Why I Bought It

In preparation for my trip across Canada, I dusted off my travel keyboard: The Royal Kludge F68. Some of you may best asking why I would need one, when my laptop has a perfectly capable keyboard.

I love the feeling of a mechanical keyboard and while I am not prone to accidents, I imagine the one time I do end up spilling my coffee on the keyboard is when I am using the irreplaceable one on the laptop in the middle of nowhere.

At the time of purchase last July during the height of my mechanical keyboard fever, I wanted something compact. I wanted it simple, as it was going to be used for writing. So, a number pad was not necessary. I also wanted something that would easily make a phone or tablet a little mini typewriter on the go.

This little guy seemed to be the answer. A well built, foldable, wireless, backlit travel keyboard. I don’t think this will be my daily driver while I am on my Trans Canada 2025 journey: here’s why.

Flaws

There are no feet to prop up the back end for ergonomics, which makes the writing experience uncomfortable. I find this decision hard to believe as they went through the trouble of making magnetic props for the phone or tablet. A sleek design to say the least.

The deal breaker with the Royal Kludge F68 though, are the switches. You have two choices, tactile brown or silent red, and of course I went with the silent red, because while I prefer the “clactity-clack” of tactile I don’t want to draw attention to myself/annoy others while writing in a coffee shop. The problem is that these keys are not quiet whatsoever. You’d think that a silent switch would be silent, but the truth is that these are noisy. What is worse is that while the caps are hot swappable, the switches are not, so you’re stuck with their two choices.

One amazon review states:

“I purchased the black one that has low profile mechanical quiet red key switches, they aren’t that loud and chatter’y but they do have a quieter satisfying click to them. Unfortunately, they might not be quiet enough to do some hardcore typing or gaming in a place like an open library table pit or in an enclosed space like on an airplane, I’m sure someone might say something about that.”

The carrying pouch is little more than a tube sock with draw strings and often keys get snagged.

Among the redeeming qualities are that while the lighting is not RGB, the symbols on the caps are shine-through, making it ideal for night typing. I also thought the build quality was top notch, with more metal than you’d expect from a keyboard under $100 CAD

Conclusion

If you plan to do all your work in the hotel room, this is a great. But I don’t recommend it for public use.

Don’t get my wrong, this is a fine product, I just don’t think it delivers on my needs. I’ll update you when I find a replacement and have time to give put it through its paces.

Buy On Amazon