Epomaker have, once again, very kindly sent me one of their brand new keyboards to try out. In this case, as I type these words – very, very quietly – the keyboard in question is still on Kickstarter, with eight days left on the campaign.
It’s the Epomaker Lite, and it packs a ridiculous amount of features into a very, very small, very, very quiet, and very, very sturdy package.
The Epomaker Lite is a wired (standard USB C at the rear left) and wireless (Bluetooth 5.1), 60% / 61 key compact, RGB backlit, hot-swappable keyboard with an aluminium case/body. It’s compatible with Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. That’s not even the half of it, but let’s start with that.
Okay, so Bluetooth first. Fn + Spacebar switches your Bluetooth connection on and off, Fn + Z, X, and C gives you three connections that you can easily switch between. Pairing with my laptop, my android phone, and even my Supernote, was not a problem. There are no external switches at all – everything is done via keyboard shortcuts.
The Epomaker Lite has an in-built 4000mAh Lithium battery which can, apparently, last up to 80 hours, even with the RGB backlights on. I have not tested this to any meaningful extent, but I was impressed to find that you can set the Epomaker Lite‘s sleep timer (how long it takes for the keyboard to auto power off when not in use and not connected via USB) using Fn + ctrl + 0 (never), 1 (5 mins), 2 (10 mins), etc.
What’s next? 60% / 61 key layout. I usually favour a 65% board, because I’d rather avoid using Fn shortcuts in my day-to-day typing if at all possible (and I always feel the lack of a Del key), but the Epomaker Lite is all about the keyboard shortcuts. There are loads of handy things like double-clicking Fn enabling your directional alt keys until you press it again. Yes, admittedly, I’ve ended up sitting here with the instructions booklet open on my desktop as I type so that I can refer to it for shortcuts, but there’s nothing too taxing or complicated that I’m not going to remember. Also, of course, you can create your own user-defined shortcuts and functions using Epomaker’s free-to-download software, but I haven’t got into that myself.
The RGB LED backlights come with nine pre-installed patterns/effects/settings, and the choice to download more and create your own via Epomkaer’s own free-to-download software. Did I immediately set them to a single solid backlight colour like I usually do? Yes, of course, I did. As usual, the backlights indicate whether Caps Lock is on or off, but they also come into play when utilising some of the Fn shortcuts mentioned above. Handy if, like me, you might find yourself in a situation where you’re wondering what the hell you’ve just pressed to make the keyboard’s behaviour completely change.
Hot-swappable? Yes. The first thing I always do when I plug a new keyboard in is open en.key-test.ru and check the keys. When I connected the Epomaker Lite I’d be sent, I found that the Backspace key was not functioning. Luckily, the keyboard came with a switch-puller and a bag of spare switches. So, I changed the switch, re-tested, and everything is now working perfectly. Easy as that.
The Epomaker Lite comes with a choice of Gateron Pro or Epomaker’s own Chocolate switches in every possible colour/iteration. I received a board with Gateron Yellow switches which, in all honesty, I expected to dislike but which are actually really nice to type on. The sound and the feel of the Epomaker Lite brings us on to an important point: gasket mounting. What is gasket mounting? What does it mean? Well, keyboardbeast.com provides a pretty concise explanation:
A gasket-mounted keyboard’s plate is held by elastic material inserted between the top frame and the bottom frame, unlike conventional mounting styles where the plate is attached to either of the frames with screws. While gasket-mounted keyboards being quieter and softer to type on makes them popular among keyboard enthusiasts, they are also more complex and expensive to manufacture.
So, what’s different about the Epomaker Lite‘s own gasket mounting system? Epomaker themselves explain:
Conventional gasket structures only have the gaskets padding on the edges of the keyboard, leaving the center empty. This can cause a lack of support in the main typing area of the keyboard, resulting in an inconsistent sound and typing feel. Compared to the typical gasket design, the Epomaker Lite creatively adopts a Shallow Gasket design, which has a silicone pad inserted between the plate and the PCB. The pad is meticulously made of lightweight silicone with a specifically designed shape, which forms a 0.2 mm soft cushion being attached under each switch and stabilizer to provide a soft-yet-stable foundation for the keyboard. The silicone pad also isolates the noise and precisely cushions the shock under every keystroke without affecting the stability of the keys.
Very, very simply, the effect is that typing on the Epomaker Lite feels like a mechanical keyboard (which it is, of course), but it sounds like a scissor-switch keyboard. The sound-dampening of the gasket mounting and the (very) sturdy aluminium case/body of the board means that even if you’re hammering out words, it’s going to sound more like someone typing on a laptop keyboard than drumming on the desktop.
Much is made of the “clickiness” and loudness of mechanical keyboards (though those actually depend entirely on the switches within, of course) but, sometimes, some people get a bit annoyed at the idea of sharing a workspace with someone who uses one. The Epomaker Lite‘s special shallow gasket mounting means that you can work on a mechanical keyboard in a coffee shop, or on a train, or wherever, without irritating the hell out of everyone in the vicinity. Coupled with the size, sturdiness, and versatility of the board, this makes it a real contender for the perfect portable office keyboard (in fact, if it came with a case/stand like the Epomaker NT68, it might be a clear winner).
The Epomaker Lite is currently available to pre-order on Kickstarter with prices starting from $79 USD / £58 GBP