The very nice people at Redragon recently sent me sent a really interesting keyboard: the Caraxes Pro.
Now I have very recently got my first pair of prescription glasses which I wear for working as well as reading, but the Caraxes Pro had me wondering if my prescription might be too high. I plugged the keyboard in, started typing and, when I glanced down at the keys (which I do more often than I should, even though I’ve been writing for 20 years), it felt like the Caraxes Pro was massively magnified. After lifting my glasses, putting them back on, lifting them again, and so on for far too long, I eventually realised what was going on. The Caraxes Pro has deliberately oversized keys. It is a chunky keyboard. A big fella. An absolute unit.
The Caraxes Pro is a 61 key / 60% keyboard with 1.2 sized keys, so it’s blown up to the size of your standard 65% keyboard. Because of this, it does not have a designated del key (FN1 + / = Del), which is a bit of a pain for me personally, but that’s a matter of personal taste really. It has an ANSI layout, Is Windows OS only.
Connection options on the Caraxes Pro are wired via USB-C, Bluetooth 3.0/5.0, or 2.4 GHz wireless (dongle stashed in a little niche under the board). There’s a three-way switch on the underside of the board which allows you to select the mode. Upto three Bluetooth connections can be stored and cycled through using FN2 + Q, W, and E.
The Caraxes Pro has a black plastic base, and the oversized keys are a mix of orange, off-white, and black, with transparent characters for Redragon’s “Vibrant Groovy” RGB lights to shine through.
I’ve just this second realised that the Caraxes Pro is named after a Game of Thrones dragon. Have I been missing something really obvious for years? Are other Redragon keyboards named after famous dragons and dragon-related things and I just never noticed or made the connection?
The Caraxes Pro comes with a choice of Outemu Red, Outemu Blue, Outemu Brown, and Outemu Low Profile Red switches (here’s everything you need to know about Outemu switches, switch fans). I got the Outemu Reds, which are linear and pretty quiet. The larger keys do mean that I find myself having to hit the Shift key a little harder than I would normally with linear switches. The switches on the Caraxes Pro are fully hot-swappable, meaning that they can be easily swapped out for any other 3 or 5-pin switches with no need for soldering or unnecessary messing about. A unique Redragon socket design makes switch mounting new switches easier and less wobbly.
The Caraxes Pro weighs about 60 g so, despite its chunky appearance, it’s a pretty light-weight keyboard. A pair of flip-down feet adjust your typing angle and help to keep the board steady on your work surface.
The Caraxes Pro has RGB backlights with 20 presets. Brightness and speed of light effects can be adjusted on the board, and there’s a music sync mode which allows the effects to pulse in time with whatever tunes you’re listening to (although I have to admit, I haven’t worked out how to activate that, since the only instructions in the box are a Quick Start Guide). You can, as always, further customise the RGB settings using Redragon’s own free software.
The Caraxes Pro has an in-built 1600mAh battery which takes 8 hours to fully charge. Battery life is 120 hours with backlights off, and around 30 hours with them on. Fn + Space turns your Num keys into a battery charge meter – the more keys are lit up, the higher your charge. If the 1 and 2 keys light up red then you know it’s time to plug in.
As a matter of personal preference, I’m not really happy working on any keyboard which doesn’t have a designated Del key. So, for that reason alone, the Caraxes Pro wouldn’t be a go-to keyboard for me. Many, many people feel differently of course, and you might very well be one of them. The Caraxes Pro is a great-looking keyboard, however. It’s compact and lightweight, and easily connected. If you’ve ever found yourself thinking “the keys on this keyboard are tiny. I wish there was a keyboard with bigger keys!” then I’ve got good news for you. There is, and it’s not going to cost you a fortune.
The Caraxes Pro K644 keyboard is available to order now from Redragon for $59.99 USD / £48 GBP