Hang on, have KiiBOOM mistakenly sent me the same keyboard twice? Didn’t I already review the Phantom 98 Lite back in March? Yes, I did. But, what we have here is a rare opportunity for me to try out two different variants of the same model. So, cast all thoughts of frogs and lily pads aside, because today I’m talking about the Phantom 98 Lite clear edition.
The Phantom98 Lite is an ANSI 97-key, 76% layout mechanical keyboard. It has three modes of connectivity: USB-C, Bluetooth, and 2.4GHz. It has an onboard 8000mAh Battery, and weighs about 1.2 kg. It has a pair of two-position flip-down silicon-padded feet for typing-angle adjustment.
The Phantom98 Lite comes in Green and Clear. This time we’re talking about the Clear model. Keycaps are Cherry profile, transparent acrylic with black characters throughout. The main body of the board is also made from sculpted transparent acrylic.
South-facing RGB/ backlights enhance the look of the board. You can toggle through a whole lot of onboard presets and alter the speed, brightness, hue, and saturation of the lights via keyboard shortcuts. Like the Jade 75, the Phantom98 Lite Clear can basically transform into any colour of board you desire. It’s also VIA compatible, enabling users to customise every key, macro, and RGB lighting effect.
The Phantom98 comes with a choice of KiiBOOM’s own Mochi linears or Mossy silent linears. Again, I got the Mochi linears, which are lovely.
The Phantom98 is a gasket-mounted board with layers of latex sandwich foam, ixpe switch pads, PE transparent film, PCB Foam, and a bottom Silicone pad. This means that the Phantom98 has next to no sound transference onto the work surface.
Phantom98 Lite Clear is a great keyboard and, if I didn’t already know about the foggy edition, I would be raving about it a bit more, I think. As it is, I do still prefer the froggy version, but maybe you aren’t into whimsy and lily pads? Each to their own.
The Phamtom 98 Lite is available to order directly from KiiBOOM now for $109 USD