Once again the incredibly kind people at Epomaker have sent me some cool keyboards to try out. This time it’s the Epomaker GK61 Red keyboard and GK21S numpad.
The GK61 Red keyboard is a 60% wired mechanical keyboard that comes with a choice of Gateron Black, Blue, Brown, and Yellow switches. I got Brown, because I love the feel of them.
It’s hot-swappable, meaning the switches can be swapped easily with no need for soldering (I’m sure you already knew that by now).
The GK61 Red RGB backlit with all the usual effects and layers of customisation. As always, I end up switching to a solid colour and the lime green looks particularly nice with the red and black keycaps.
It’s a great compact, solid keyboard, taking up minimal space on the desk, and of course, it’s small and light enough to carry around for use with a laptop.
My only complaint about the GK61 Red is the lack of Del key. Yes, Backspace will do the job 9/10 times, but it’s still tripped me up a few times and took a little bit of getting used to.
One problem with using a compact keyboard (as I pretty much always do these days) is the lack of numpad. So, why not get yourself an external one?
The GK21S numpad has all the same RGB and hot-swap features and comes with the same red and black keycaps. They make the perfect pair.
The only complaint I have is that, because the keyboard and GK21S each require their own USB connection, I ended up having to crawl around under my desk unplugging stuff. That’s my problem though, because actually the GK21S does have a wireless (Bluetooth 5.1) connection mode, with the ability to switch between three stored Bluetooth connections. Sadly for me, my PC just doesn’t have Bluetooth. If it did though, I can see how convenient it would be to keep the GK21S in a drawer or similar, whip it out when you needed to do your taxes or something, and connect with just the touch of a key.
The lovely people at Keeboid also sent me some cool stuff:
A custom coiled, double sleeved USB C cable, a cool custom artisan MX keycap, and an acrylic keyboard stand (not pictured, but which I’ll definitely be putting to good use).
The Epomaker GK61 Red keyboard is $89.99 USD, and the GK21S numpad is $49.99 USD.