Happy_Girl_^-^ 06/10/2017
Easy to navigate website, quick ordering process, 7days from UK to Australia using the cheapest shipping option. What more could you ask for?
Superb after sales service: the keyboard came with a faulty usb cable (KBParadise's fault) and KeyboardCo (thank you Helen) kindly offered to reimburse me should i order a replacement from Ebay :)
My previous keyboard had cherry brown switches, however i find that they were too light for my taste and it was far too easy to accidentally trigger a key press when I'm resting my fingers on them. While the brown switch was easy to type on (almost no resistance), i find that i was making more typos and corrections.
I read good things about the Fuhua/Fukka clicky switch and that it was manufactured by the same company that produced the famed Alps switch. If you were old enough, you would have remembered those Dell clicky keyboards back in the good old days. The keys felt wonderful to type and it had a really satisfying click and tactile feel to them. You know when you had pressed on a key, intentionally and deliberately.
The only other keyboard which would have offered a possibly better typing experience was IBM's buckling spring keyboard which is now produced by Unicomp. I was torn between the Unicomp's buckling spring keyboard and KBParadise V60 with Fukka switch. Ultimately, i chose the V60 as it was a lot more compact while offering the same functionality as a full size keyboard though the use of the Fn key. Ergonomically speaking, being a 60 percent keyboard, i was able to position my mouse closer resulting in less shoulder strain.
Typing on the V60 was an absolute pleasure, it felt just like the good old clicky keyboard but in a modern compact layout. The difference between cherry brown and Fukka switch was like typing on a Fisher Price toy vs typing on a mechanical typewriter. Every key press felt solid and I had less typos on the Fukka. As a clicky switch, they really click; I'm pretty heavy handed and it's about 10 decibels louder than my keyboard with cherry brown switch. I got my colleague to try it and he managed to produce a much softer click on the same keyboard. So, it's not as bad as you think. As I work in an open office, I brought a box of cookies to share before unpacking my new V60 keyboard. Afterwards, I asked around and no one seemed bothered, in fact they didn't noticed any difference. Conclusion: cookies and possibly chocolate turns noise into music. :)
The case on the V60 is made of plastic, however it feels pretty solid. The keyboard also had a really fine matt finish. I really suggest placing a rubber/foam mat/little towel under the keyboard to dampen unwanted sound when typing. Apart from the limited choice/chronic absence of after market keycaps for Alps switches, no fancy RGB led back-lighting and non programmable layer, there is nothing not to like about the V60. I seldom look down when I'm typing so it doesn't bother me too much that the keyboard is not very customisable. Probably a good thing for your wallet.
If you already had a 60 percent keyboard like the pok3r, the layout of the arrow keys, home, end etc, on the V60 may bother you. I used an autohotkey script to remap those so that the layout is like a pok3r.
It's a shame that the Fukka switches are no longer in production. The V60 is the only 60% keyboard that you can buy brand new with Fukka clicky switches. If you have missed out on the Fukka, the Matias clicky switch offers a near identical typing experience, albeit a bit more costly. If you could hear a pin drop in your office, the Matias Quiet Click is probably a better option.
