Keychron Q2 (w/ Knob) feat. the Das Keyboard 4 Pro

My first mechanical keyboard was a Das Keyboard 4 Professional from Amazon. At the time, I saw a sleek keyboard with cool features: media keys, a scroll wheel, and a metal chassis. The Das also had a reputation as being the “best of the best,” perfect for anyone who spent hours a day at a keyboard. As a self-styled writer this marketing spoke to me. Most importantly, it had a killer feature that my previous keyboards lacked: clicky switches. As a quick aside: I thought all mechanical keyboards had clicky switches, and that the click is what made them mechanical. Whoops! Past me sure had a lot to learn.

My most recent keyboard, by comparison, is the Keychron Q2. On first glance, the keyboards are pretty similar: they both have a black, metal chassis and feature a knob. They both feel substantial in the hand (though the Keychron feels weightier). They’re both about the same price, too, with the Keychron costing about $30 more when factoring in shipping ($170 vs $200).

There are some obvious differences, too. The Das is a full-size keyboard (meaning it includes a full numpad and just about every key a typist could want) while the Q2 is closer to 70% with an “exploded” (ie separated) arrow cluster and a few “utility” keys (home and delete) below the knob. The Q2 connects via a detachable USB-C cable; the Das’ cable is not removable. Finally, the knob on the Q2 stands relatively proud on the board, is easily gripped on its knurled sides, and the “top” of the knob can be removed quite easily. The Das, by contrast, has a low-profile knob that cannot easily be removed from the board.

The differences don’t stop there, though. The Das peaked in popularity around 2005 (if Google search trends are to be believed), before the custom mechanical keyboard explosion. As such, it lacks a number of features compared to the Q2. The Q2 has hot-swap sockets, meaning switches can easily be replaced for maintenance or preference. The Das’ switches are soldered to the board. The Q2 has factory-lubed stabilizers with little rattle or ping; the Das was not given such attention. The Q2 uses a gasket-mounted PCB and daughter-board for a more bouncy typing experience; the Das uses a plate mount. Finally, the Q2 is reprogrammable via QMK; the Das is not.

These differences serve to highlight how much the keyboard hobby has changed over the last decade or two. The ascendance of hot-swap and the removal of soldering as a prerequisite to enjoy many (but not all) custom keyboards has made the hobby more accessible. When combined with the proliferation of key switches of all types (linear, tactile, and clicky), keyboard lovers can now tune their board a seemingly infinite number of ways. For many in the keyboard community, it’s not enough for a board to look good and function well; its sound (and the search for the coveted “thock”) is also a major consideration. The Das doesn’t really address sound quality; the Q2 addresses it directly by providing internal foam to reduce the “ping,” the board creates.

With that being said, the growth of the hobby hasn’t been painless. Increased demand has lead to a proliferation of group buys, waitlists, and ever-rising prices. It’s not unusual for especially desirable high-end boards to sell for $1000+ on the secondhand market, and “flipping,” (buying a product for the express purpose of reselling it for a higher price) is all too common. The Keychron Q2 is no exception; it is regularly out-of-stock and I waited for months before I could snag one from Keychron’s site. The Das, however, has been regularly available on Amazon Prime. With that said, though their prices are similar, I think most folks would call the Q2 a better value (or at least more in line with what keyboard enthusiasts are looking for in 2022).

Now that we better understand both the context and market the Q2 was released to, how does it stack up on its own merits?

Pros:

The board has a myriad of features loved by keyboard enthusiasts: it’s hot-swap, it’s QMK compatible, and its cable is removable.
The board has a number of features that have have come into fashion more recently: it is gasket-mount and features a daughter-board, it has a rotary encoder / knob (a feature which has come into vogue over the last year or so), and it has a specialized layout (not unlike the Keychron Q1 or the GMMK Pro).
The board includes a bunch of accessories, even if none of them strike me as especially high-quality: a cable (braided but not coiled), a keycap puller, a switch puller, a hex key (for use with the case screws), and a screwdriver (for use with the PCB-mount stabilizers).
The thick, metal chassis means it blows my other recent keyboard purchase (the Akko Acrylic 59) out of the water in terms of weight and “feel.” It even feels more substantial than my other “metal” keyboards (the Drop Alt and Preonic).
The Q2 is relatively easy to disassemble, requiring the removal of only 8 hex screws.
The knob is pleasant and “clicky” to use, and it can rotate freely in both directions. It can be reprogrammed, too, which is a nice bonus.
I like that Keychron offers a number of different variants of this board: ANSI and ISO, knob and knobless, fully assembled and barebones (ie no switches or keycaps). Even if the fully assembled kit represents a better value (it’s only $10 more and includes a full set of switches and keycaps), it’s always nice to have options.
After using the Akko Acrylic 59 for a few weeks, it’s been really nice to have dedicated arrow keys again. This isn’t specific to the Q2, but I figured it was worth mentioning after struggling with arrow keys hidden on a function layer.

