Matias Wired Aluminum Tenkeyless Keyboard review

Matias Wired Aluminium Tenkeyless Keyboard review

Short version: good form-factor, poor quality. Returned.

I've recently purchased Matias scissor-switch tenkeyless (aka TKL, aka 87-key) keyboard (model FK308PCBB-US). My intention was to replace Logitech K750 I currently use. K750 takes a bit too much space on my small desk, and I never use numpad section, so something without it would have been perfect.

The keyboard also needed to be quiet, so I was not looking at any mechanical keyboards and needed something with scissor switch (similar to laptop keyboard) or with membrane (common on cheaper non-mechanical keyboards). Matias keyboard was the only one that fit these requirements on paper. Unfortunately it failed to fulfil its direct responsibilities - typing.

The good

• Layout. It has standard US layout, with proper arrow key and Insert/Home/PgUp section.
• Size. Fit perfectly. Here it is next to K750. (also, my table is gross)
• Style. I got the black one with and it looks nice.
• It has two USB-A ports on sides.

The bad

The worst issue is that Matias keyboard failed to keyboard. Some keypresses would register twice or trice (resulting in words like "twwice" or "trrrice" when typing, or double spaces). Some lighter keypresses won't register at all. I saw this in other reviews but decided to try my luck anyway. Although it did not happen too frequently, it happened frequently enough that after a day of use I decided to return it.

The other disadvantages were not as bad and would have been tolerable, considering it's not too expensive:

• Hard to get in Europe. European and UK shops have limited range of models available, e.g. they did not had wireless version.
• It's a bit noisier than K750 or Logitech MX Keys, and noise is annoyingly rattly (probably again due to poor quality).
• Bottom bar (Ctrl - Windows Key - Alt - Space - etc) is too tall
• No gap between F4 and F5 makes it difficult to find the right F-key without looking.

Alternatives

There are no viable direct alternatives. I wish TKL version of Logitech MX Keys existed - this would have been perfect.

Other ones that could work but do not seem to be appealing enough to bother replacing K750:

• Keychron K1.
  • Good layout
  • Comes with some sort of low-profile mechanical switches, and Red version is "Quiet", but likely to still be annoying in small shared room.
• FILCO Majestouch 2 TKL
  • Good layout
  • Mechanical, so likely to be noisy even for quietest switch version
• Realforce R2
  • Good layout
  • Expensive
  • Has Topre switches which are electrostatic capacitive non-contact keyboard switch, and supposed to be quiet
• Lots of other mechanical 87-key keyboards - all will be too noisy
• Compact scissor-switch keyboards such as Apple's compact Magic Keyboard or Microsoft Designer Compact
  • Should be nice and high-quality
  • Awkward layouts - I'm not ready to sacrifice Ins/Home/PgUp or arrow keys sections.