Should I Splurge or Save my Money? PBT Keycaps, is MORE Expensive = MORE Better?
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- Опубликовано: 6 июн 2024
- #Keybored Should I Splurge or Save my Money? For PBT Keycaps, is MORE Expensive = MORE Better?
You know, of all things on a custom mechanical keyboard, the one component that you see the most of is actually not the Keyboard itself... it's the Keycaps. Given this, a lot of people place great emphasis on the perfect set of keycaps, and spend $$$$ on them. When it comes down to Keycaps, the usual question is ABS Vs. PBT. However, It's pretty easy to tell the differences between a cheap ABS set and expensive ones, but for PBT... especially Dye-Sub PBT caps... is there really a difference? Should I splurge or Save my Money? That's what we're here to find out!
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Chapters
Start - 0:00
Introduction - 0:39
Test Keyboard AR87 - 1:20
Introducing the Keycaps - 1:33
Intro to Shopmech - 2:44
Criteria 1: Thickness - 3:37
Criteria 2: Sound - 4:23
Criteria 3: Finish and Mold - 5:00
Criteria 4: Legends - 6:09
Final Thoughts - 6:55
Full Typing Sounds - 7:55
Conclusion - 10:37
Links to Products Shown in this Video
ABKO AR87 Keyboard
amzn.to/3FEIyu6
Gateron Yellow Switches + ePBT Keycaps
divinikey.com/?rfsn=5768628.3...
Use Code "KEYBORED" for 5% off!
HK Gaming PBT Keycaps
amzn.to/3al3gR7
Milkyway Keycaps
kanatakeys.co/
keyspensory.store/
KBDFANS - Gateron Yellow Switches + ePBT Keycaps
kbdfans.com/r?id=gj29u8
Shot on Sony A7 III + Sony FE35mm F1.8 and Shure MV7 Dynamic Mic
Sony A7 III
amzn.to/3cGUjma
Sony FE35mm F1.8
amzn.to/3bPHpTu
Shure MV7
amzn.to/2TXIpOO
A Quick Disclaimer - Some links I have provided are affiliate links that generate a small commission to support this channel. It helps me buy more stuff to create content if you shop through those links at no cost to you! Thanks for the support! :) 
Игры
"Should I splurge or save my money?" Definitely needs to be a series covering everything from cases to PCBs and switches just to name a few.
Glad to hear that! Perhaps I can do more on these series
@@Keybored yes please, it would massively help people new to this hobby
I would love to see one on case foams as well!
U should definitely continue this series
Thanks!
Hey wait there's only one place that I know of that calls those fruits Naartjies
Suh dude
agree
Seconded. Keep it up!
I really enjoyed the video, super interesting to see all these sets side by side with an in depth comparison. Would love to see more like this!
Thanks Corey!
Definitely keep this series up, it's full of great information for newbies.
Thank you! Appreciate the support!
hope to see more like this! would really love to see explanations on the typing experience of different profiles. I got a set I love the look and sound of, but the flatness led to poor accuracy when typing.
Thank you for the suggestion!
Fantastic video, and a very objective look!
I appreciate the fact that a lot of vendors are offering multiple in stock options now. It would be interesting to expand this with some of the regularly instock/ready to ship options from Cannon Keys, Novel Keys, and Kinetic Labs. I've got a set of NK PBoW and CK Sugarplum and find them both to be very high quality for a reasonable price!
It's great to see these components become more available!
Although I have my qualms about HK Gaming copying the designs of popular GMK sets and their distasteful way of handling criticism, I think this is a very good, objective review of keycap sets in each price point. Great job, Scott!
That's fair. Video was just focusing in the differences between different price point caps
Don’t get me wrong though. I think you did very well being fair and objective when comparing these keycap sets!
Although I have my qualms about GMK sets looking like you dipped you hands in grease before typing on them after a month, I see your point and think HK is scummy.
I get what you mean, it's not fair to the designers having their designs ripped off with no control over its quality but if gmk didn't do 2 year lead times and very limited drops the market for clones wouldn't exist.
