General Information
Well It's Not Plastic
For those who missed out on the ceramic keycap review, I will just touch on the keycap basics again here; it's important to understand the basics of what goes into your average keycap. Your run of the mill keycap will typically be made of plastic, namely ABS and PBT. Of these ABS keycaps tend to be a bit cheaper with a smooth feel, with PBT being the more expensive of the two, boasting better durability and a bit of a rougher texture. There's obviously more you could say, but that kind of detail isn't really necessary. Manufacturers are used to working with these materials, and there's a staggering number of unique sets out there for you to try if you want to spice up your keyboard. What if you want to take it a step further though, what if you want to give your keyboard a truly unique look and feel?
Metal keycaps are one of many in the market of uniquely crafted sets, and Awekeys aren't necessarily new to the space. Checking out their website you can find a decent array of different colors and themed designs, though notably the ones featured in this campaign are touted as a single run. Alongside the Moon Landing set I have on hand, they're also working with designers to release some simple retro-themed keycaps for those of you still living in the 80s, and an Apple-themed set for those of you that are also still living in the 80s and have enough money to afford a Macintosh. Though I don't have these sets on hand to cover in detail, you can find more information over on the project's Kickstarter. More on that later!
The Moon at Your Fingertips
I'm just going to get this out of the way now, I actually don't like how the silver set I have look. To me there's an overwhelming tin foil aesthetic that I just cannot get past, but that's something entirely subjective to me. I can certainly see what they were going for at least, and it's an admirable effort given the comparatively low price to other metal sets out there, let alone other textured metal sets. It's worth mentioning that you can have the keycaps come with legends, and I can actually see this going a long way in making the "Brightside of the Moon" set I have here something I would enjoy looking at. Just a splash of a different color might be enough to swing the set back into my good favors, but it's hard to say. I will mention that the sample I receive included a single keycap for each of the other colorways in the set, and the blue one is spectacular. It has something of a perfect finish that really does make the most of the material being used in a way that I feel the silver doesn't quite pull off.
Beyond the material though, the texture of the keycaps is a big part of what make them stand out. It all comes together for an odd typing experience that I do enjoy a lot. The way I've been describing it to others is a bit of a lightweight typewriter feel, but again that kind of description is marvelously subjective. For a bit of a better idea, you can see something of a before and after below, using ASUS' ROG Azoth as a base:
Note the loose keycaps in the video were prior to tightening the stems. Once the stems were tightened the keys all stayed in place fine, but a little more on that in a moment. Now it's not quite got the same impact as Cerakey's ceramic keys, but they certainly make for a fuller sounding key press than your average plastic keycaps. One thing of note with this set is the inclusion of an ISO return key for UK keyboard layouts; this certainly isn't standard, and certainly is appreciated for keyboards like the Azoth where the UK layout has been something of a hindrance to customization. It is also nice to see homing bars on the F and J keys, even if they are really quite small. The unique texture makes them harder to feel out than usual, but they are there.
Metallic Mishaps
Looking past the unique look and feel of the keycaps, there are some shortfalls that should be mentioned for anybody interested. The biggest of these to me is the stem design touched on in the above paragraph, something that seems to be a difficult thing to get right across these unique materials. For Awekeys' keycaps we see the stem being made of four individual metal prongs, and the tolerances of these prongs is frustratingly inconsistent. You'll find some keycaps fit onto your switches incredibly tightly, while others are loose to the point of bouncing off the switch with a hard enough press. This is something Awekeys are aware of, including a tool to loosen the stems with the keycaps. You can just make use of a screwdriver though if you happen to lose this, as outlined on their FAQ page. Tightening the keycaps is also relatively simple with their included tool, though it can get a bit strenuous if a lot of keycaps don't fit properly.
The tightening process requires you to position the tool over the stems and basically hammer it into place. Living in a second floor flat, I really struggled to find a good place to do this, settling on using a pillow on my lap. It's not ideal, and I'm not terribly fond of the fact Awekeys don't mention the likely necessity of this anywhere on their active order pages. They go so far as to say they're a simple pull and plug for an "instant keycap upgrade", which I do feel is slightly misleading to a prospective buyer. Nothing about this screams instant to me. I managed to get everything sorted within around half an hour, with me tapping on the back of the keyboard after tightening the switches that had previously fallen out and repeating until everything stayed in place. All in all I had maybe 20 keycaps that all needed tightening; if you happen to get unlucky you could be in for a few hours of methodical banging.
If you've been paying close attention to the images in this review, you might notice some of the keycaps having a smooth edge, contrary to the larger moon crater aesthetic the set is going for. This one should just be an issue with the early review samples, with Awekeys aware of it and having assured me that it's been rectified prior to the retail sets. With this being a limited run, it is something you'll have to put your faith in though. For better or worse they've made it clear they won't be doing future runs of these keycaps; I did get an assurance that any imperfections that make it through would be eligible for replacements, so if you do end up buying a set make sure to examine your set right out of the box.
A Set Worthy of Your Attention?
The Moon Landing set has me conflicted. Looking at the keycaps I have in front of me, I can honestly say I wouldn't buy them. Would I buy the blue set though? Absolutely... At least if they were being released in a month where I had some cash to burn; unfortunate timing for me! Awekeys' keycaps are a set that you should be prepared to be frustrated at out of the box, but past that initial frustration they have the potential to genuinely elevate both the look and feel of your keyboard. At $200, raising to $220 after today, these aren't cheap, but compared to other metal sets that both are and have been available, they do find themselves to be surprisingly competitive.
These keycaps are a collaborative effort between Awekeys and designer Photonixia, and are available to order exclusively on Kickstarter for the next 29 days. If you are interested in checking them out, you can find a link to the campaign below. Note that with any backer-funded campaign there are risks involved in pledging, but between their previously-successful campaigns and active online storefront, I would consider such risk minimal here.
