Looking for UK ISO layout with Cherry MX browns

[Zilog Jones]

I'm looking for a reasonably priced basic full-size Cherry MX brown keyboard with UK/Irish ISO layout, but there doesn't seem to be much out there.

I bought a WASD V2 with browns last year and I'm very happy with it, but with shipping from the US and tax it ended up being ridiculously expensive! I'm looking for a second keyboard for work now.

I was looking at the Ducky Zero DK2108-BUKLLA which was about £70/€100 but no one seems to have them in stock any more so I guess they're out of production? There are other Duckys available in UK layout but they all have backlights which I'm not interested in.

The only other option I've found so far is the Filco Majestouch 2 (FKBN105M/UKB2) which is £120 from The Keyboard Company - that's a big step up in price! With shipping and the weak Euro it ends up being nearly as much as I paid for the WASD.

Is there anything else worth considering? There are some of Cherry's own keyboards available but from what I've heard these seem to be generally poor quality outside of the switches. We have loads of old Dell AT102W's at work but I think they're too noisy and don't like the force required in comparison.

I often use a lot of different computers as part of my job, 99% of which are ISO layout. On the occasions where I use an ANSI keyboard I always get caught out by the return key and backslash location - I'm not sure I could ever get used to constantly changing between the two layouts.

[scottc]

Woo Ireland! I'm Irish too and type on both UK-ISO and US-ANSI. If you want something a bit cheaper you should get an original Cherry board. Their quality is good, but they don't have metal backplates so they're less "solid". I don't know about specific models but maybe someone else can help you with that.

Welcome to DT.

[andrewjoy]

How about a second hand razer black widow stealth ( the original one) i bet many gamers are throwing them off now for the next best thing. ( i have not used my MX blue one for ages, but i may be ....getting rid of it in a month or so .... If you know what i mean , i just hope it fits in the box)

[Zilog Jones]

Woo Ireland! I'm Irish too and type on both UK-ISO and US-ANSI. If you want something a bit cheaper you should get an original Cherry board. Their quality is good, but they don't have metal backplates so they're less "solid". I don't know about specific models but maybe someone else can help you with that.

Welcome to DT.

Thanks

Yeah having a metal blackplate (and decent build quality in general) would be something I'd be looking for in a keyboard.

@andrewjoy: I'm not really a fan of the Razer designs - a bit too gamer-ish for me.

[andrewjoy]

the stealth is less bad as it has matte plastic

[Zilog Jones]

I asked Ducky about the status of the Zero DK2108 and it seems there is currently a shortage of Cherry MX Brown switches right now. This may also explain why the Filco Majestouch 2 with browns is also out of stock (blues and reds are available).

Was also thinking about the Matias Quiet Pro, but I'm not sure I would like the increased actuation force over the browns - I know they're not as bad as the complicated black Alps in the AT102W (which I don't like), but they're still a significant increase over the MX browns. Does anyone here have experience with both?

[Muirium]

Put some nice caps on it and you'll be fine:

http://deskthority.net/for-sale-f55/duc ... 10681.html

Numpads are so passé.

[Zilog Jones]

Hmm, I understand the ergonomic benefits of TKL but find I use the numpad almost exclusively for number entry. Could I get used to doing without? I guess I could buy a separate numpad and put it to the left of the keyboard (I'm left-handed but use the mouse with my right), but that won't help keep the costs down!

[Spikebolt]

Unless you're like an accountant or something like that you'll be just fine and your shoulders will thank you.

That board is amazingly cheap, and I believe the keycaps are thin PBT. If I was still into Cherry MX switches I'd probably buy it

[Muirium]

Duckies are pretty solidly built too. If you like MX brown and ISO (I like neither!) it's a fine buy.

Some tenkeyless boards are smart and have a numpad mode built into them. IBM's SSK does this perfectly. Topre's TKL Realforces do too… but not on Macs! Guh. I'm not sure about Ducky though. Probably isn't a mode there at all.

[Zilog Jones]

I guess I have used laptops for extended periods and not been driven mad by the lack of a numpad. I found the numpad mode too awkward whenever I tried it. Maybe I should consider TKL...

And although the layout is right in that example, the QWERTZ keycaps would be no good for me. Not sure I'd like the feel of engraved keycaps anyway.

What other options do I have for ISO TKL keyboards? There's apparently a Ducky Zero DK2087 but I don't see it for sale anywhere (not sure a UK variant even exists). Again there's the Filco Majestouch 2 and WASD V2 but are not particularly cheap options. I don't think I like the layout of the Matias Mini Quiet Pro (I use the navigation keys quite regularly). Never tried Topre but they seem to be prohibitively expensive (€200 would be my limit, but ideally I'd like to spend a lot less!).

[Khers]

As Mu wrote, the Ducky in the linked listing and a nice set of UK ISO keycaps should be an excellent choice! If you want other TKL options, the CM QuickFire Rapid is a pretty solid choice (the Rapid-i isn't as good...).

[Muirium]

Seriously, even if you go fullsize, the best thing you can do with any MX board is upgrade the caps. None of them come with anything as fancy as Matteo's SA Retro doubleshots, for instance:

http://deskthority.net/vendors-f52/sa-retro-t10615.html

Those will look something like this on a black TKL:



Sure, fancy caps are quite expensive, but people always go crazy in the aftermarket once they see pretty pictures like that, and you can sell them for the full price again if they're not your style.

All ISO keyboards actually share the same layout. It's entirely up to you what caps you put on it and what language you tell your computer your keyboard is.

[Zilog Jones]

Thanks for the suggestions. The Ducky that Bender16 is selling doesn't seem like great value considering I would need to replace the keycaps - I can touch type most of the time, but there's always the odd awkward password or other situation where I might need to look at the keys.

I'm not really interested in fancy keycaps, although I understand the typical ABS stuff isn't as durable as others.

[Spikebolt]

I'm biased torwards Filco but it's true that they're a bit pricey. The Quickfire Rapid is a great option but hard to find in ISO. All duckies are pretty much cool, but I'm not sure you will be able to find them in UK/ISO format that easily.

You can always get a Cherry G80-3000 for cheap or any other G80 for that matter. Just don't get the G81 versions