I’ve been on the lookout for a decent quality PBT keycap set for my filco TKL for a long time. Actually started looking well before December 2019 but then COVID-19 hit us and well everything went sideways in terms of stock, availability, delivery and manufacturing.
A lot of keycap sets on Amazon cater for ANSI layout keyboards only as they are in reality the more popular layout. Some kits purport to be both ANSI and ISO but only provide partial support for ISO caps.
The sets listed by HK Gaming fortunately provide full and proper support for ISO UK keyboards and include the double quotes, British pound, ampersand and large Enter keys.
The keyboard originally was supplied with Filco ABS keys and I wore those down to a shine in about 4 years. They were replaced with a set of tao hoi dolch keycaps which were ok but again made of ABS and starting to shine.
This is the first PBT set that I’ve had the pleasure of owning/using. Initial impressions are very good as they caps arrived within 24hrs of ordering and securely packaged in thick cardboard box. The caps themselves were enclosed in two plastic trays. The first tray contained the alpha and function caps and ANSI modifiers. The second tray contained the ISO caps, number pad and cursor key caps.
The caps themselves are a lower profile than the tao hoi caps (oem vs cherry mx). The surface of the caps is smooth which is unusual for a PBT cap but reading the reviews for HK Gaming keycap sets is to be expected. I’d have preferred the more usual rough or stippled finish that you get with standard PBT caps but in reality for me it’s a minor complaint given the price.
The caps were easy to replace on the keyboard and a key cap puller is included in the box if you don’t already have one. Swapping the caps over took about 10mins and the result is a cleaner fresher looking keyboard now with a slightly lower key profile.
The legends on the keys are sharp and clear, only minor observation I’d make is that the spacing between some of the legends doesn’t match up. It’s very slight though and not something that would cause me to return them, you’ll have to judge that for yourself though. If you want perfection with a keycap set then be prepared to pay a lot more than £40.
The difference in the type of plastic and thickness of the key caps has also altered the key sound of each key. It’s a little less high pitched now e.g. when you bottom out the key the tone is lower and deeper then with the ABS cap it has replaced.
Overall, I like the 9009 set, it’s a little retro but with a splash of colour and it suits the Filco TKL to a tee. After all filco keyboards have no RGB lighting (well no lighting at all, apart from caps/scroll lock) or gimmicks that seem to be prevalent on gaming keyboards. These caps are good quality replacement caps for the money and I’d have no hesitation in recommending these to someone wanting to get a replacement/second set without breaking the bank.
| Brand | HK Gaming |
|---|---|
| Product Dimensions | 14.57 x 3.71 x 1.02 cm; 300 g |
| Item model number | Dye Sublimation Keycaps |
| Manufacturer | HK Gaming |
| Colour | Stealth Dolch |
| Voltage | 0.01 Volts |
| Power Source | USB power (powered through a USB cable connected to a host device) |
| Hardware Platform | PC |
| Operating System | Mac |
| Are Batteries Included | No |
| Item Weight | 300 g |
| Guaranteed software updates until | unknown |
