 200 hours straight before needing a recharge (which itself takes 4 hours). With the company’s own Ultimate Software application on PC, you can create complex key macros and map functions to specific buttons.

Both models feature dye-sub PBT keycaps that should be highly resistant to wear over time (even under the fingertips of the most intense gamers), along with Kailh BOX V2 White Switches that have a satisfyingly clicky feel with a smooth, fast return after each press. The PCB board is also hot-swappable so you can replace those BOX V2s with switches of your own preference if desired.

Perhaps the funnest thing about these keyboards is that they come with two “Super Buttons”, which are these huge programmable keys that look like the A and B buttons from an NES controller. Up to four sets of them can be wired to the keyboard’s “ABXY” ports, for eight keys total.

I could totally see using these as foot pedal buttons beneath your desk like some kind of hybrid between a mad digital scientist and a pipe organ player

Both the “N” edition and “Fami” edition can be pre-ordered for $100 on Amazon, with the release date slated for September 20th, 2023.

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The Vissles-V1 wireless mechanical keyboard I recently wrote about is arguably — okay, probably inarguably — a clone of the Keychron K2, which has gotten some love over at our sister site in the past couple years. I’ve seen it talked about in lots of other places too; it’s a very popular model.

Anyway, Keychron is currently running a Kickstarter for the K12 model, which has a few differences from the K2:

Otherwise, they mostly share the same functionality:

• They can both operate wirelessly or over USB-C.
• They have the same latencies in both cases (30ms and 13ms, respectively).
• They can both connect with up to three devices.
• They’re both compatible with Mac/iOS/Windows/Android.
• They have the same number of Fn/media keys.

Another commonality they share is a 4,000mAh battery, which can last up to two months (assuming eight hours of daily usage without backlighting) before needing to recharge.

As mentioned in the chart above, the K12 offers both backlit and non-backlit versions, as well as versions of both those types that are either hot-swappable or not.

Head to the Kickstarter page and check out the various backer levels for all the available keyboard options. As of April 1st, 2021 they’re already getting close to doubling their $80k funding goal and still have 21 days to go.

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Released only weeks ago, the Vissles-V1 is an 84-key mechanical keyboard that can be used either wirelessly via Bluetooth or over a USB-C connection, meaning it can be paired with just about any computer, smartphone, or tablet out there. In fact, you can pair it with up to five different devices, which you can easily switch between simply by hitting Fn + Q/W/E/R/T.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah0V2IKMvcM

For wireless users, the V1 contains a 3,750mAh lithium battery that delivers up to 19 hours of runtime with the brightest RGB backlighting on, or up to 180 hours with the lights off. As for the lights themselves, they offer 9 monochrome lighting modes and 19 dynamic effects you can switch between at will.

Beneath the doubleshot ABS keycaps, you get a choice between Red, Blue, or Brown Outemu switches, which are a budget-friendly alternative to Cherry MX or Gateron that helps bring the V1’s price to below $100.

Whether you want it for writing or gaming purposes, you can get this nicely made keyboard for $90 on Amazon.

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The GMMK gaming keyboard — short for “Glorious Modular Mechanical Keyboard” — is perfect for anyone new to mechanical keyboards and wanting to get their feet wet a little.

The premium and sturdy build quality somehow feels more expensive than it is, and you can endlessly customize it by swapping out and even mixing-and-matching the keycaps and switches (of the 3-pin, plate-mounted variety) to your heart’s content:

Trying out different switches, replacing old ones, and matching several types of mechanical keyboard switches used to be difficult and required extreme technical skill. The Glorious Modular Mechanical Keyboard (GMMK) is the world’s first mechanical keyboard featuring hot-swappable switches for Cherry, Gateron, and Kailh branded switches.

