kriston's Journal: Review of ABS mechanical keyboard

[Reposted from Newegg because I'm proud of my review.]

Blurb: "Great feel and nice loud sound, but not a Model M clone"

Pros: Loud, ringing reverberation is just like keyboards of old PC clones not made by IBM (see Cons).
The keyboard is only a little larger than the keys take up. This is a major bonus if you like small keyboards but don't want to compromise on keys.
FULL SIZE caps lock key for Unix people who remap CTRL to caps lock. This is rather rare on any keyboard (and I am still searching for a Model M clone with full-sized caps lock either).
The keyboard is nice and heavy as nature intended, with amazing, grippy rubber feet (and really good rubber on the risers, too, also rare).
Stiff, solid, and a very tasteful matte black finish that isn't painted on (the plastic is black).

Cons: The case reverberates a bit with a ring. Your table may amplify or muffle it. I don't happen to care but you might.
This is not a Lexmark Model M keyboard clone and does not pretend to be. The reviewers who think this is a Model M are confusing this with another type of old-school "clicky" keyboard.

Other Thoughts: This type of keyboard is not the same as a Model M. The clicking noise comes from the keys landing, not from the (very faint) click in the key mechanisms themselves. However, the click happens at the moment of keystroke actuation which gives this a nice touch. I didn't feel any of the "halfway down" actuation some other reviewers claimed.

This keyboard is an excellent a clone of those "other" clicky keyboards that came with Compaq IBM PC clones in the late 1980s and early 1990s. I have about twenty real IBM/Lexmark Model M keyboards in various states of repair. Those boards click loudly as the key is struck and also when the key hits the back plate. This one only really clicks when it hits the back plate. If you had a PC clone in the late 1980s or early 1990s you know this feel. I think some people call it the "Cherry" feel.
It's not better or worse than the Lexmark Model M; it is just different.