Keyboard Review - AULA F75 aka The Keyboard Hobby "Gateway Drug"
Today I am going to be talking about one of the most popular mechanical keyboards in recent years. A keyboard that many people consider the gateway drug into the mechanical keyboard hobby.
The AULA F75.
If you spent any amount of time watching keyboard videos on YouTube in 2025 or 2026, chances are you've seen this keyboard. Maybe several times. It became almost impossible to avoid.
The AULA F75 was the fourth mechanical keyboard that I purchased. This was back in late January of 2026. I've only been in the keyboard hobby for barely a month. In case you missed it, you can check out the previous keyboards and my respective write-ups for them (aka "the journey so far"):
At this point in time in the hobby, I already couldn't count the number of keyboard videos I've already watched on YouTube. There was this weird ongoing sensation where I felt like I was catching up on a hobby that I'd always wanted to be a part of...yet I did not know what it was.
There's also this one thing that I noticed about the hobby. You can say it's a negative, but there's some nuance to take into consideration. What am I talking about? It's an overwhelming feeling of FOMO (fear of missing out).
The FOMO in this hobby is very real, and it affects you in various ways and in varying degrees, and it hits you from multiple directions at once! But they all essentially have the same effect, and here's a humorous take on it:
- Level 1 - You see something. You want it.
- Level 2 - You see people talking about it. You want it more.
- Level 3 - You see people already buying it or joining the group buy. Now you REALLY want it.
- Level 4 - You start researching it. At this point, mentally, it already belongs to you.
- Level 5 - You discover a different colourway or variant.
- Level 6 - You go from level 1 to 5 and then realise the item is no longer being sold. It was a limited run, and now you can never have it. (thanks to INFILTRATION for this one!)
You've already bought three keyboards this month anyway.
And the cycle goes on! I am thankful that early on in the hobby, one of the things that I've realised is that there really is no "endgame" for the hobby. At least, in my case, I do love to collect, and I'm still in the process of experiencing a lot of things about the hobby.
Like most things in life that you end up spending a lot of time on, it's best to be mindful of things and savour the moments and experiences you have with it. With this thought in mind, I have realised something important about the hobby, and it's that THE JOURNEY IS THE ENDGAME.
I digress. Let's go back to a few months ago, and I saw a deal on AliExpress for an AULA F75 with the Ice Vein switches. It was a steal for £30, delivered. So, I took a punt.
After about ten days, I received the keyboard.
The packaging was simple and borderline frugal, as to be expected of something at this price point, but it did not feel cheap. It was a bit of a surprise, and my main takeaway after carefully inspecting the whole package was that this was the result of countless revisions on various parts of the package. It almost felt like a quiet flex of modern Chinese manufacturing. I was impressed.
So what's in the package? The box is simple, but thicker than the usual cardboard you get from China. There's some padding inside. The keyboard has a clear plastic dust cover, some spare switches, and a braided USB cable. There's also a quick-start guide that rounds out the package.
The box and padding are designed in such a way that they can take some serious hits during transport. Again, like I said before, the folks who designed this package knew what they were doing.
I take out the keyboard from all the packaging and hold it in my hands. The keyboard feels unapologetically plastic. Again, considering the price, this is okay. I am reminded of all the plastic membrane keyboards that I've typed on at work.
I took out the 2.4G dongle, plugged it into my computer, switched the keyboard on to 2.4G, and was greeted with the RGB lights. It's brighter than my Epomaker RT85.
Then I started typing...and I finally understood the hype.
The keys had this soft, cushioned bounce to them that felt strangely addictive. The sound was deep without being overwhelming. Every keypress felt smooth, controlled, and comfortable.
It was one of those moments where a hobby suddenly clicks into place in your brain.
I remember sitting there thinking:
"Wait...this costs HOW much?"
I used the keyboard for the rest of the day, and at the end of it, I was happy with my purchase. Quite happy.
Fast forward 24 hours later, I bought another AULA F75, but this time I opted for the 'Reaper' switches.
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| Leobog Ice Vein (left) and the Leobog Reaper (right) switches |
When I received it, I immediately proceeded to do a sound test to compare the two. There's minimal difference, but what I can say is that back then I preferred the thocky sound of the Ice Vein, but today, I am loving the marble sound of the Reaper more, but only marginally (and probably only at the time of this writing). The feel of both switches is almost the same.
Would I buy an AULA F75 again today? Probably not, considering I've moved on (gone deeper into the rabbit hole) and my tastes in what I want in a keyboard have significantly changed.
Is the AULA F75 still a great keyboard? Hell yeah! It's still a joy to use, and I love the sound. Especially for the price, it just makes perfect sense as a recommendation for someone who's getting into the hobby.
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| The current configuration of my AULA F75 (Ice Vein) |
Maybe you're looking to give someone a gift, and they're still using a membrane keyboard - the AULA F75 is a great affordable (Trojan Horse) gift for that loved one!
Looking back now, the AULA F75 feels like one of the keyboards that truly pulled me deeper into the hobby.
I close this off with a sound test video:
Thank you for taking the time to read my ramblings, and I'd love to hear your thoughts! Please leave a comment if you can. See you on the next update.
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