Ever wonder what Gateron Blues felt like? Or what is the craze behind the Cherry MX clears? Want to use Gateron Reds for your WASD, but Gateron Blacks for all your other keys? With the GMMK, you no longer have to purchase an entirely new keyboard, or disassemble and solder your switches – you can simply pop out the switch just like a keycap, and mix/match to test out and use any combination of switches you desire.

(It comes loaded with Gateron Brown switches out of the box, in case you’re wondering.)

On top of the hot-swappable keys, you can customize things even further with the GMMK’s 16.8-million color RGB LED backlighting, for which you can adjust the brightness and enable mesmerizing effects.

There are three sizes of the GMMK to choose from:

• Compact (61-key) — $120
• Tenkeyless (87-key) — $120
• Full Size (104-key) — $110 (don’t ask me why this one’s cheaper, I have no idea)

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If ergonomics are an important health consideration in your life, and you have an affinity for mechanical keyboards (with all the tinkering that entails), and you don’t mind changing up your entire way of typing, then boy do I have the product for you.

The ErgoDox EZ is a fully split mechanical keyboard that can be customized wholly to your personal needs. It’s kind of like having a vehicle already set up with the mirrors angled, the steering wheel tilted, and the driver seat adjusted juuuust right, every time you get in.

For instance, the two halves of the keyboard can be positioned 100% independently, not just in terms of where they are on your desk but also how they’re angled — that is, with the addition of the six custom aluminum legs in the keyboard’s Tilt/Tent kit.

Moreover, you can change your own keyswitches, no soldering iron required! The EZ even comes with a double-sided key puller tool to make the process painless. Any plate-mounted Cherry-compatible keyswitches will work, although the company does offer a large variety of switches for you to choose from when you buy.

Watch this guy’s 5-minute review to get an idea of how much customization is possible:

Now, one thing to know up front is that the EZ boasts a unique ortholinear layout, which is a fancy way of saying the keys are arranged in straight columns rather than staggered left and right. Here’s their reasoning for that:

When you extend your finger, it doesn’t go sideways, does it? So why are the keys on your keyboard not directly on top of each other? The answer is archaic design, which we fixed. The ErgoDox EZ has linear columns of keys, reducing finger travel and fatigue.

This is the one part of the EZ that most people struggle with at first, after years and years of typing muscle memory. You’ll have to decide for yourself how much of a dealbreaker that is.

The ErgoDox EZ comes in black or white, and the most straightforward way to buy it is with the original bundle ($324), which includes the Tilt/Tent and the separate split wrist rest. However, I found it helpful to go through their “Help Me Choose” feature, especially as it pertains to keyswitch selection and glow/backlight options.

Once your keyboard arrives, read their thorough getting started guide to get the most out of it.

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Looking for an even more compact mechanical keyboard than the Qisan Magicforce 68 I wrote about last week? There’s a current Kickstarter project called KUMO which is an extremely portable mechanical keyboard that you can customize and program to your heart’s content.

Watch the video:

Some features of the KUMO:

• Fully programmable
• Mechanical switches (MX mount)
• Hot swap compatible (no soldering necessary)
• Multiple layout options
• Portable size, universal compatibility
• Customizable RGB indicator LED lighting

As of this writing (July 31st, 2018) the Kickstarter has 17 days to go and they’ve reached nearly $63K in funding out of their $85K goal. If you back the project for $150 and it ends up succeeding, you can have a Kumo of your own by the beginning of 2019.

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Qisan’s Magicforce 68 is a compact (65% layout) backlit mechanical keyboard of surprisingly high quality for its price point of $60.

It has Gateron Brown switches that are quite similar to Cherry MX Brown ones, a fact you will only understand if you’re a mechanical keyboard nerd. For the rest of you, it means that keystrokes feel clicky without being obnoxiously loud (though still loud enough that office mates may comment about it, depending on their tolerance for such things). It also makes the keyboard just as great for gaming as it does for typing.

