Code 87-Key Illuminated Mechanical Keyboard with White LED Backlighting - Cherry MX Blue

I spend all day typing on my keyboard. I purchased the WASD tenkeyless with cherry blue switches to replace another manufacturer's full-size with cherry browns. I am absolutely loving this new keyboard. The blue switches provide a much better, more responsive typing experience for my style of typing. The keyboard feels very solid and has a nice weight to it. The LED lighting is excellent; very uniform with a nice range of brightness adjustment. I added the red .2mm rubber o-rings to each key and it makes a marked difference. The keys are still very clicky, which I like, but the rings quiet things just a bit and eliminate the slight jarring effect of bottoming out key presses without the presence of the rings. Tenkeyless was the way to go for me also as it allows my mouse to live much closer to the keyboard, which puts less strain on my wrist.I do find that the keys themselves are a bit on the slick side and feel a little cheap. I'd have preferred plastic with just a bit of texture. This is the reason I deducted one star, although in fairness to WASD it would more like a 1/2 star if that were possible.A word about installing those rubber o-rings (and I am not dinging WASD for this). I noticed that if you order directly from the WASD site, they will install the rings for you. I'd highly recommend taking that option if you can spare the extra money and don't mind waiting a few days extra. I was in a hurry and couldn't wait. For the most part, installing the rings is easy; just use the puller tool to remove the key, slide the ring onto the stem under the key, and replace. However, the longer keys (spacebar, return, shift, etc.) have a thin, metal spring that clips to the keyboard and attaches to the key via two little plastic brackets attached to the key. These are a real pain. You need to remove extra keys to get to these, the springs need to be popped into these tiny little clips on the keyboard, the clips have some kind of grease on them that gets on your fingers and then the keys (it cleans up easily though), the little brackets then need to slide back onto the spring, etc. In other words, it is a total hassle.

I really like this keyboard, but I was pretty surprised to find the paint started to wear away from the clear areas of the keys after only 3 or 4 months of use. I type a lot, so the casual keyboard user wouldn't have this issue for perhaps a year, but I don't think many casual keyboard users would buy a mechanical keyboard.I am also not crazy about how the cable connects, it's a bit awkward but I feel like if you move your keyboard around a lot you run the risk of breaking the port because the cable will put strain on it going down. Just an uncertain criticism of the design and something a piece of masking tape over the cable channel would fix.I'll keep using the keyboard and don't really mind the paint wearing away, but I want my workspace to look nice so I might buy another keyboard. I was considering another WASD keyboard, because their non-backlit ones let you have custom designs that can be pretty nice, but if the paint wears off on them as well, it would be pointless.

This is the keyboard I've been looking for. No crazy logos all over it, no superfluous buttons or features. It feels weighty and solid, the typeface used looks good, the backlight is very nice, and the MX Blues feel just wonderful to type on. I experience no fatigue, even after a long day of coding.I'll also say that I ordered the MX Clear version of this keyboard, as I'm a heavier typist and thought I would appreciate the added resistance (and reduced noise). I hated it, and ended up returning it in favor of this. The increased travel distance and heavier resistance hurt my poor weak hands after just a few hours (especially my little finger, using modifier keys heavily). If you spend most of your day at the keyboard typing, I would highly recommend the MX Blue version.If there's anything I don't like about the keyboard, though, the plastic used for the keycaps isn't the nicest on the fingertips. It feels kind of smooth, and glossy, and I prefer a bit of tooth. But that's not nearly enough to knock a star off of what is otherwise a great keyboard.Edit (09-15-18): Unfortunately, after many months of using this, the ` key no longer works properly, sometimes requiring I hit it 3 or 4 times before it registers. It's a key that gets a lot of use, and it not firing when I hit it is quite frustrating.

love the feel (and sound!) of this mech keyboard with blue switches, and the backlighting in my dim home office. 87-key TKL is the perfect fit in my desk's keyboard tray/drawer, allowing room for the mouse pad (104-key would have been too tight). it is connected to my iMac, and it was easy to flip a couple dip switches for better Mac OS support, and i replaced the blank keycaps with Mac Command keycaps from WASD. only nit: WASD replacement keycaps aren't made for backlighting like the stock CODE keycaps, so they don't match. the WASD replacement keycaps allow some light to shine through (thinner plastic?), but they are not as nice as the CODE keycaps. I wish WASD made a complete Mac version of the CODE keyboard, or at least backlit Mac keycap sets for the CODE...or *any* backlit keycap sets other than stock CODE keys. so, i would deduct a star from WASD's review for this omission, but i have to give this keyboard 5 stars!