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WhiteAndBlueDude
63
Feb 25, 2015
I was a part of the Massdrop and just got the Kailh Brown keyboard in today. I was looking for a keyboard to use at work since the ones provided to me feels like pressing chicklets into massed potatoes. The model I used for comparison was my home keyboard (Rosewill Apollo RK-9100x Series with Cherry MX Browns).
Construction - the Lolita is very solidly built. It was a nice weight (about 3 lbs) and no amount of twisting or bending yielded any bowing from the keyboard. It feels like it was built to last.
Underneath - There's a pair of rubber-bottomed legs under the keyboard to raise up the whole product (although it only raises the keyboard up maybe half an inch). I usually prefer my keyboards to raise up a little more that this one but it's strictly a personal preference. The USB cable is a standard, non-braided plastic cable that is nothing too special, but the keyboard features three different place for the cable to slip under and come out from (one on the right, center, and left) which is a nice feature.
Wrist Rest - There is none! :( This would have a great addition to the product but for $50, they really went for a stripped down approach to this keyboard, just the bare necessities.
Keycaps - The Lolita features ABS keycaps with top-printed, pad-printed legends. Overall, they feel quite nice. I compared the feel of them to almost a vinyl like texture compared to the smoother, more plastic-y feeling Rosewill Apollo keycaps. Again, strictly an aesthetic and personal preference, but I really like how the keys felt underneath my fingertips while resting on the keyboard.
Typing - Aside from my discomfort from having no wrist rest, the Lolita types very well for a budget keyboard. It uses Kailh Brown switches, which in this keyboard felt like I was typing on something that was a cross between Cherry MX Brown and Clears. I felt I need a little bit more force than Browns to press the keys down, but not so much that it was a hindrance on my typing speed. Since the construction is an 80%, tenkeyless layout, you hands might feel a little cramped at first if you've been typing on a full size keyboard, but my hands adjusted to it fairly quickly. The push back on the keys feels different than a Cherry MX Brown as well. One of my favorite things about my Apollo is how fast the keys 'bounceback' so to speak and allow me to speed through my keys with maximum efficiency. Something about the Lolita just feels a little muddy in the key feedback. It's not terrible by any stretch of the imagination, but it they feels rather 'stiff' while typing, almost like they need to be broken in like a baseball glove. Another negative about this keyboard is the construction of the Spacebar and Shift keys. When you press down oin them, they sound much more rickety than all the other keys, like an old school Buckling Spring keyboard. They create a lot more noise then all the other keys on the board and just feel very cheaply made. None of these were major flaws though and compared to typing on my old work keyboard, the typing experience is still much improved.
Overall, for $50, it was a nice upgrade from my old work keyboard and while it didn't blow me away in the typing experience, it's solid construction and decent key feel made an acceptable purchase for me.
Note: It is Massdrop so prepare to wait longer than usual for your keyboard. I ordered mine during the first drop in late December and just now got it in late February.
Hope that helps!
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