The upper plate of the keyboard is aluminum, while the keys and bottom case are plastic. That aluminum plate makes all the difference in build quality, adding heft and rigidity without making the whole thing super heavy. They keys themselves have a slight texture to them that may take some getting used to if you normally use smooth keyboards, but once you’ve become accustomed to it, you’ll probably rather love the way they feel.

There are only a few quibbles:

• The font on the keys is a little dorky, in a try-hard sci-fi kind of way.
• The keys aren’t programmable at the board level. The only workaround (without replacing the PCB entirely) is to use key-mapping software.
• Some people don’t like the non-removable “Magicforce” logo printed above the arrow keys. Doesn’t bother me personally.

The Qisan Magicforce is $60 on Amazon and comes in your choice of white silver or black. If you really need a number pad, a matching standalone one is available.

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The Matias Laptop Pro is a compact Bluetooth mechanical keyboard whose design was inspired by the long-discontinued Apple Extended Keyboard II, though its clicky-clacky sounds are a bit quieter in comparison. It certainly feels like a classic keyboard to type on, with its traditionally curved keytops, thick profile, and longer key travel than the flat, low-profile keyboards that abound these days.

The Laptop Pro sports a full-featured layout that offers access to full-sized arrow keys, Mac-friendly functions (screen brightness, volume, music playback, etc), special characters (regular keys + Shift/Option), and even buttons for Page Up, Page Down, and Forward Delete. Given the Laptop Pro’s compact stature, this does admittedly lead to a somewhat bunched-together layout, but it still works surprisingly well.

My one quibble with the layout is where they put the Fn key: to the upper-right of the arrow keys, rather than the lower-left keyboard corner. As someone who constantly uses Fn+arrows to move my cursor around and select passages of text to work with, it’s a bit maddening.

Anywho, three other nice feaures of the Laptop Pro are:

1. Long battery life: After a full charge of merely five hours, the 1,600-mAh battery can last anywhere from 6 months to a year.
2. Laser-etched keys: The key characters are all burned in with a laser, so they’ll never wear off. Noice!
3. USB charging ports: There are three ports: one on the back (for charging the keyboard) and one on each side for charging up to two other devices while you’re charging the keyboard.

The Laptop Pro is billed mainly as a Mac keyboard, but it also pairs well with an iPad propped up in something like the Viozon stand.

Get the Matias Laptop Pro for $179 on Amazon.

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After a quite successful Kickstarter campaign, the Das Keyboard’s 5Q mechanical keyboard is up for pre-order on their own site.

What makes the 5Q special is that it’s more than just a mechanical input device; it’s a cloud-connected keyboard with RGB backlit keys that you can configure to keep you peripherally up-to-date on the things you care about. To better see what I mean, watch their intro video:

Cool, right? But how would you actually put this to use? Well, that same Kickstarter page gives some real-world examples:

• Real-Time Stock Ticker: Assign F1 for Google stock and F2 for Facebook and they’ll glow red and green depending on where the market goes.
• Software Build Status for Developers: Configure one or more keys to glow red if it’s a #fail, or green if all is good.
• Monitor CPU Activity: Configure CPU activity to be displayed as a bar graph on the top number row.
• Project Management: Keep an eye on a project’s progress by having a function key (i.e. F1, F2, etc) light up orange for every task left to be completed.
• Email Management: Configure the number row to turn red when there are more than 3 emails from your boss waiting in your inbox.
• Webmaster Dashboard: Keep an eye on the quality and speed of a website by streaming information from any data source that is accessible from IFTTT, Zapier, or has a public API.

As of their most recent update, they are hoping to begin shipping to Kickstarter backers around October 2017, with pre-order shipments to follow (hopefully by the end of the year).

In other words, you can pre-order a Das Keyboard 5Q for $229 now, but it will be a while before you receive it, with no guarantees on a timeframe. Fair warning.

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Gamers are particular about their hardware.

The industry around that particularity has a clear set of design preferences: gaudy lights, robotic-looking sharp corners, and angular panels. I play a lot of games on the PC and was using a $15 Logitech keyboard, a Roccat mouse that hadn’t received driver updates for several years, and a $5 lapel mic from Amazon. It was time for an upgrade.

