RK ROYAL KLUDGE RK918 Wired Mechanical Keyboard, RGB Backlit Gaming Keyboard with Large LED Sorrounding Side Lamp, Full Size 108 Key Mechanical 100% Anti-Ghosting Computer Keyboard, Brown Switch Black

The media could not be loaded. The Royal Kludge Keyboard (RK918) is undoubtedly one of the most striking RGB keyboards I've ever laid eyes on. I first spotted it in a product demo video on a particular social media video and was instantly smitten. Thankfully, the video creator included the product description, making it easy for me to snag one for myself. Although I experimented with other, pricier brands, the Royal Kludge Keyboard's with their brown switches provided just the right balance of tactile feedback and noise for my tastes.I must admit that the attached photos show a significant change (hello gold keycaps!), but the combination of gold and RGB creates a stunning visual effect. While Linus claimed it was the ugliest keyboard he'd ever seen, I beg to differ. It's a love-it-or-hate-it situation, and I'm definitely on the "love it" side. Royal Kludge Keyboards have a unique flair that sets them apart, and this one truly embodies the "RGB's biggest fan" spirit.Swapping out the stock keycaps for gold ones was a once-in-a-decade kind of project for me. As in I hope I only have to do it once every decade! The keyboard cooperated beautifully. I even added some resin jeweled keycaps for extra uniqueness. It's become one of the most exceptional keyboards I've ever owned, and it's a joy to have. The vibrant RGB aesthetic and bright illumination make it stand out as a work of art.Admittedly, the button shortcuts for color changes can be confusing, but there are plenty of online tutorials to help with manual adjustments. I don't use this keyboard daily, rather, saving it for gaming sessions when I need a full-sized option. I love it just the way it is and see no need to change anything.If I had to make a suggestion, I'd request the addition of a clicky feedback knob for system volume control. Nevertheless, the brown switches provide excellent feedback without being too loud. The cable's length is generous, allowing for use up to 6 feet away, and the aluminum body exudes quality. Owning this keyboard is a genuine thrill to own and customize.

Now that I'm working from home primarily, I wanted a mechanical keyboard to replace my old non-mechanical one at home. My old Logitech K520 keyboard was just not doing a good job keeping up with my typing. Often times I'd get capitalized letters due to it not releasing the shift key right when I was releasing it.Another issue with that Logitech keyboard was that the Escape key was lower than the other keys on the keyboard, which made it a pain to hit. On my job, I primarily do software development in a linux environment, and that Escape key gets used a lot when editing code.And lastly, the keys felt okay on my old Logitech keyboard, but didn't have a lot of travel in them. That made it harder to get tactile feedback from them.At work, I have a mechanical Das Keyboard 4 Professional for Mac with Brown switches. It's considered one of the higher end mechanical keyboards, with a price to match. So that's what I'll use as a comparison vs. this Royal Kludge keyboard.The first impression I got out of the box with this Royal Kludge keyboard is that it's very efficient in its size. There's no extra border around it and no hand rest. I think that's a good thing in my opinion. It means that I can fit it in more spaces, especially if I take it on the go with me. I also like that there's no sharp edges on the border. It's all smooth and has rounded corners. I don't know why I like that, but I do.When I ordered it, I wasn't sure if there were feet on the keyboard that you could raise and lower to angle the keyboard more, but yes there are two feet that can be raised and lowered in the back of the keyboard. In addition there are 4 rubber/silicone nubs that are on the bottom, and they improve the sound and feeling of typing on this keyboard.As for the build quality and feel, it's made of plastic, but it seems to be very solid plastic. When I pick it up and attempt to twist it, I can't. On some keyboards when you do that, it will bend a little, and you'll hear it squeaking as you're doing it. But not this keyboard.About the only thing it's missing is an on/off switch. For those of you with cats or with toddlers who like to type on when you're away from the desk, that might be an issue. You can always just unplug it from the USB port, I suppose. But I wouldn't deduct any points from my review for that.Another first impression I got was that the keys are really raised above the surface of the keyboard. If you look at it on its side, you can actually see the switches! Very neat! I feel like this raised feature makes it just a little harder to type on, or at least you might have to adjust slightly (consider lowering your keyboard tray a bit or putting a hand rest in front of it). But long-term, I think the raised keys will help prevent dust and grime from getting down into the keyboard and gradually decreasing its performance. This will let you easily clean everything out.Using it for the first time, I had to learn how to set the keyboard lights so that they weren't freaking out. There are a ton of lighting options for this. I really don't care about them. I don't need to feel like I'm going to a disco every time I enter my office. The only lighting effect I used was to have the keys that I type light up as I type them. That gives me some visual feedback on whether or not the key was activated. It's neat!I did not like the choice in font style for the keyboard letters. It reminds me of how parts of keyboard letters wear off over time in some of my older keyboards I've used. Some of the letters actually look like that. It's a weird choice for a font. But again, I wouldn't take away any points for that.The Ctrl key is a bit smaller than what I'm used to. No big deal there. I'm just glad it's on the far end of the keyboard. Some Mac keyboards hide it in between some other keys, and that just really annoys me about them. So this keyboard does it right.And there's an extra key on the right side of the keyboard that I didn't have on my last keyboard. No big deal there.As for the clickiness, my overall impression after using it for a day is that it's pretty much the same volume as my Das Keyboard 4 with Cherry MX Brown switches. Clicky, but not overly clicky. If you're in an office environment, you're probably going to want to get a more silent keyboard so your neighbors don't get annoyed by the constantly typing sounds. But if you do get it for the office, I don't think it's too bad. People will tune it out over time.As for the feeling of the keys, it's pretty much perfect. It doesn't quite "smack" the keyboard when you reach the bottom. There's something there making it a bit softer. Speaking of that, you can adjust your typing to get less of a smack and less of a click if you go softer. My Das Keyboard 4 allowed you to get almost silent if you go soft enough, but not this Royal Kludge keyboard. The volume doesn't go below a certain threshold on this one. You would have to really go slow if you wanted to type more or less silently on this one. It's just not going to happen.Overall, I'd say this was a great purchase. I'd recommend it to others. Hopefully the keyboard lasts a while. I'll update my review if I see that it's having problems over time.Hope that helps!

I don't like that RK changes their line up yearly and I don't like that they'll charge $9 just to get the pop up leg replaced but then I realized something. We're getting top tier performance, key swap compatibility, and legit options like brown, red and many of the cherry standards at an aggressive price.. This made me realize at the end of the day, we're getting way more than what companies like Logitech have to offer for a fraction of the price without any real need for software bloat and BS. I've tried many different key caps and swap them with ease!