@@SpektrikMusic yeah, for example, gmk parcel has already been cloned and it hasn't even been manufactured yet.
having an alternative is nice, since not everyone needs the "highest" quality. i'm currently using kon momo clones.
i think this is a great series, in depth analysis on keycaps was something i was wondering about last week and I'm still going to get a milkyway set and KAM set as i have 2 gmk sets on the way already. there's different profiles that this series could dive into as well.
Thabk you for the suggestion! I'll see what I can do with a series like this in the future!
Great video! Milkyway keys have really great quality! They are also now working with designers which is great to see! Love your videos man keep it up 👍
Thank you for the support! Yeah I see them doing more original stuff which is great!
Great video! Would have loved to hear your thoughts on some other profiles, such as the OEM Mistel Doubleshot PBT keycaps as well. I have them on all my boards and I think they're a very underrated set for the money. They're also slightly shaped differently than other OEM profile keycaps I've used.
Yup! The mistels are a pretty good set!
you should do more of this kind of thing because it is extremely useful for a lot of people!
Thank you for the suggestion! Will think about how to keep a series like this in the future!
Do I appreciate videos like this? Even when I read the title of the video, I sighed - "FINALLY"
That's great to hear!
Would definitely love to see more of these 😊
:) Thank you for the feedback!
I like this format, great idea!
I was a bit surprised you didn't mention line weight consistency, letter placement and letter spacing (i.e. shif t) when talking about the dye-sub quality, then again the sets you chose where not made for some of those comparisons (ePBT coolkid is a very bad choice for that imho).
When talking about HK I think you should also mention the topic of plagiarism. Sadly even ePBT has some insane delivery times these days, which understandibly but more sadly influences many people to buy knock-off sets.
Great points! I wanted to keep it simple overall :)
Would love to see some more comparisons! Maybe between different profiles? e.g. ASA vs KAT vs Cherry etc.
Thank you for the suggestions!
Excellent video as always.
It's super informational.
Thank you so much Shak!
Keep up da good vids i enjoy the relaxing vibe :)
Thanks Veritas! Will do!
@@Keybored could you compare keycaps from price range like gmk, epbt, tao hao thing, akko, etc but the same profile. To see are the more expensive keycaps more worth it
Yea I really like this type of content! Please keep going! Hope to see more!
Also looking forward to the abs comparison vid in the future as well!
Thank you so much!
thanks for the good work man! The review looks pretty objective
You're definitely welcome!
I think a good comparison to toss in is RGB shine through. I’d heard that cheaper keycaps leak light vs some of the more expensive options.
Great point!
You just earned a sub. This is amazing content for a newbie like me!
Thank you so much for the sub Diego! Welcome to the hobby!
Great video and very informative
Thabk you so much! Glad it was informative!
another amazing video as always
Thank you! Hope the content is helpful
Great explanation vid!
Thank you chris!
Great video, always love the way you objectively handle comparisons. I really think that people overhype the expensive stuff without realizing how much value you can get at the lower end. (I couldn't ever live with ABS shine on a set as expensive as GMK, I don't know how others do) I wonder if you could compare the sound more objectively by showing the pitch in some frequency analyzer, to my ears the milkyway caps actually sounded deepest and the best to me, but only slightly. Also I wonder if maybe the average weight of keys might show something as well, maybe it better correlates with sound as it seems like even though ePBT is thickest it is not the deepest sounding, although I guess there are so many variables with acoustics it'd be hard to know.
addition: it seems much easier to tell that the sound is deeper on the milkyway on the whole keyboard sound test compared to the single key sound test, maybe that should factor more into the sound portion given that there may be bigger differences on each row
You make a great point! Thank you for the comments and I appreciate the feedback!
Thank you so much! My space bar had has this problem of unbalance that costed me a week of troubleshooting up till now. Turn out the problem was a warped keycap.