Razer’s array of high quality gaming peripherals puts the company at the top of the list for anyone looking to step up their game.

My priorities were ergonomics, aesthetics, and performance with the slim hope to improve a bit in competitive games simply on account of having more reliable gear. So with this in mind, I selected three peripherals (matching, of course, because aesthetics):

• The Black Widow X Tournament Edition Chroma ($105)
• The Deathadder Elite ($67)
• The Kraken Pro 7.1 v2 ($99)

Blackwidow X Tournament Edition Chroma

We’ll begin with the keyboard, the Black Widow X Tournament Edition Chroma. And to do that, we’ll need to get the name out of the way first. Black Widow refers to Razer’s mechanical keyboard line (everything is venomous with them), Chroma refers to the lighting system, and Tournament Edition means essentially that this is a tenkeyless board meant to be carried around. Personally, I can’t imagine wanting to lug this model from place to place, let alone one with the full set of keys. It’s quite heavy and thick, but the performance characteristics would likely make it a significant improvement for those into the tournament scene.

The Black Widow X Tournament Edition Chroma keyboard from Razer.

The keyboard’s mechanical keys are large and provide a great tactile feedback when typing and gaming.

As for non-gaming use, I’m no expert with mechanical keyboards. In typing this section of the review using the Black Widow, I found the switches to be pleasant in comparison to my usual MacBook. However, the switches aren’t necessarily superior. My model uses the Razer Green switches which are very loud. They also make a version called Razer Orange that dampens the sound a bit. Like all keyboards, there’s quite a lot of personal preference involved, from sound, to typing style, to ergonomics, to sheer familiarity.

This is the best keyboard I’ve ever used for writing, although it’s hard to replace a keyboard you’re entirely comfortable with.

I will say this keyboard is better for writing than any other desktop keyboard I’ve used. I still prefer the MacBook’s feel and won’t be switching my novel projects over to Windows in order to type on the Black Widow, but if I ever feel like clacking out something more than tweet length while at my desktop, Razer’s mechanical switches will be a welcome upgrade.

Razer is known for incredible lighting systems built into their keyboards. You can customize the lighting to your specific wants and needs, but I like Starlight and Ripple personally.

Aside from the obvious clicky switches, the Black Widow’s most prominent feature is the Chroma lighting system and accompanying software. I’m a minimalist generally in my design tastes, so most gaming-branded hardware is not only off-putting, it’s almost offensive to my sensibilities. Flashing lights and plastic fins or wings that resemble futuristic transformer armor do not appeal to me. Needless to say, that limits my choices. The great news is the Black Widow (along with the Deathadder) is relatively unassuming aside from the prominent Razer logos.

Now, if you’re buying hardware like this, you are most likely not of the same attitude toward the design of gaming peripherals. For you, the Black Widow has lights, colors, patterns, and customization to spare. There are a number of preset lighting patterns, all of which are rich and colorful. My novelty favorites are Starlight and Ripple. In the marketing, the board is usually lit with the Wave pattern which pulses a rainbow across the keys. For daily use, I’ve chosen the reactive mode, which lights a key when you press it and keeps it lit for a second or so. Brightness and duration are also selectable.

For the most ardent customizers, there’s the Chroma Configurator which allows any pattern or mode on any key or combination of keys. The possibilities are vast — overwhelming for most, really. But if you’re into customization, I can’t think of any lighting setting I’d like to change that can’t be changed.

Is the Black Widow going to make you the next professional in your esport of choice? Almost certainly not. But the keyboard feels good and is a solid, purpose-built piece of equipment you can count on. Plus, it gives the feedback you might need to up your game should you want to pursue something more serious.