Cons:

Though the board has RGB and the case is high-profile, there is a large amount of “light bleed” between the keycaps. I’m not especially bothered by this because I tend to keep keyboard RGB off, but folks expecting the RGB to come only from their keycaps’ legends will be disappointed.
The shipping was an unwelcome surprise. At $30, it adds 15% to the overall cost of the board. I know that Keychron can’t change supply chain / shipping issues, but I think having more distributors globally could help mitigate the issue.
Though it wasn’t a problem for me because I bought some of Keychron’s keycaps, I worry about compatibility with other keysets should I chose to change my caps down the line. Most of the keys are standard size, but the odd modifier row (with a lot of 1U keys) may pose issues if I’m not careful (and I want a “sculpted” keycap profile like GMKor Cherry).
Though the board is supposed to be regularly in-stock and available, I had to wait months before I could get one. Most variations are regularly out-of-stock on Keychron’s website, and the system to be notified when a board becomes available seems unreliable at best.
I wish the Q2 came in more colors. Black, blue, and gray are all perfectly acceptable (and safe) choices, but an e-White option would be sublime. I really like what GMMK is doing in this case: offering keyboard “tops” in a variety of colors to allow for a high level of customization without having to buy multiple keyboards.
Speaking of color, the black color is a dust and fingerprint magnet. Every bit of junk I’ve found on the keyboard has wiped right off, but it’s still a minor annoyance.
I don’t know if it was because of the gaskets or the manufacturing process, but the bottom of my Q2’s PCB felt a touch sticky when I first opened the board to install switches. This hasn’t affected my use of the board since, but it was unexpected.
The heads of the hex screws holding the case together are visible even after they’ve been deeply screwed in. I might be able to reduce their visibility a bit by cranking them further into the case, but I’m worried I’d strip the screws (and that they’d still end up visible anyway).
Though the knob feels nice to use, it is only attached to its post via friction. I found this out the hard way when I was removing the case screws to put keycaps in the board. While this is a minor annoyance (since I don’t often disassemble my boards), it would’ve been nice to have something more substantial securing the knob.

Keychron also offers a suite of accessories to go with their board, from keycaps and cases to wrist wrests and extra switches. They don’t offer a “one-stop shop” solution like GMMK (mostly because they don’t sell lubing a lubing station and many of their keycap offerings are out of stock), but they come pretty close. I ended up purchasing a wrist rest and a keycap set to go with my board. Here are some quick thoughts on each.

Keycaps (PBT OSA Full Set in “Dark Black”): for $30, these seem like a reasonable deal. The set includes more than enough keys to cover the Q2; I suspect that the set would be sufficient to cover a full-size keyboard. The font is fine (and not excessively gamer-y), and the extra splash of color on the enter and escape key is appreciated. In fact, I like this version of the set more than the one included in the “fully assembled” version of the black Q2 (which includes a lot more blue than black). My only two real complaints are that the spacebar is not entirely flat (which doesn’t affect its functionality but doesn’t look great) and that the box pictures a novelty escape key (that says “hello” in cursive) which is not included. Whack.
Resin Palm Rest: at $30, this seems like less of a deal. There are certainly less expensive options on the market (and, of course, you can spend a lot more on “artisan” wrist rests, too). I chose this rest specifically for a few reasons. First, it is size-matched to the Q2; this is important because the keyboard is an unusual length (and because I really like it when keyboard and wrist rest match in length). Second, I like the color. It’s not great that you can’t see what kind of pattern you’ll get before you buy (because of the nature of the manufacturing), but I ended up with something pretty cool. I figured that the material would be cool to the touch, and I was right. Finally, while I didn’t expect this, the wrist rest is chonky. With the combined weight and rubber feet, it does not budge on my desk mat a bit.

Conclusion:

Though this board isn’t perfect and the cost of shipping is an unwelcome surprise, it still represents a tremendous value. Few competitors in this price bracket can offer the same feature set. The Bakeneko 65 and Qwertykeys 65 both lack a knob and the Zoom 65 knob looks clustered compared to the Q2. (I say looks because I’ve never managed to get my hands on one to try, so it might be a non-issue in practice). With that in mind, if you can get your hands on a Q2 (and you can live with some of the board’s idiosyncrasies), I think it is at least worth a try.

Check it out here.