That's too bad! Warped PBT keycaps are very annoying... but can be fixed
I'd love to see more keycap comparisons. Especially for in stock items. Profiles, materials etc. are all talking points.
Thank you for the suggestions!
I tried a couple of cheap (relatively, around 40€) sets from Aliexpress and it's a mixed bag, some are quite bad and some decent. Then I got a set of Akko Midnight and the difference is night and day. For around 50€ next day shipping on Amazon, as opposed to long waits and group buys, I got a set of PBT double shot keycaps which are incredibly crisp and vibrant. That's it, I'm an Akko fan now.
:) Glad you found something that works!
Yes pls continue this is fire
Thank you! Will think of how to fit this kind of content in!
As a HHKB-layout enthusiast, I usually have to fork out extra money for the "higher quality" brands just to get compatibility. Extra cost for more keycaps, basically!
This is very true!
i love your keycap reviews! could you do some videos on akko asa keycaps?
Will have to collect more Asa profiles :)
@@Keybored you can get the black pink asa on eBay for 37.99. it says akko direct. That's a great price if you like the color.
@@Keybored ok!
akko makes a few of their sets in Cherry pofile as well
Another excellent video! Looking forward to similar ones in the future. Would you care to share your opinion on buying clone keycap sets? I've heard some decent points for and against buying clones. Personally, I think it's okay if the set was group buy only and the only way to get it would be to pay crazy aftermarket price.
Thank you! Haha, I'll stay out of the clone keycap comments. Will create a huge division of discussions lol.
I'm a huge fan of my Kinetic Labs Octopus PBT caps which are fairly decent priced. The legends on some of the modifier keys is a bit off but overall for the price I have no real complaints. I only recently built my first custom and I couldn't justify spending hundreds on something like a GMK set and know that they're ABS and would eventually shine, also not to mention the nearly 2 year wait on a lot of sets.
I need to check those out! I've been meaning to look at the octopus and the cannon keys offerings as well!
more of these vids pls!
Thanks!
Well before I never was happy with budget caps other than 70 to 80 dollar ones from cannon or epbt, etc. But amazingly there are tons of really good ones on amazon for about 50 and a lot of gmk sets instock for 180 on keeb sites if you want the best. Honestly tho if i was building new today, I would just get one of the many quality double shot sets for 50 and prob buy a qk65 or a zoom65. The budget relm is insainly good now. Which is awesome for new comers to the hobby.
So many good boards and components for a good price now!
This series is gooooooood
Thank you!
i got a 20 dollar set from amazon and the legends are perfectly crisp and no keys are uneven even the spacebar is perfectly flush against my counters. either manufacturing processes have gotten more refined or i got lucky but either way it's pretty great to see
they are 1.3mm like the cheaper ones in the video
Great video :)
Thanks!
I splurged on my Akko ASA Midnight keycaps and I'm glad I did.
So much money saved even though my parents are giving the "look of shame" for buying something so expensive LMAO
Haha yeah... The mech rabbit hole is endless
100% I like this style of video
Thank you so much Paul!
Great video! Wish you used bow sets from epbt for better comparison
I wish I had it in hand :(
Heck yeah. Great series. One thing that really concerns me is the copying of designs by lower-end manufacturers. Yeah, I'd like to pay less and a little fuzz on the legend doesn't bother me because I'm typing, not staring at these details. I personally believe a lot of the higher-end keycaps are way overpriced and that the sales model needs to change to favor the consumer. The manufacturers need to hire designers to create their own special lines of caps instead of copying the pricy ones too. The way things are now, the consumers have a false sense of superiority simply because they are paying more, when really they are being taken advantage of. I understand how the group buy came about, but the hobby has grown a lot, especially since the beginning of the pandemic, and it's time to move on from the group buy and manufacture caps for stock.
