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For quite a while I was looking to replace my modded womier k66 as a daily driver keyboard.
All and all I like muted, yet firm feeling of acrylic/polycarbonate chassis, so I went ahead and ordered V1. My previous attempt at replacing daily driver was GMMK pro with lubed and filmed gateron mochi, but I was very underwhelmed by both quality, gasket performance and also some ergonomic decisions, so I stayed with k66.
My preference are heavier linear switches, and I wanted to try Gateron CJ’s for a while. Short switches impression: yes, they are as smooth out of the box as people tell. They are smoother and have less wobble than gateron blacks, tiny bit lighter, but it is hard to notice. Similar to inks as well. Overall I am extremely happy with CJ’s.
Back to keychron V1
Points that I couldn’t find or didn’t research about V1 before getting it(CAPS part is just so people can find it while googling):
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KEYCHRON V1 IMPRESSIONS : This keyboard really does not need any mods to feel and sound good out of the box. It sounds muted because it is packed with foam/silicone and if you want a bit more hollow sound to board – you could remove silicone dampener.
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KEYCHRON V1 STABILIZERS : Stabilizers are lubed and tuned very well out of the box. This was first time in my life when I really did not have to do ANYTHING with stabilizers. They are screw in, they really are pretty good. No rattle, just clean stabs.
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Bottom out is not as firm as I anticipated.
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KEYCHRON V1 LATENCY : As primarily FPS player(Apex, Quake etc.) I did not notice anything worth mentioning regarding latency. It performs within a margin, which is about what to expect from mechanical board. It is not a concern.
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KEYCHRON V1 USB CABLE : Stock USB cable that came in the box did not work for me. Keyboard just wouldn’t be detected as keyboard by PC. Tried on several systems.
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KEYCHRON V1 KNOB : Knob has very pronounced steps and feels very sturdy, just as keyboard itself. Has stiffer operation than one on glorious products.
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KEYCHRON V1 VIA doesn’t detect : As of now – VIA does not detect keyboard straight away, so you need to do the drag-drop .json thing to remap it. Should be fixed ones github updates go through
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KEYCHRON V1 BUILD QUALITY : Build quality is great. I really have nothing bad to say about it. No squeaks. Feels extremely solid for a plastic board.
I am extremely happy with purchase and definitely would recommend it to anyone who does not want to blow whole lot of money on keyboard and at the same time doesn’t want to deal with all the issues that come with purchasing epomaker/skyloong/womier/glorious or any other 70-120$ keyboard. Yes it does not have gasket mount, but in my eyes good quality tray mount is way better than crappy gasket mount(like gmmk pro for example).
There seem to not be enough information about it around still, so feel free to ask questions about it. I will try to answer everything within a day or so.
Hey just want to say really great review! I am new to the keyboard scene and have my keychron v1 on the way and arriving at the end of this month. So I really appreciate all kinds of opinions and inputs about this board. One question I have is have you tried out the o ring mod? I saw keybored* and a couple other applying this mod to the v1 and if you have also tried it or any other mod for the v1, I would love to hear your takes on them.
I am thinking of buying this keyboard, barebone. I want to be able to customize it myself. Can you advise me which switches are best for a good-sounding thock?
Specifications:
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Keychron V1 Barebones (Carbon Black)
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Gateron Milky Yellow Pro, lubed and filmed
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Durock V2 Screw-In's, lubed and holee modded
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Cherry profile WOB keycaps
Mods:
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Tape mod
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O-rings (like Keybored did with his V1)
Cant recommend this keyboard enough, especially for the price!
Dude, what a clean build. I got a V1 when it was first stocked on divinikey, but sadly they didn't have the carbon black version. Still looks really dark though. This is such a simple aesthetic, but you nailed it!
it looks so professional, I love it.
If I squint my eyes and use my imagination, I can see adventurous modders add a Thinkpad-style pointstick (in the middle of the G, B, and H keys) and two/three little mouse buttons bellow the spacebar. =)
Maybe im missing something here but for only a $20 USD you can order a board without keycaps and switches.
Is that the only difference? How is this a better option? Even if I was planning on changing out the keycaps and switches. Where would I ever be able to find a good full set of key caps and switches for $20?
I might as well just fork out that extra 20 just so i have some extra pieces.
Like i get the marketing behind it. But it seems to me such an obvious waste of a choice like why bother even offering it?
I have no idea what I’m doing, but I read a New York Times article about this being a great keyboard. Became interested because my friend has a K3. I have no idea what the differences are between the K’s, the V’s, and the Q’s. I’ll be using this purely for typing. Any opinions and help are greatly appreciated!