Deathadder Elite

Unlike the keyboard, Razer’s Deathadder Elite hews much more closely to the design of any number of mice on the market. Clicks are firm and tactile without any sense of pressure or force to create an actuation. Long bouts of MOBA or RTS play left me with no sense of fatigue while each of the seven buttons press easily and with similar force.

The Razer Deathadder Elite mouse.

The left and right click buttons are contoured a bit differently than any other mouse I’ve used before. Finding a neutral resting place for your fingers can be difficult at first. All positions are comfortable ergonomically, but the two primary buttons feel as though there is no natural placement — which leads me to believe the grooves are more for visual flair than usability.

To my surprise, each button clicks with consistency. Forward and backward thumb buttons have great feedback, just like the distinct notches of the scroll wheel.

The scroll wheel moves fluidly, with just enough feedback at each notch to notify the player when it has advanced — an important quality in scenarios where the wheel is used to quickly flip through a series of weapons or abilities. The resistance created by the notches also does not introduce a sense of drag when scrolling a web browser, in other general productivity tasks, or when the feature maps to something that needs to feel more analog, such as camera or scope zoom level.

As for tracking and sensor performance, there is no stutter or lag in cursor movement, and sensitivity can be increased through sensor resolution (on the fly with the buttons below the scroll wheel) or through Razer’s Synapse software. Personally, I tend to select a resolution and sensitivity that I like and leave it there. For many, especially competitive players, multiple settings are required, sometimes situationally within the same game. Here the Deathadder provides as many combinations and customizable presets as I imagine any player wanting, no matter how dedicated.

The contouring of the left and right click buttons appears to be more for design than ergonomics — finding a neutral place to rest your hands can be difficult at first.

Along with sensor and button customization, the driver software controls the lighting on the Deathadder’s wheel and palm logo. Because there are only two lights, the options for the mouse are much more limited than for the keyboard — but this is to be expected. You can still choose any color and either pulsing or static.

For a device designed around gaming, the Deathadder is an iteration on a classic. My mousing style lies somewhere between what Razer calls finger grip and claw grip. The latter works much more effectively than the former, at least in my setup. The drag of the braided cable (which is light and flexible without seeming flimsy) is enough to make finger grip mousing feel heavy. So, as long as you’re not a dedicated finger grip mouser, the Deathadder should feel natural and smooth.

Kraken Pro 7.1 v2

Of the three devices, the Kraken Pro 7.1 v2 is the strangest. After the first couple hours with the headset, I was considering returning it. With some perseverance, EQ tweaks, and a couple games that benefit greatly from the simulated 7.1 surround, the Kraken performs admirably. If you like simple, no nonsense, plug-and-play, I only recommend the Kraken if you don’t also consider yourself sensitive to audio details. For example, if you’ve calibrated your surround sound system, or if you find yourself switching between EQ presets on other devices, the Kraken may not be the best choice. If, however, you’re generally happy with whatever your speakers or headphones do out of the box, you’ll likely be happy here as well.

The Razer Kraken Pro 7.1 headset is the odd ball of this trifecta. The headset works great, but has a few quirks.

The Kraken’s initial setting is immersive and bassy, which lends itself to things like explosions, spell effects, or when that giant boss appears. Setup is clear and well considered, though the microphone configuration process leaves a lot to be desired. There’s a walkthrough for calibrating surround sound, though I actually found the defaults to be better than the customizations I chose during calibration. Once setup is complete and you’ve had some time to dial in all the specifics, sound is rich and positioning within the surround field is distinct and representative of the game world. The Witcher 3 specifically benefitted from this feature. It’s one thing to hear wolves in the trees “off to the right” and another to be able to hear them out there behind your right shoulder, spin, and precisely locate where they’re about to leap from the brush at you.

The built-in microphone pulls out of the headset rather than flips up and down like other headsets.

