The EpicGear Defiant Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Review

Conclusion

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.