The EpicGear Defiant Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Review
by E. Fylladitakis on May 11, 2016 9:00 AM ESTConclusion
I always try to use every keyboard that we review as my personal keyboard for at least a week. My typical weekly usage includes a lot of typing (about 100-150 pages), a few hours of gaming and some casual usage, such as internet browsing and messaging. The EG MMS Purple switches that our Defiant sample came with were very good for such tasks, as tactile switches are great for typing. I would personally prefer EG MMS Orange switches, because the audible actuation of the EG MMS Purple (much like the Cherry MX Blue counterpart) can become annoying when working late at night, especially if there are others nearby.
As far as gaming goes, the EpicGear Defiant feels a little inadequate without any of its accessories. It is very responsive and feels solid as a keyboard, but I found it very tiring to use it for long periods of time without a wrist/palm rest. This is not a problem for low profile keyboards, but high profile of mechanical keyboards makes the use or a palm rest a necessity for long gaming sessions. The programmability is certainly convenient, but the software that comes with the Defiant is far too simple and its macro recording capabilities are minimal. Its modular accessories can improve the appeal that the Defiant has towards gamers significantly, but we have to wait for their release to check on their quality, practicality and cost.
Aside from the optional accessories, the other primary marketing point of the Defiant is the modular switches. This is interesting as a concept but we feel that few users will find it actually practical. One of the very few applications that we can think of is to have a Defiant with Orange/Grey switches and replace a few with Purple switches so as to receive audible feedback from selected keys, or to replace a few Purple switches with Grey switches so as to have quiet gaming sessions. Mixing all three kinds of switches, from my perspective, onto a single keyboard does not seem practical in any way. It would be interesting if the LED could be removed alongside the switch, allowing the replacement of a bad LED/switch combination, but the LEDs are soldered onto the main PCB. A damaged/dead LED is a far more frequent mechanical keyboard fault than a broken switch. Mechanical switches are extremely reliable and EpicGear rates their switches as more reliable even than Cherry’s.
The ability to remove the switches also raises reliability concerns. The Defiant feels solid, but we are working on a brand new keyboard. Having the plastic frames of the switches locking onto an aluminum plate and their contacts simply pressing against other contacts on the PCB may be problematic for the long-term reliability of the keyboard, especially if the switches are being replaced frequently (which we admit, is not a typical use case). The contacts are gold plated, but the 30 μm plating at the contact points can be very easily damaged and that will inevitably lead to corrosion. Regarding mechanical cohesion and reliability, we believe that such problems will be infrequent and that the Defiant should last through several years of everyday use, but its solidity simply cannot compare to traditional designs.
One of the greatest advantages that the Defiant has is its retail price. The MSRP price of the Defiant is $90, which already is a reasonable price for a backlit, programmable mechanical keyboard. When it hits the retail market, it is almost guaranteed that competition will bring the retail price of the Defiant at least 10% down. That puts the Defiant, a keyboard that can be upgraded/modified at whim, at a strong advantage against its competition. Assuming that the retail price of the accessories will also be reasonable and useful, they should allow each user to customize the Defiant according to their needs. This gives the keyboard the potential to offering significant value to those that are attracted by the subtle design of the Defiant and the concept of a customizable, modular keyboard.
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Samus - Wednesday, May 11, 2016 - link
I personally used a few Microsoft Natural 4000's for years, a few because they only last about 9 months before the keys start to bind (especially return and space bar)I found the layout just aggressive enough to be comfortable but not so aggressive that I was unable to go back to using a rectangular ANSI keyboard layout, which is inevitable since I work on multiple computers daily (I'm in IT) or even my own notebook.
Which is the real issue with the uber ergonomic designs. They are awesome once you are used to them, but it's like typing on hot ashes when you have to inevitably used a standard keyboard again at some point.
BrokenCrayons - Thursday, May 12, 2016 - link
The Natural 4000 was one of the models I tried using. I didn't have it long enough to test the longevity before I gave it away, but I older model MS Naturals suffered from the same key binding problems. I had some beige Natural from the early 2000s that I used in place of a Model M for a year or so and it was misery to use before it started to wear out, but after the keys turned crappy, it was a hand destroying monster.Anyway IIRC, I used the 4000 for three-ish months and it was disappointing that it made my wrists and hands feel just as bad, but much of my computing time involves typing because I write extensively so I'm always looking for an alternative design that will spare me the pain. It's important for my work and for my hobby writing books that I can type for hours. For me, the transition back to a flat keyboard was always a huge relief. I can't describe how much better it felt to use a normal keyboard on a laptop or netbook. Yeah, I realize that's an experience unique to me, but I was really disappointed that mechanical keyboards and ergo keyboards always fall short of making things better than a membrane board. At the moment, the least painful keyboard I've used is the one built into my workplace Dell Latitude e6440. Typing on it is fantastic and I've long since unplugged my docking station keyboard.
As for longevity, the only membrane keyboards I've managed to kill off are dead because I spilled tea on them or the MS keyboards that, after hearing about your experience with the 4000, might just have a long-running design problem. And there's an original Model M that I typed to death. My experiences with other cheap $10-20 keyboards and laptop/netbook keyboards is that they've all been pretty much bulletproof for as long as I've needed them.
erple2 - Saturday, May 21, 2016 - link
You can still buy the Model M today (sort of) - Unicomp bought the licensing rights to the buckling spring, and they can now be bought in USB varieties from pckeyboard (http://www.pckeyboard.com/page/category/UltraClass...Impulses - Wednesday, May 11, 2016 - link
They've already tested some ergo options, read thru back reviews.Ogewo - Wednesday, May 11, 2016 - link
Those reviews are few and far between. I'd like them to be numerous and close together.althaz - Thursday, May 12, 2016 - link
Those keyboards are pretty rare though, they are over-represented here, really.ACeeTee - Wednesday, May 11, 2016 - link
Just made an account to point out that this is not the first modular keyboard, Mad Catz has had the S.T.R.I.K.E 7 since 2012 and that is modular :/alexvoda - Wednesday, May 11, 2016 - link
I have not read the article yet, but I already spotted bulshit in the first paragraph.I quote: "which is the first modular and expandable mechanical keyboard"
Starting from the end:
- Yes, it is a keyboard
- Yes, it uses mechanical switches
- Expandable?? Umm, NO! Expandable means 1. to increase in extent, size, volume, scope, etc.; 2. to spread or stretch out; unfold; 3. to express in fuller form or greater detail; develop.
The keyboard on the IBM Thinkpad 701c is the only expandable keyboard I know of. You can see it in action here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLj3aCfqzOM
- Modular?? Umm, NO! The Azio Levetron Mech4 is modular. The Microsoft Sidewinder x6 is modular. The Tesoro Tizona is modular. The Ultimate Hacking Keyboard is very modular. This one? Not so much.
- First? As in first to use user replacable switches. Nope. AFAIK the Team Wolf Void Ray+ and the Team Wolf Zuque+ were launched before this one. And certainly the "Smart 68" was launched before all three.
hoarangE - Wednesday, May 11, 2016 - link
Personally, I think you are reading far to into that sentence, as it could have easily been a typo and read as "GeIL’s latest gaming keyboard, which is THEIR first modular and expandable mechanical keyboard and comes with EpicGear’s own proprietary switches" which would make your whole statement moot.Plus if you read more of the article, you would have seen that this product IS, in fact, modular (though the modular units were not available for review at this time).
Anyways, to the author, thanks for the article!
fanofanand - Wednesday, May 11, 2016 - link
The Razer Tarantula from circa 2006-2007 also had replaceable keys. Worst keyboard I ever bought.