Microphone sound quality is excellent. There’s very little artifacting (that digital compression sound you’re familiar with on a Bluetooth earpiece) and noise cancellation is a welcome and effective feature — once you wrestle the software into place. This was one of my major problems with the Kraken. The microphone settings are difficult to test in the Synapse software (I’d recommend adding a simple “Test” button that records a few seconds of audio and plays it back). You can use the Mic Monitoring toggle as a makeshift test, but talking and hearing yourself at the same time isn’t the same as being able to hear it after the fact.

The Kraken’s sound quality is excellent, but active noise cancellation needs some serious work.

The active noise cancellation is much too aggressive, ducking input at both the beginnings and ends of sentences. Teammates immediately complained when I enabled the feature, and after trying to make it work over the course of a couple hours, I cast that particular checkbox aside. Ambient noise reduction works much better and has an adjustable slider instead of a simple toggle.

“Presence” is a feature that tries to isolate and amplify incoming teammate communications. However, it’s not well executed, and I’ve been blasted out of the headset more than once thanks to this feature.

Another interesting feature is Presence, which tries to isolate and amplify incoming teammate communications. To my ear, it reduces the volume of the game and increases the volume of incoming mics, which is great until you aren’t playing with a mic and the game audio goes back to its normal level. I’ve been blasted out of the headset more than once thanks to this detail — an odd choice when Razer could have simply boosted the incoming mic volume. I have better luck turning off this feature and balancing audio using the built-in Windows volume mixer instead.

Of all features where the Kraken succeeds, comfort is at the top of the list. The headset can adjust to any head size.

The headset fits comfortably around my ears and only puts pressure on the side of my head.

Design-wise, as long as the enormous size doesn’t bother you, the Kraken wins almost across the board. My main desire in replacing my old headphones was the pain the ear cups created after extended play sessions: pressing the cartilage of my ears too firmly to the side of my head. The Kraken solves this completely with ear cups that wrap all the way around my ears and create a dome that touches only the side of my head and none of the ear at all. It’s fantastic.

The mic boom is flexible and slides back into the left ear cup, hiding it away rather than just rotating it up vertically as most headsets do. Another great design touch, which isn’t obvious in the marketing or packaging, is the microphone mute switch. Just pinch the plastic portion at the end to mute and activate the corresponding LED in red. The lights on the ear cups themselves can be configured similarly to the Deathadder, though of the three devices, the Kraken is the one where the lighting seems most unnecessary (with the exception of the clever mic mute LED).

There is one major design drawback that I’ve learned to ignore and work around, but one that might be too much for some particularly finicky users. The surprisingly short, braided USB cable (not standard headphone port) is attached to the left ear cup in such a way that when it rubs against something (your shoulder, for instance, or the back of the chair) it creates a distinct and clearly audible scraping sound inside the headphones. During intense battles where the soundscape is full, it’s not a problem or even noticeable. However, if you’re sneaking around in a quiet space or appreciating a peaceful scene in an adventure game, it’s distracting and immersion-breaking.

Conclusion

As a package, the three Razer products show a range of build qualities and design choices. All are solid products that feel sturdy and well considered when compared with some of the other choices on the market.

The Black Widow X Tournament Edition Chroma ($105), the Deathadder Elite ($67), and the Kraken Pro 7.1 v2 ($99) all have generally unassuming designs and surprisingly considerate prices.

Their general designs are unassuming (for gaming peripherals) and iterative upon previous similar products, giving them the advantage of polish. Features and customization abound, but the options are presented with a well-designed and frequently updated one-stop software package.

For gaming peripherals, Razer has done an admirable job in nailing a good combination of ergonomics and usability.

The Deathadder and Kraken are both very good, but leave me curious as to what other offerings might do differently. The Black Widow, on the other hand, fits my play style and design sensibilities almost perfectly. All are recommended for gamers looking to move up from the bargain bin to high-quality competitive peripherals.

You can pick up the three peripherals here:

• The Black Widow X Tournament Edition Chroma ($105)
• The Deathadder Elite ($67)
• The Kraken Pro 7.1 v2 ($99)