KUL ES-87 Tenkeyless Mechanical Keyboard (Cherry MX Green)

Had this keyboard for about 2 months now.I was a little hesitant upgrading to a mechanical keyboard. How does one drop over 100 dollars on a product without being able to test it? I was able to try out some blue switch keyboards at a brick and mortar, but I knew I wanted something with more resistance, so I took a dive.Honestly, this keyboard is the best money I've spent on computer peripherals in years. Feedback is perfect. Clicky, tactile goodness, and the resistive force is just what I was looking for. It's also quite durable, and well-built. It's a weighty little devil, no doubt, but that's a stand-out feature I didn't expect. One that I appreciate for the value it represents. This keyboard is a machine, and it feels and performs like a machine.It also sounds like a machine! One that, at 90 WPM, will cause intense rage brought on by the innate jealousy of rubbery-limp-dome-switch-keyboard users within a 30-mile radius. It's a sound that I've grown accustomed to, one that I appreciate, even though others may not. Of course, you know this is a great product if the worst part about it is that it sounds awesome.To sum up:Get one of these. Maybe not this exact one, but one much like it (Green switch might be too much resistance for some). Maybe one from this company, since it seems they build a quality product. Can't recommend this particular keyboard enough.

Pros:- Solid case, no flexing- Ten key-less- Simplistic, not too flashy- LEDs under Caps Lock, and Scroll Lock are blue- Media keys- Rubber feet on bottom, rubber feet on folding props- DIP switches to customize layout- Decent stock keycaps- Comes with a keycap puller, and extra keycaps for changing the layout- Detachable cable- PS/2 adapter- Cherry MX Green switchesThe case on this board is really nice! It's solid, and has no flex. If needed, it could be used to bludgeon someone, and the board would be fine afterwards. The fact that this is a TKL board is a big plus for me, as it takes up a lot less space on my desk than a full size board would. I love the simplistic design, The KUL website emphasizes that this board was designed with professionals in mind, so it has none of the flashy LEDs, or other purely aesthetic additions other boards do. The blue LEDs are really nice and certainly easier on the eyes than the red on my old keyboard. F7 to F12 contain media keys which are a nice feature to have. The bottom of this board has a total of 8 separate rubber feet including two on the folding feet that keep it from sliding all over my desk. The DIP switches on the bottom are great, and allow you to switch the board from Windows mode to Mac mode, or to switch Left Control with Caps Lock (among other options). When I was researching this board I had heard complaints about the quality of the keycaps, however I have to say that the caps are pretty nice. They are somewhat thin, but nowhere near as thin as the stock caps on my Quick Fire Rapid, and will work fine as a first set of keycaps. This keyboard came with five extra keycaps in case you want to switch the layout with the DIP switch, a keycap puller, a detachable USB mini cable, and a PS/2 adapter. The fact that this board was available with Cherry MX Green is another big plus, as finding a board with Green switches seems to be a challenge.Cons- Cherry MX stabilizers make stabilized keys feel mushyCurrently the only complaint I have with this board has to be the Cherry MX Stabilizers. The keys that are stabilized (both Shifts, Space, Enter, backspace) have a mushy feeling at the bottom caused by the Cherry MX stabilizers. This is something that can be fixed with a modification, but that means opening up the keyboard, and for me it's just not worth it.

The keyboard build quality is fantastic. I'm using this as keyboard with OS X and with just the OS X mode DIP switch (DIP 1) turned on, everything works just as expected. The Function row keys behave the same as on an Apple keyboard and the Fn key sends an actual signal to the OS, which is handy if you have any software that uses it (like the built-in Voice Dictation).The Cherry MX Green switches are definitely a heavier switch - I have a CODE with clears I use when at work and can definitely tell a difference when I switch between keyboards.The only thing that I'm not in love with on this keyboard is the keycap quality. There is nothing wrong with the stock keycaps, but considering how nice everything else is on this board, it'd be nice if it shipped with some higher quality keycaps. I haven't been using this keyboard all that long and I'm already noticing some wear on the legends. Fortunately, it does ship with a good assortment of alternative keycaps, e.g. a "Ctrl" keycap to replace Caps Lock, which is very nice if you remap Caps Lock to Ctrl like me, keycaps to swap out Backspace and the \ key, etc.Overall, a great keyboard for those looking for heavy switches and great OS X compatibility.

Pros: Solid buildConsistent Cherry SwitchesGreat support (Asked several questions directly to KUL as i reviewed this for my Youtube channel liquidEvilGaming)Great rubber feet does not slide on desk at ALLFantastic switch selection to choose fromFree included plastic Keyboard dust cover.2 Year Warranty with a US presence for serviceCons: As with most Keyboards minus a few the stock Keycaps are...CRAP. Thin ABS with legends that wear off ULTRA fast. But if you are looking at a 120+$ Keyboard chances are that you are replacing the Keycaps soon with your own custom ones anyway.

KUL makes great keyboards, I have two and they're heavier than the two older leopolds I have and might even feel more solid. I bought this Cherry MX Green version to see what I thought of the heavier action, and it's probably too heavy. I thought that since my favorite feel is Cherry MX Blue that maybe I'd like the Green even more (especially since I learned how to type on a manual underwood typewriter), but I don't. Live and learn.