Mechanical Keyboards: A new hobby to consider?

Hello I’m Aero,

                        Keyboards are a fascinating thing, they help us type our innermost thoughts on twitter (Now: X). No but really, a good Keyboard really pays off in the long run. Mechanical Keyboards not a new thing, the first commercial one came out in 1985, but they have been gaining traction in the recent years and are becoming accessible day by day. You might have seen those ‘Aesthetic’ mechanical keyboard videos on YouTube. I know I have (a lot). So, what can you have. Can you get a good mechanical keyboard in India?!

I’m happy to tell you that you can, but it isn’t without its qualms. You see if you want the full mechanical keyboard experience, you have to lighten your pockets, a little. But if you want a general experience there are many good choices out there that get job done and look good while doing it.

         So today I’m here to discuss the best keyboard for every price point, every size and any aesthetic. I will also discuss the best ways to customised your own keyboard to your liking. This is a guide to having your own mechanical keyboard.

Portronics Hydra 10

A good starting recommendation is the Portronics Hydra 10 ,  this is a very good keyboard to break into the hobby as a whole. This keyboard is amazing for a beginner or just someone trying it out for the first time. This is my and my sister’s personal daily driver.

The Hydra 10 works on a tri-mode connection system which simply means that it works on wired , 2.4 ghz wireless with a dongle and Bluetooth 5.0. Wired has given me the best performance and 2.4 ghz is acceptable. Bluetooth is a little hit or miss on PC but works well on Android.

This functionality comes at the cost of not being able to change the switches easily. You can change them. But do you know how to solder switches ? I certainly don’t (Yet!). If you do, more power to you. But since most of us don’t, Hot-Swappable switches are absent in this keyboard.

The 65% layout is good for space and functionality. The two colors of black and white goes well with the vibrant RGB effects. You can get all this for under 2000 rupees on a sale easily.

Kreo Swarm

Another really good recommendation would be the Kreo Hive, but the wizards at Kreo have finally released the Kreo Swarm (really banking on those bee terms).

This is honestly the perfect recommendation for someone who wants to enjoy the process of customizing the little details that makes the keyboard, their own. This keyboard just gives you all the options there can be on a mechanical keyboard. For a newcomer this may seem overwhelming but Kreo has laid out every customizable option as clearly as possible.

                      The Swarm offers four color-ways: All white, All black, White-purple and Black-purple. These colors are really nice and provide a nice base for you to customize further to your liking. The knob is also a very nice inclusion as many people just like these very enthusiast level feature for a price like this.

What really gets me excited about this keyboard is ability to use any switch in the world for this one. If you have just the slightest of interest and knowledge in mechanical keyboards you know that a switch is what makes someone’s keyboard different from someone else’s. The switches offered by Kreo are also very good. GTMX sense are soft tactile switches and Huano Speed switches are a linear type of switches. So, you have a nice choice between the two.

The lighting is very nice but one gripe that I have is that the keycaps are not shine-through so this makes the visibility of the legends a bit hard in the dark. But you can change them very easily and build quality of these keycaps is very good.

The software is good and provide the necessary features like RGB control, hotkeys and macros. There are also adjustable feet which many keyboards don’t have.

Source: screenshot from official Kreo YouTube channel.

So, these were my recommendation for a beginner who is just getting into the mechanical keyboard space. I think these keyboards represent this hobby very well in India.