Price When Reviewed

119

Best Prices Today: Varmilo Minilo VXB67 keyboard

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$119

$129

One of the very first mechanical keyboards that I purchased was from Varmilo, a Chinese model centered on easy designs with strong parts. Solid sufficient, the truth is, that I nonetheless use that board regularly, even after modifying it a number of occasions. So I used to be excited to take a look at one of many firm’s newest fashions in a extra official capability, seeing how Varmilo had improved in the previous couple of years. 

Further studying: See our roundup of the best gaming keyboards to find out about competing merchandise.

The Varmilo Minilo VXB67 design

The Minilo VXB67 is a beautiful little board, mixing refined hues with high-quality plastic and understated lighting into an interesting complete. It’s additionally sticking with these high-quality parts, with a compact however high-quality plastic physique and fully customized electro-capacitive switches (extra on these later). 

The low level of the design is its complicated perform key structure, which is exacerbated by an incapability to reprogram any keys in any respect. This provides the Minilo a steep studying curve even in comparison with different compact keyboards, and it insists that you just adapt to it as a substitute of the opposite manner round. But in the event you can forgive this quirk, and also you’re not on the lookout for simple customization, it’s a high-quality providing with some distinctive enchantment in a sea of samey gaming and typing boards. 

Compared to extra utilitarian designs, like Logitech’s MX Keys Mechanical and even Keychron’s Q sequence, or the bombastic disco mild present of gaming keyboards, the Minilo is pleasantly understated. The plastic case has a double-layered impact, with an eggshell-colored exterior and a layer of minty inexperienced instantly surrounding the keys. These colours are continued into the keycaps themselves, accented by a splash of blue on the modifier keys. I believe it will look nice subsequent to that new Fractal Design Terra case from Computex. If you’re not a fan of this explicit “Eucalyptus” mixture, there’s a pink-themed “Mendozae” possibility out there as nicely. 

Michael Crider/Foundry

The beauty lengthen to the remainder of the board. Note the brand on the underside proper, which lights up (and might be disabled in the event you please), and the matching inexperienced backside plate with its engraved metallic badge supplying you with all of the producer and mannequin particulars. There’s a variety of cautious and really interesting work put into this board, as you may count on from a producer that focuses so intently on its colourful particular editions. Double-stage keyboard ft are a pleasant shock, ABS keycaps (as a substitute of the extra premium PBT) barely much less so. 

The structure is a variation of the favored 65% semi-standard, although I discovered a few the alternatives to be odd. The Delete secret’s simply above the arrow cluster, as a substitute of within the upper-right nook as in most related designs. Some of the perform layer structure is unusual, too: F-keys alongside the highest are apparent sufficient, however who appears to be like for the Print Screen key on L, or media keys from T to P? More advanced {hardware} capabilities, like controlling the lighting or pairing through Bluetooth, require a dive into the person guide. 

Michael Crider/Foundry

For instance, the board has no energy change. It’ll auto-sleep after half-hour, and re-awaken with a double-tap of the house bar. To flip off the white LEDs, you press Fn+X. To pair a brand new Bluetooth machine or change between present paired gadgets, press Fn+Q, W, or E… which is able to flash a lightweight on 1, 2, or 3, although these keys aren’t those you’re urgent. To change the highest row from the default numbers to the perform row, press Fn+Page Down. None of those operations are indicated on the keycaps themselves. Oh, and there’s no guide within the field: You must seek for it on Varmilo’s assist website, including one more little bit of frustration to all this.

Perhaps worse, there’s no option to change any of those pre-programmed capabilities. That’s a particular ding in opposition to the design in 2023. Budget boards like the excellent G.Skill KM250 can get away with that, however Varmilo can’t, particularly on a compact board the place a cushty and intuitive structure is essential for usability. This is the largest downside of an in any other case glorious product. 

What concerning the Varmilo Minilo VXB67 switches? 

