Issue #204 - Keyboard Builders' Digest
Keyboard Builders' Digest // Issue #204
Check out this week's editorial with some original content, awesome projects, tips, ideas, discount codes, etc!
Hey y'all,
Here are a few notable keyboard-related posts I thought were worth highlighting this time around:
- My regular monthly switch market overview is out, with December’s top mechanical switches -- the community’s favorites based on a sample of 1 million switches sold, data provided by kind vendors and manufacturers.
- Review: The Elytra is a wireless split in a fancy alu case. Pre-built, low profile, optimized for travel – from ElimKeys. Last days of the Kickstarter campaign.
- As a sum-up of 2025: My favorite keyboards, at least from those I tested last year. Some top choices in a couple of made-up categories. :)
- Bonus review: Tired of displays on keyboards? The retro-looking Epomaker RT82 may still raise your heart rate with a detachable TV.
- A diodeless unibody split by Peter J. A. Cock: Slump52 with number pad.
- Bonus review 2: This affordable 75% board arrived from Kemove: Dierya DK81E with gaskets, rotary knob, and nice lights.
- Rafael Furlanetto Casamaximo released his wireless 65% voidPointer with nicely exposed diodes.
- And yet another review: The Cybrix 29 by KiiBOOM is a wired 29-key hotswappable Hall-effect gaming (half-)keyboard with lots of RGB effects.
- An open-source Hall-effect unibody split keyboard: TrueStrike42 by Choi Byungyoon.
- The wireless Cheap03xD is an affordable open-source split by Lander03xD.
- The 2025 version of lya Leonov's Lapa, an ergo split keyboard-mouse.
As always: much more news and resources in my weekly editorial write-up, switch database, MK meetup calendar and keyboard shop database - with 600+ keyboard vendors!
Save some money
There are 190 keyboard shops accepting the KBDNEWS coupon code now, offering you various discounts. (And here are all the keyboard stores in the database.)
Weekly keyboard art
Embroidered artisans by Gavin Austin aka Octonite.
This issue’s supporters
splitkb.com, MoErgo Glove80, Upgrade Keyboards, Cyboard, @keebio, Jacob Mikesell, BeaverKeys, Timo, KEEBD, littlemer-the-second, @kaleid1990, TALPKEYBOARD, Brendan P., ghsear.ch, u/motfalcon, Bob Cotton, HLPlanet, FFKeebs, @therick0996, Christian Mladenov, Schnoor Typography, Daniel Nikolov, u/eighty58five, Caleb Rand, James McCleese, Ben M, zzeneg, Spencer Dabell, Penk Chen, Anatolii Smolianinov, Hana Lee, Stefan S., Clacky, Alex Miller, Trey Causey, Gordon Diggs, Cloyce, Dylan Ingham, Mario S., Matthias Goffette, Duncan B., HubertTheMad, Jesse L., Andres Sakk, Hating TheFruit, Shnobble, Davidjohn Gerena, Ikasaya, Technofrikus, barraGOUDA, Dickiedyce, drudru, 0xcircuitbreaker, Filip Salo, TurkeyBoards, Chase M., s_p_l_o_d_e, sungo, Derek Tam, lizi.
(You are awesome! Thanks everyone!)
