Keyboard Review: Epomaker RT85 - The one that started it all for me!

Today, I'm reviewing the Epomaker RT85. This is a special one since it's my very first mechanical keyboard. Well, the first one after a long while.

The main reason for me buying this keyboard has to be the sound. You have to understand that before this, I was used to mainstream keyboards used in offices. Yes, we're talking about those membrane keyboards. A close second reason had to be the looks. Epomaker did well here. It's got the corporate beige look with grey accents, but with further orange accents on the Esc, spacebar, Enter, and arrow keys. It's a looker!

When I received it and when I first started using it, I knew I was hooked. The sound, the feel, and the joy of using a tool that was several levels higher than what I was used to.

Before this, I swore that low-profile was the way to go. I was even contemplating getting a Nuphy low-profile keyboard. Ignorance is bliss, as they say.

Going back to the looks: I love the left side of the board. It's got grills and a small dial that toggles the various connectivity modes for it. I wish that Epomaker had opted to do the same for the right side of the keyboard, but instead, they opted to put a mini-joystick and a small LCD screen. Honestly, after living with the keyboard for several months, I can say that both features really are just gimmicks. The left side also houses the 2.4G dongle. Very convenient!

The keyboard is an expanded 75% layout. It's another reason I went for it. The standard 75% feels too cramped.

The RT85 comes with the Epomaker Creamy Jade switches, and it does live up to its name! Typing on the keyboard gives off a "creamy" or "marbly" sound profile. 

The keyboard is also unapologetically plastic. It's solid, though, and feels like premium plastic. There are gaskets that help with a decent amount of flex to provide long sessions of comfortable typing. There's no unnecessary flex, nor is there any creaking when typing. Overall, it doesn't feel cheap, and for the price, it's not bad at all.

Going back to the switches, they feel great. A decent linear switch. The cream+marble combination is one of the highlights of this keyboard, and the switches have done their job well in this case. There's minimal stem wobble, and the return stroke is solid. The modifiers on the keyboard sound great, and the spacebar passes -- could be improved, though. There's no rattle on the stabilizers, thankfully. It feels that they have been decently lubed.

The keyboard is hot-swappable, so you can easily swap out the switches should you feel it. It has south-facing RGBs. There is no QMK/VIA support, unfortunately, and you'll need to make do with Epomaker's proprietary software. In my experience, the software is serviceable.

I will always go back to the price, just to make sure that I'm putting things in context -- because for the price, this keyboard is a joy to use. I've typed for several hours a day, and it just keeps going. No issues whatsoever.

My desk setup leans more to the bright side of things, and it fits nicely with beech wood, white accents, and warm lights.

So what's my final verdict? Let's run down the pros and cons:

PROS

+ Solid build and decent weight

+ Excellent creamy & marbly switches

+ Creamy sound

+ Gasket mount

+ Great looking keycaps, I love the orange!

+ Exploded 75% layout doesn't feel cramped

+ Left side of the keyboard looks great and is functional

+ It's got flippy feet should you want a steeper typing angle

CONS

- It's plastic all over

- The right side of the keyboard is filled with gimmicks.

- The LCD screen is a faff to use, and it doesn't hold the time.

- The mini joystick looks out of place for the design.

- The RGB presets aren't great

- There is no Orange colour in the RGB. A missed opportunity, what with the orange accent keycaps

MY CONCLUSION 

To sum it up – if you have £50 to spare and are looking for a productivity keyboard AND you like the look of this one? Then this should be on your shortlist. If you can push your budget a bit more, even just £10 more, then there are other keyboards that offer more value.