New keyboard again? WTF are you doing parasurv?!
and this is the final one, for a while… I swear!
Date: 2022-09-22
I start to think that I am changing the keyboard as frequently as other humans do it with their underwear. But here me out, this will be the final one for a while. I feel like I found the one! I proposed to her, and she said yes!
Why I needed a new keyboard?
OK, here is an explanation for my new keyboard. As much as I liked the bluetooth keyboard, that was nice in size (made for tablets), but I had some problems with it. Slow wake up time, and sometimes I felt it was laggy in games, but also for typing, despite I had a good dongle for it.
So I went on for some keyboard hunting. Since I have some arm issues, the maximum size was a tenkeyless keyboard (keyboard without numpad), and I wanted something silent, and I liked the bluetooth keyboard's scissor switch. Please don't hate on me for this.
A slight note that my previous must-have keyboard was a Logitech MX keys mini, which is a bluetooth keyboard, but with its own dongle. I have a good Logitech bluetooth trackball, and I really like it. I watched good reviews about this keyboard, but with the current economical situation I just can't justify the price for it, which went up about 20% here.
Honestly it was pretty quick to find a suitable keyboard for my needs. So TKL, silent switch, and at first I wanted bluetooth, but honestly I just wanted to be safe with connectivity.
Cherry Stream 3.0 TKL
My search quickly ended with the Cherry Stream 3.0 TKL keyboard. It's made by Cherry, has a full size and TKL versions, and SX scissor switch. This keyboard is primarily made for typing, which I don't mind since I type a lot. I am not a pro gamer type, but I occasionally play some games. I had no problem with playing some games so far. The look of it is also nice.
[there should be a video review here, but I couldn't find any normal one to show you, sorry]
Unfortunately I had to buy it from Amazon, since in my country I didn't find the US international version which comes with long left shift. I simple can't function with tiny left shift. I also like that I have right mod keys again, and I already modified some of my xmonad configs for workspaces switching (mod + ,./ for switching workspaces). I love the arrow keys and the normal cluster above it, much better for editing and movement. However anything bigger than a TKL, and I can develope an arm problem again.
If you have arm or wrist problem, I highly recommend getting a TKL keyboard and/or trackball. It can save you from so much pain. If you need a numpad portion, you can still buy it separately, and who knows, you may like it better on the left side of the keyboard.
The look
The keyboard is compact, no bloated bells and whistles. It has a Cherry sign at the bottom middle part, and a "Stream" sign in red at the bottom left part. Both non-intrusive.
The keys are low-profile and very similar to the old laptop keys. The Escape and functions + print screen, scroll lock and pause keys are somewhat smaller in size, but still comfortable to press. If you use caps lock, you can see a little light on it. While I don't use that key (I have mapped it to control), it is definitely a nice touch in my opinion.
What's amazing for me, is the professional look of the keyboard. Since they didn't have to worry about backlight, they used a very nice, very readable font. I would say it is very similar to JetBrain Mono font, and I definitely like the old school position of the letters at the top left corner. The mod keys are nicely labeled too (alt, control, shift, caps, backspace, tab), with fully written insert/delete/home/end keys, while the page up and down is with a sign as page up arrow/down arrow.
The keyboard has good rubber feet, and the angle they provide are very nice. The cord is not braided, but I am not worried about it. It's lengthy enough that if I want I can sit on my bed behind me and still be comfortable using it.
Overall it has nice, clean, professional look. My version is in black, but you can get it in pale grey too. While I would love to have an old school keyboard look, if I can't get something like that, it's no problem.
I choose the black color, cause my mouse is white, so I have a little bit of yin and yang meaning, with the black and white.
The feel
I instantly recognized that the keys has some kind of rubbery coat on them, but sadly it quickly disappeared after a few days of use. It gave a very nice feel to typing, and sometimes I just randomly started to touching them. Am I a keyboard sexual? Please don't judge me guys! xD Anyway it still good to type on, and not less grippy, compare to day one.
The media keys have some weird feel to it, since you only can push the bottom part of it. However it still works great and so far I really like it. I like even the order of it: volume down, mute, volume up, rewind, play/pause, forward. All six keys next to each other.
Since the keys are low profile, they are close to each other, but I don't feel that I misstype much, maybe I am getting used to it by now? The keys definitely has some tactile feedback when you pressed them, a nice feeling.
The sound
It is silent! Not long ago I spoken with family over voice chat, and the mic was almost right next to the keyboard, and it couldn't pick it up. So it's perfect in a working environment too! Even the spacebar is OK in that regard.
Type away even during the night!
Is it worth it?
I am using this keyboard for 2 weeks now, and it's well worth the price, if you want a long-term no-nonsense keyboard. No RGB bullshit, or some tricky switches. As much as I like mechanical keyboards, without the possibility to try them out it's just hard to judge them, and also pricey.
If you want something that you can use for typing and some gaming too, then I can recommend the Cherry Stream 3.0 TKL keyboard. Good feeling when you type, silent, has some nice extra media keys, and well built. I am really satisfied with my choice, and you probably won't find a similar quality keyboard at this price.
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This is post #36 of the #100DaysToOffload challenge, where we write 100 posts in a year. If you are interested in this event, check out the official website: 100DaysToOffload.com. Happy writing everybody! :)