Royal Kludge - R65 65% Wireless Gaming Keyboard (QMK/VIA)

I'm pretty new to the custom keyboard hobby, but had I known how much nicer a quality keyboard was to use, I would have gotten one a long time ago. These days, you can get a really nice keyboard for cheap. You don't have to go deep into custom land. Something like one of these will blow you mind how much nicer they are to type on. ;) [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DPWX3WTL?ref\_=ppx\_hzsearch\_conn\_dt\_b\_fed\_asin\_title\_3&th=1](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DPWX3WTL?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_3&th=1) [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DBPXNY9Z?ref\_=ppx\_hzsearch\_conn\_dt\_b\_fed\_asin\_title\_2](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DBPXNY9Z?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_2) [https://www.amazon.com/EPOMAKER-Mechanical-Swappable-Five-Layer-Bluetooth/dp/B0CW96HFFY](https://www.amazon.com/EPOMAKER-Mechanical-Swappable-Five-Layer-Bluetooth/dp/B0CW96HFFY) [https://www.amazon.com/RK-ROYAL-KLUDGE-R65-Mechanical/dp/B0CNP4P4X3](https://www.amazon.com/RK-ROYAL-KLUDGE-R65-Mechanical/dp/B0CNP4P4X3) Mice are a similar situation. A good Logitech mouse is a sweet thing to have! ;) \[Imgur\](https://i.imgur.com/pg7QzQ9.jpg)

Your best option would be the [Nuphy Air60](https://nuphy.com/products/air60-v2), a slim wireless 60% with a "minila" layout that shifts the "Z" row 1/4 key width to the right to give you room to fit arrow keys and a delete key in the lower right corner. It is almost exactly what you're asking for, the low profile switches are quiet but not silent. It blows your budget out of the water though. The RK61 QMK/VIA version is not bad. The legacy version is awful^(*), though, and the new version is wired-only. The RK R65 QMK/VIA is a 65%, only very slightly larger, but it has separate arrow keys and wireless support. * https://www.amazon.com/RK-ROYAL-KLUDGE-R65-Mechanical/dp/B0D5HCQPY8 For silent switches, you'll have to spend a little more and swap them out yourself. I recommend the Outemu Silent Yellow Jade, you can get a package of 70 for under $20 even with Amazon prices which is enough for any of these boards. You can also get the CIDOO QK61 or Redragon^(**) K717 Alcor and configure them with mod-tap arrows, which lets you use the right-hand shift/alt/win/ctl keys as arrows when you tap them. * https://www.amazon.com/Redragon-K717-Programmable-Mechanical-Dampening/dp/B0DL578X3K * https://www.amazon.com/MechLands-QK61-Programmable-Swappable-Mechanical/dp/B0D8VMD3P3 [More info](https://github.com/ArgentStonecutter/keyboards/blob/main/via-boards.md)... Moving up a little bit in size, you might find you can fit a 75% board in your bag. The RK R75 and Redragon K715 are decent options. * https://www.amazon.com/RK-ROYAL-KLUDGE-R75-Mechanical/dp/B0D3GZYN1P * https://www.amazon.com/Redragon-K715-Programmable-Mechanical-Dedicated/dp/B0DKXLDJ24 For these boards you will need a 90 pack of silent switches. Finally, you can build a Minila layout board from parts, using the YMDK DK61 or DKKB DK6064 PCBs. This is a bit adventurous though. [More info](https://github.com/ArgentStonecutter/keyboards/tree/main/layouts/yr6095)... ----- ^(* All the legacy Royal Kludge boards are pretty awful, the new QMK/VIA boards seem to be a bit of an about turn. That would be the *QMK/VIA* versions of the RK61, RK R65, RK R75, and RK R87) ^(** Same caveat as Royal Kludge, only the K715 and K717 are good boards)

I would strongly recommend against that specific Royal Kludge model. The QMK/VIA versions of the RK61/R75/R65/R87 are OK. Magnetic is not going to give you better battery life. Even TMR requires more power than simple switches. Nuphy Air75 v2 perhaps.

I had similar thoughts when I built my PC, ended up with a royal kludge and haven't looked back, first one died on me, drink spilled on it not by me. Immediately ordered a second one it is worth the $80 and I don't see any reason to spend more for a full mechanical keyboard

RK isn't bad at all for the price. A little bit plasticky, but hey work. North facing LED's too so if your keycaps are shine through and are form the top half of the key will be nicely illuminated

I had a rk years ago and it was fine, until a key failed. I have a keychron now and love it. But I'm also not a small keyboard person. For the price it will probably work fine for a few years, but also probably good for someone who wanted to try 60% and see how they like it.

for a mouse i recommend the vxe r1 and for a keyboard u can get the royal kludge rk65

is it good to try it on 99AED, RK 65%, somewhat good software, and replaceable keys, just starting for a good hobby, I'm planning to get a Steel series to match my rival 650

Just keep the royal kludge since of the compwctness and sound I'd say

Rk r65 wireless is pretty good

Looking for very specific keyboard. My original razer black widow broke on me. Looking for a 75%. I tried these 3 keyboards and they are all missing one thing. Epomaker aula F-75 basically perfect just sounds kinda like shit. Epomaker HE80 sounds great but the lighting is very dim. RK royal kludge- the function keys are just too close to the letters and it triggers me. Looking for 75%, very bright RGB, sounds good, and specifically has the delete key in the upper right hand portion of the screen. A lot of keyboards have the pause break in the upper right, and my game I play doesn’t allow me to change that keybind. so I need the upper right hand key to be delete preferably, or I guess if I had to anything other than pause/break.