The people at Royal Kludge have very kindly sent me one of their RK84 keyboards to try out.
The RK84 is an 80%, 84 key keyboard with an innovative hub design. In addition to the standard USB C wired connection, the RK84 has two built-in USB pass-through ports at its rear. This means you can plug a wired mouse or another device directly into the board, or charge devices (like your phone, iPad, or tablet) from it. The keyboard’s 3750mAh battery can even act as a power pack, to charge or power other devices while on the go. The battery is fully charged in 6 hours when connected via USB C, and a charge can last up 200 hours(!) for keyboard use. A light on the spacebar tells you whether you’re charging, or fully charged.
The RK84 can also connect wirelessly via Bluetooth, and store up to three devices (toggled between using Fn + Q, W, and E), which makes it a great on-the-go option for use with laptops, iPads, and Android devices.
Battery mode/charging and Bluetooth/wired mode are both switched on and off via switches on the underside of the board, meaning fewer keyboard shortcuts remember and less chance of switching to either accidentally. There’s also a wireless 2.4Ghz dongle (do we still use the word dongle?) in a little niche on the underside of the board which can be plugged into a PC, laptop, or Mac so you can use the RK84 wirelessly without Bluetooth.
The 84 keys mean that you’re not missing any F keys, have all your multimedia keys, and, again, don’t need to remember loads of keyboard shortcuts.
The RK84 comes with a pair of magnetic footpads which attach and detach easily to elevate the keyboard’s 8-degree angle to 12-degrees, should you find that more comfortable and ergonomic. I’m pretty happy with the 8-degrees myself; the board already feeling nice and comfortable for my day to day use as is.
The RK84 comes in black or white (I got white) with a choice of Blue, Brown, or Red switches (I got Brown, which feel nice and not too loud, but I do feel like I need to hit them a little bit harder than I’d like, ideally). The switches are hot-swappable, so you can easily customise your RK84 and tailor it to suit your needs.
The RK84 comes with 21 onboard RGB backlit modes, 5 levels of brightness, and variable speeds for all the effects. As you probably know by now, I usually end up switching to a solid backlight colour whatever keyboard I’m using, as I find it less distracting. However, as with the HS84, I do occasionally find some boards with lighting effects that I enjoy, and this is definitely the case with the RK84. Maybe it’s just something about all white keyboards with candy-coloured effects that works for me.
It’s hard to find fault with the RK84. It basically has everything you could possibly want from a keyboard. All the keys, all the functions, all the connection options, all the lighting effects, adjustable angles of typing, a large capacity battery, and two USB pass-through ports. Which is why I was genuinely surprised by the price of it. At around £60, it seems like an absolute steal, to be honest. If you’re looking for one keyboard that can go from desktop to on-the-go use, and that you can charge your phone from while you’re at it, then you can’t really do better than the RK84.
The ROYAL KLUDGE RK84 84 Keys Wireless 80% Mechanical Gaming Keyboard is available now for £61.04