This board comes with switches designed solely by and for Varmilo. That’s not precisely unusual as of late — half the gaming keyboards appear to have “custom” switches, which typically means an organization like Kailh or Gateron made them, probably with slightly further design work, probably not, and re-branded the outer casings. That’s not the case right here: The “Jasmine” switches on our evaluate unit are electro-capacitive, and pretty distinctive for it. 

Michael Crider/Foundry

“Electro-capacitive” used to discuss with a design that used a sliding stem in addition to a rubber dome between the switches and the circuit board registering key presses, leading to a particular “thock” really feel that made the Happy Hacking keyboards in style. That isn’t what Varmilo’s electro-capacitive switches do. There’s no sheet of rubber domes, every change is completely contained in its personal Cherry MX-style housing. What the electro-capacitive time period refers to is the stem and leaf design, which doesn’t require direct contact like a typical MX-style change, actuating the press by mere proximity as a substitute of the same old “click.” This signifies that from the highest of a keypress to the underside, the one resistance you are feeling comes from the stem sliding alongside the change housing and the spring itself. 

If all that looks like Greek to you, right here’s the TLDR model: The EC V2 switches on this board are very {smooth}. The “Jasmine” variant of the change isn’t simply color-coded to match the keyboard, it’s additionally a speedy linear design, in order that they’re barely lighter than most switches with a quicker activation. If you prefer to sort calmly with out bottoming out (urgent down till you possibly can’t anymore), you’ll be notably happy with these switches. 

Michael Crider/Foundry

And that’s an excellent factor, because you don’t have every other decisions. While most keyboards on this value vary include hot-swap change sockets that allow you to customise the switches, Varmilo omits the characteristic on the Minilo. That’s not out of any form of stinginess: The distinctive properties of those EC switches make them incompatible with different MX-style change designs, even when they give the impression of being very related. If that further flexibility is vital to you, there’s one other barely costlier mannequin of the Minilo with commonplace MX switches, hot-swap sockets, RGB lighting, and a 2.4GHz wi-fi dongle. 

But once more, even with the restrictions, these switches are very good. Smooth and quiet because of boxy stems, an all-plastic physique, and a little bit of silicone between the plate and the PCB, this board was surprisingly low-volume in an empty espresso store even with out switches with “silent” properties. It’s a disgrace that ordering the EC V2 switches or the hot-swap sockets are an either-or proposition. 

How does the Varmilo Minilo VXB67 evaluate to the competitors? 

Varmilo asks rather less than $110 for the Minilo VXB67 on its web site, with a selection of a number of electro-capacitive change variants. It’s about $5 extra in the event you go for the mannequin with commonplace MX switches and hot-swap sockets, which additionally permits you to join through a wi-fi USB dongle along with Bluetooth and upgrades the lights to RGB. 

Michael Crider/Foundry

However, postage to the U.S. makes the worth shoot up significantly — round $150 complete for me. Buying from third-party distributors on Amazon or the MechanicalKeyboards.com specialty retailer brings the worth again right down to the $110-130 vary, relying in your change decisions. 

That places the Minilo within the midrange class for mechanical boards, competing with wi-fi non-gaming designs just like the Keychron K6 Pro. In that context, the query turns into clear: Do you desire a very fairly, very high-quality keyboard with primarily zero customization choices (together with programming), or a board that’s much less eye-catching however lets you customise to your coronary heart’s content material? 

Michael Crider/Foundry

I can’t reply that query for you. But I can say that there’s no cause for Varmilo to omit programming choices, even when the electro-capacitive switches take hot-swapping off the desk. You’ll must study this board, not make it conform to your person fashion. It’s an oversight that’s arduous to forgive when each different board on this value vary gives a minimum of some form of programming possibility — even Logitech. 

If you may get over that limitation, the Varmilo Minilo VXB67 is a wonderful little board that’s equally cozy in your desktop or in your laptop computer bag. Just don’t count on it to be particularly accommodating.