Swapping out keycaps is the simplest way to personalise and beautify your mechanical keyboard, but finding affordable keycaps in the right profile can be a real pain. Razer’s new keycap upgrade sets are a pretty good solution, covering an entire standard keyboard in one of four different colours—green, pink, white, or black—for just $US30 ($44).
You can buy a keyboard anywhere. Buying keycaps is trickier. Basic sets like those from Taiwanese company Tai-Hao are easy enough to find if you know where to look. Sites like Drop (formerly Massdrop) and the mechanical keyboard communities at r/mechmarket and Geekhack regularly feature group buys for gorgeous keycap sets, but prices are generally pretty high and production time very long.
Razer’s upgrade kits are a simple, affordable way to cover a standard US or UK layout keyboard with relatively nice doubleshot, shine-through, PBT keycaps. They are lightly textured and sturdy, with thin legends built to allow light from today’s flashier keyboards to pour on through.
Each set comes with 120 caps, enough to cover a full-size keyboard, media keys and all. The keys fit any keyboard switch with a plus-shaped MX stem, which is most retail mechanical keyboards these days. The keycaps come packed in these handy vacuum-sealed packs, with a keycap puller and a set of keyboard stabilizers for mechanical and optical keyboards.
Razer’s PBT Keycap Upgrade Sets aren’t fancy. They won’t give a $360 set from Pimp My Keyboard any competition. They’re quick, convenient, easily attainable, and sturdy enough to survive being flung across the room in a fit of anger. Really it’s just nice to see a more mainstream manufacturer embrace this aspect of mechanical keyboard customisation. Give us more keycaps, please.
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