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

This is a solid, heavy and well constructed keyboard. The Cherry MX Clear switches are wonderful for typing (I'm not a gamer) and a nice change from the MX Blue switches I've been using for years on another keyboard. The cable routing channels allow the USB cable to exit on either side of the keyboard and from three spots on the rear. This keyboard has Cherry stabilizers for the larger keys instead of Costar stabilizers. The Cherry stabilizers do feel a bit mushy compared to Costar, but they also rattle less and the keys seem more securely attached.The pad printed ABS keycaps are decent, but nothing special. I quickly replaced them with a nice set of retro DSA profile keycaps.Some people have mentioned that the keyboard makes a metallic pinging sound. Mine does when I am typing forcefully, but it's not very lound and does not bother me at all.I think I'll be using this keyboard quite a few years.

I never understood the disdain for Cherry-style stabilizers. They seemed perfect in my Leopolds, unremarkable in my Deck, and maybe had too much rattle in my Pok3r. But once I laid hands on a KUL--yikes. The stabilized keys feel different from the rest, mushy, dampened, almost unpleasant. At least there's no rattling.The ES-87 is excellent otherwise. Solid build quality, an interchangeable top frame, a dip switch with instructions printed nearby, and the switches are oriented correctly (IMHO, with the led side on the bottom). The keycaps are not high quality, but the standard layout makes them easy enough to replace. The side channels for the usb cord both end at the back of the keyboard (vs out the right/left side on a FC750R), which is a nice touch. I'd say the overall KUL quality falls between Filco and Leopold, the latter being the all-around best TKL I've owned. MX Clears are good tactiles, far removed from the scratchy nightmare of MX Browns.

Superb quality. Heavy duty construction. Very nice stock keycap feel. Cherry MX Clears are fantastic for men with a heavy trigger finger. Coming from Cherry MX Reds, where I needed dampeners from bottoming out, the Cherry MX Clears require a lot more force to bottom out on and is easy to avoid. Typing on these is a pleasure without the extremely loud clicking noise of blues.The Kul ES-87 comes highly recommended from the knowledgeable mechanical keyboard fan base. I never would've purchased a lesser known brand according to 1 positive review but I got the info from reliable sources. Boy am I glad I listened!I also purchased a set of thick PBT blank keycaps to pair with this bad boy and eagerly await their arrival :).If you're not after hosting a rave in your office, aka LED backlighting, and want to save some desktop space by removing the numpad, this is the way to go. Amazon, once again, is an amazing vendor and I can't recommend them enough.That is all.

This is my first mechanical keyboard. I bought it for work. Most of what I do is writing. I was frustrated with the slimy, mushy, standard keyboard with loose keys that came hooked up to the laptop docking station in my office. I did some research, learned about mechanical keyboards, and decided that I wanted one.I'm a heavy typer. I pound the keys. I wanted a switch with high resistance and a tactile bump. I also wanted a switch that would make a considerate amount of noise for my office neighbors and the secretaries in the hallway. The Cherry MX Clears are perfect.The keyboard itself is built like a tank. It's heavy. It has several strips of thick rubber mounted to the bottom that keep the board in place on my desk. Even the height extensions in the back of the board are lined with thick rubber.The ES-87 has a minimalist, professional look. It's all black with white lettering on the keys. There are three blue LED lights mounted to the switches under the escape, caps lock, and scroll lock keys. There is otherwise no backlighting inside the board. The board is programmed to let you turn the blue LED light under the escape key on and off if you want to see the light shine through. This is a prime spot for a novelty key if that's something you like. There is no visible branding on the board, but the box includes a silver KUL logo that you can apply yourself if you want.The keys are ABS plastic and are not double shot. That means that the white lettering will fade quickly. On day 3 of using my ES-87, the white lettering has already begun to fade from some of the more frequently pressed keys. The keys feel just fine, but the fading legends has me shopping for a new set of keycaps. I quickly found out the the keycap market is very niche, so I'm having trouble deciding what keycap set to buy. I decided not to reduce my rating to 4 stars because the ES-87 functions perfectly. The fading legends on the stock keycaps is purely an aesthetic complaint, and I'm looking forward to replacing the keycaps with something fresh.

I'm a programmer. Been using this keyboard for almost two years. Lettering on the Left-Ctrl and -Shift keys are rubbed off completely. The Enter and cursor-control keys are about three-fourths of the way there. The lettered keys are impossible to see in low light. (Right-Alt and -Diamond are dazzling by comparison.) Doesn't anyone make key caps with the graphic molded all the way through so it can't rub off? Oh, and occasionally keys repeat, like, a dozen times. Dunno whether to blame the keyboard or Ubuntu for that, though.

Great board for the price. I prefer MX blues or MX greens but the clear switches are pretty nice and don't drive other people too crazy. I strongly prefer these to MX browns. I like the layout and the build quality is good for the price.After two months I have one complaint: the spacebar cuts into my thumb after a long day of typing. I pulled the spacebar and replaced it with one from a QuickFire Rapid with browns that I rarely used. No problems since.