Thank you! Great analysis! Yeah... it's an interesting hobby this is turning out to be... a lot of originality and a lot of duplication of that originality as well! Really curious how all this will pan out!
yo whats that set with the multicolored crazily placed legends, that looks dope. great vid btw, you never disapoint!
oh nvm you said it in the vid im dumb
Np! Yeah it's the epbt cool kids :)
Hey Keybored i am gonna start work on my first custom keyboard soon. I chosen to lube and film the gk61, but I have little to no idea how to do it. I watched your tutorial on how to do it but u never go into how u made it sound so good. I would be happy just making the keyboard lubed and filmed with out it being modded. Please can u tell me so I am confident knowing that I didn't waste my money buying stuff. I bought basically everything u used in the vid but not anything to do with modding it. If you respond it would make my day. :)
Yup! Just the lube and film should help that Gk61! And one day, if you want to mod it more, you sure can! I used krytox 205 for lube and TX films the .125mm one :) lube it the same way as the linear lubing tutorial video! Film fits nicely between the top and lower housing
@@Keybored ty
Wished that there was a comparison of the stems of the keycaps especially the stabilizer keys etc. Some keycaps sets sometimes become loose after using them for a while, while some are too tight they come off with the switches or the clip in stabs. Some keycaps also don't fit certain stabilizers differently (gateron/durock/cherry stabs)
That's a great point!
What is the height difference seen among all of the keycaps mentioned?
I have noticed that epbt and novelkeys pbt keycaps sit a bit taller than other offerings from nicepbt, xmi or cannoncaps?
Can you confirm this? Also love your videos!
I noticed the problem with a lot of cheap PBT is the major warpage issue. Even from watching your video I noticed countless warped 1u caps.
Perhaps referring to the edges?
very nice descriptive video ty. My .02 for me perception of quality is a steep curve from 40 - 89, much steeper quality increase imo from let's say 89 to 120 GMK :) Whenever I can I try to think of ePBT being the highest price I am willing to go for keycaps on that keeb, if not I consider that a *GMK* splurge. So with all that being said: Will I be joining GMK Chaos, yes. Is that supercontradictory to everything i just said, yes. Reason: IT COMES IN REVERSE LEGENDS ! :)
Thank you so much! Yeah very different pricing levels for all these caps lol.
Please do one for doubleshot!
Will keep that in mind for future videos!
epic video 👍
Thank you! Hope it's helpful!
Please do comparison on more brands
Will look into this in the future!
would definitely want to see GMK!
Thank you for the feedback!
if anyone here would rather not support hk gaming, i much prefer drop's artifact keycaps if they're available in your region
awesome vid as always!
Yup I actually have a set of the drops artifact as well as the skylights and they're great! Didn't realize all the distaste around hk gaming haha. I just chose this box since it fit the price point I was looking for
I saw your navy blue oem set on Amazon and almost pull the trigger, but cherry just sound better for me.
:) Cherry is one of the best to type on also
I really want that wrist rest! I'm not sure if you'll see this, but I am very interested in finding one :)
Hi Green Libertas! The wrist rest was actually made by one of my friends in his shop haha.
Can you do a comparison between high and low quality pbt and abs keycaps
Will consider an ABS one in the future!
do you know any cheaper sets that have a gmk-ish more high pitched sound profile? i know a lot of budget keycaps are really thick pbt and sound kind of dead to me
I don't think I'd recommend hk gaming dye subs because their dye sub quality is absolutely horrendous. I bought a 9009 set off them and some of the dye sub started smudging and leaking onto my fingers after a month. Shell out for a slightly more expensive kit. Been buying akko sets for a while now and haven't looked back.
If you are a gamer, stay away from GMK and ABS.
WASD doesn’t feel the same in few week and shines super quick. Get pbt and you’ll thank me later. Or you can have 2 keyboards with one for gaming 😉
mhm it not only becomes shiny it kinda gets grimy and is not that great of an experience
Ngl i kind of disagree it will shine up anyway so use whatever
Second this for sure. My ePBT sets have lasted very long as opposed to my friends Red Samurai which got shiny after years of gaming
It really depends on your skin type and how acidy your oils are, my gmk sets don't change much in 2-3 years. I let my friend use one of my keyboards for couple weeks and he managed to shine wasd on my GMK mizu.....
