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It's a bit hard to test my new P2 Optical Brown keyboard without internet, locking me out of most games and preventing me from putting it through it's paces with a usual round of post-whoring here.
And not having access to the manual or software limits what I can do even more.
So basically I am currently limited to giving the most basic of initial impressions.
And that impression is favourable.
Let's perhaps get the negatives out of the way first.
Unlike the Redragon Yama this doesn't feel like getting a 3K keyboard for half that money. It definitely does feel cheaper.
It's especially apparent with LEDs where long keys like Shift are only half illuminated.
And how the wrist rest is non-removable (probably the keyboard's biggest minus).
The sillyness of also printing WASD on the arrow key cluster (although a different key-cap to the actual WASD keys).
And the only thing in the box besides the keyboard was a keypuller.
The top of the keyboard juts out towards the bottom, an interesting aesthetic choice but one that may trouble some desks.
Now on to the more favourable:
It has a volume roller (a BIG plus for me).
Whilst non-removable the wrist rest isn't sized or positioned in such a way that I mind having it on there permanently. It's just a piece of completely untextured plastic but seems comfortable enough.
I'm not sure whether it's spill-proof but it follows a spill-proof design aesthetic. Instead of the brushed metal you get on many premium boards these days the surface is instead a matte rough gray and I really like it. Very different to everything else out there and goes very well with my gray Roccat Kone Aimo mouse.
The font used on the keycaps is pretty good, not a little offputting like on the Redragon (and some Corsairs)
The keyboard feet come out with a violent clack but they are big and just about the best I've seen on a keyboard, at least among my very limited sampling of boards.
The keyboard is really solid and planted. It will not budge, it will not flex. (maybe because with the wrist-rest it has a larger than usual footprint)
And the switches, oh my freaking word, the switches, are absolutely divine. I'm not a fan of clicky switches, the only thing that should click is my mouse, not my keyboard. So I chose the brown version of the optical switches and I love them. Here the keyboard does not remotely feel cheap, it feels like pure quality, especially in combination with that planted feeling. They're smooth and fast, faster even than the animation in the few games I could test actually registers and completes. Typing on them is a dream. And they're quiet, quieter even than I'd say most membrane keyboards are. Pretty sure my WPM on this would be higher than the Yama. Optical is definitely the future, I'm done with standard mechanical aside from maybe trying a Ducky to find out what the fuss is. Only optical/opto-mechanical for me from now on.
Whether it'll last? Eh. Who knows. I doubt the LEDs will and I'm sure the caps will wear like usual but the rest of the keyboard isn't giving me any indication I'll need to part with it anytime soon.
Bottom line is I don't think you can do better than it under 1K. And even climbing to 2K it's still good enough to feature.
And how well the software works and what additional surprise function's might be found on the keyboard I unfortunately can't answer yet.
I Vote keyboard reviewer position should be awarded to you sir for your honest clean no nonsense approach