@@not_your_business666 sadly skin type is not by choice. Also this can only be known after actual experiences, so you need to dive head first before knowing.
Dk why but they sound pretty similar and I like the sound of thinner one
i mean its not the best comparison on the EPBT with cool kids being the comparison for the EPBT one,but this is a great comparison good one
Thanks! Yeah unfortunately that was the only epbt set I had on hand lol
do you have any experience with AKKO keycaps?
I do actually. They do make some good quality PBT doubleshot caps in multiple profiles, and I have had success with them in the past
Thoughts on Akko doubleshot pbt sets?
They're interesting. They're somewhat between a dye sub pbt and double shot abs in terms of sound. I like how the double shot process actually creates a more rigid space bar also
Amazing video as always.
I sadly just can't recommend people buy HK Gaming Keycaps based on the way they act, copy designs and much more distasteful behaviour.
But with that said you did a great job comparing sets at different price points, this will be very helpful for people new to the hobby.
Thank you! Only used HK gaming since they fit the price point... Didn't realize all the issues with them
I agree, it's an unfortunate truth that clone caps will always exist as long as prices and turn around time for GMK remain high and long. However just the behavior of HK gaming as a company turned me off of them entirely. It's one thing to copy a design, it's another to be a huge jerk about it.
I feel like things are getting better and that the industry understands that there is a need for shorter turn around times and lower prices. The fact that a lot of vendors are providing a number of key cap sets that are in stock, lower priced, and of a high quality shows that there are at least some changes happening.
What do you think about shine through PBT keycaps?
Hmmm... I have seen some that are nicer quality (especially the pudding ones) and others that are too thin. Go for thicker ones!
I wonder how Akko caps compare since they are doubleahot instead of dye sub
They are a bit different. I feel the double shot pbt caps sound in between the dye sub pbt and something like double shot abs. I have a few akko sets and they sound and feel great. Only issue is the legends on a few keys like backspace and 8 lol
u should have included crp set here tho
I wish I had a set of that!
Great video! Really helps out with newcomers to this hobby! Surprisingly though, out of all the four keycaps sound test, the HK Gaming Spacebar sounds the best, while overall, Milky Way's set sounds deeper and creamier than the rest.
Great at picking out the nuances!
Do milkyways sit higher on switches compared to gmk like epbt does?
Hmmm... I need to check that out
Is that ar really stock or is the typing audio edited ?
All stock. With the new mic, I don't even run any noise reduction since the dynamic mic actually doesn't even pick up any room noise.
What about texture - I'm dying to invest in an mid-high price end game set but above sound and legends... is texture - I absolutely do not want smooth key-caps... who makes key-caps with a nice texture to them?
to everyone watching, please DO NOT support HK Gaming. they specifically target keycap designs in group buy, copy them, sell them on amazon before the original set even ends their group buy, and then say disrespectful things to the creator of the set.
Interesting... I just picked them as an example of a cheap pbt set
@@Keybored I wouldn't expect you, or anyone, to know the bad practices of HK Gaming. great video! just unfortunate about HK gaming being represented in a sense. I just wanted others to know as, evidently, not everyone knows why HK gaming is bad
I feel like ive heard of this series before, but anyway, i suggest doing lube next
Thanks for the suggestion!
Also, cheaper PBT caps use less blocking agents, resulting in a more "transparent" or "washed" look.
That's a great point!
my dye sub keycaps are like 30 bucks and 1.4 mm thickness I think.
Sound wise there was hardly any difference between the caps. So, only difference was the crispiness of the legends. Does it justify paying this much just for crisper legends? Not in my book. The only reason to cash out this much money for a keycaps set is if it's a limited run and/or a special design, so it's more of a collector thing
Yeah, for most dye sub pbt caps, they're all pretty thick and similar materials so they sound very similar
I personally prefer the feel of Abs over pbt, Sure pbt is less prone to shining but abs just feels right
I actually prefer the sound of ABS over PBT as well!
yes pleaseeeee
happy balls keycaps. i got side print and they're 2mm thick, and pbt
Thank you for the advice!
What Do u prefer keychron k8 or gmmk tkl
I would probably take the keychrons over some of the GMMK offerings actually
Hey Keybored, I sent you an email regarding some of the dampener you used in one of your modding videos. Would appreciate it if you could take a look. Keep up the great vids.
Yup! Responded!
Comparison videos ftw
Thanks Ali!
Dude, why is my stock spacebar is sometimes not functioning and it sometimes double click by itself. Any solutions? I don't know any where to ask this problem. Thanks if someone can reply this
It might be sticking perhaps due to a bent wire or warp. Otherwise, also check out the switch to see if there is any issue!
@@Keybored thanks for the reply. I already check the switch and it work just fine without the keycap. I'll try your advice with my spacebar
Milkyway is a rising manufactor I think, just joined the demon girl GB recently.
They sure are! I like the nezuko colorway. :)
Nice video, also, it's better, not "more better" :D
Thanks! Haha yeah I borrowed that from someone else's video on the car side
@@Keybored I knew it was a Donut reference!
@@PaperKhaos haha you got it!
I will be roasted by admitting this, but I use GMK clones because they're accessible. I can't be bothered to wait for a set of GMK Olivia's if I can get the clones in a week.
Hey, we gotta do what we gotta do
regardless of price pbt>abs
cant believe gmk charges over $100 for keycaps that shine after a few months
Suggestion for a change in the title for this video:
Keycap materials, Is spending MORE money = MORE better??
Having shorter titles that get the idea across might be more successful than longer titles. I'm no youtube wizard but just a suggestion.
Thanks for the suggestion Titus!
I wish the comparison didn't include HK Gaming just cause of how shitty a company they are and not wanting to give any attention to them, but otherwise, great video!
Yeah a lot of people pointed that out... Included them but cause it fit a price point I was looking at... It's unfortunate
Do this with switches and lubes and stabs
Thanks for the suggestion!
do ABS, then ASA :)
Perhaps ABS next!
seems like milkyway is best value
I really like their recent offerings,
Sounds like the more you pay the deeper the sound.
Perhaps!
Moar!
Thanks Beckett!
i mean like abs keycaps are hell expensive while pbt are the cheapest but also better
With your conclusions, I would be careful generalizing all cheap options below 50. Early on in the hobby I tried a 30$ set and the legending, alignment and overall consistency was atrocious.
Well noted!
why does the rgb shine through my key caps?
Some Keycaps are shine through design with translucent resin
@@Keybored mine arent shine throught tho...
@@spicyphoisdabest hmm might be on the thinner side perhaps?
@@Keybored probably, nice video!
wht do you mean the grey is supposed to be different? they are different, really not at all look alike dunno why you might be seeing otherwise or maybe is more noticiable in video dunno
Yeah, they are slightly different, but if you look at the original modern dolch, the lighter grey is more subtle and much lighter. I guess that's the issue with these HK gaming caps and the company... found out about the copying, etc.
i would definitely just include another brand of keycaps from the same oem that hk gaming uses, promoting their shitty business is just not the way to go
Yeah, heard about their issues after this video... not the best way to go about things!
@@Keybored 🙂
To be entirely objective, they all sound good. Honestly, I thought the lower ends sounded even better than the epbt, except the spacebar for epbt sounded slightly better.
But this is if you're really listening to it carefully to check for differences. And realistically, nobody is listening that carefully to their typing sounds daily. It throws off your focus during typing, your accuracy and thoughts. When you're thinking of the next words to type, you're not thinking about the sound. We all know this. But here's the truth: The problem lies in the consumer mentality. If you buy a cheap keycap set you're going to believe that it doesn't sound as good as GMK, although the difference in sound is really minimal. You'll even convince yourself that GMK sounds better, and it may if you listen very carefully. But at the end of the day you paid $100 more for that negligible difference.
:) Thank you for the analysis and your thoughts!