The Epomaker RT100 is a fantastic keyboard with great performance and lots of features.
Epomaker RT100: Two-minute review
I would like to preface this piece with a disclaimer: this article isn’t about Pedro Pascal at all (yes, that Pedro, star of Narcos, The Mandalorian, The Last of Us, Game of Thrones, and every woman’s fantasy). This is a review of a mechanical keyboard that’s pretty special – perhaps not quite as special as Pedro but still slaps nonetheless.
The Epomaker RT100 arrives at a time when the best mechanical keyboards have gained quite a cult status and become one of the most coveted PC peripherals. Because of that, many companies have emerged from obscurity and new mechanical keyboards are getting released every day, making it harder and harder for a keeb to set itself apart.
Lucky for the RT100, Epomaker seems to have taken great pains to make it stand out from the crowd and forge it into one of the best keyboards out there. It comes, for example, with its own little mini display, aptly christened the Smart Mini TV, that you can personalize. And, that’s where Pedro comes in – as beautiful and charismatic as ever in this tiny little screen right in front of me where I put him for all-day inspiration.
One tester of the keyboard called this mini display gimmicky, and maybe it is. Or maybe he just hasn’t found a great use for it yet. Because I did, and I do not think it’s gimmicky at all. Pedro might not know I’m alive, but his face on it brings me joy, and that’s valid too.
But enough about that for now. It’s not just the Smart Mini TV that makes the keyboard unique, after all; even before I figured out how to port that display in, let alone realized its full potential, I was already a fan. The moment my fingers touched those keycaps and started typing, I was a goner. I’ve tested more than my fair share of mech boards, and this one is unlike anything I’ve ever used. It’s satisfying in that linear way that I like, but quieter… much, much quieter. And it pumped endorphins in the keyboard receptors in my brain like no other keyboard has done. Great design elements in a compact form
At the heart of the Epomaker RT100 are the company’s Sea Salt Silent switches and a gasket mount, and together they bring you the satisfying thock of linear keys with a much quieter sound. You can also get the board with Gateron Pro Yellow, Epomaker Flamingo, and Epomaker Budgerigar switches, each of which I’m sure delivers its own unique feel.
I quite like the quiet soft thock that my review unit offers, however, and it’s also just the ticket for office use. With the RT100 looking like it is – a retro late 80s/early 90s mechanical keyboard, but cooler, it’s made for it.
This is a 95% keyboard, making it almost full-sized, but incredibly, it’s managed to keep a compact footprint, and I’m an absolute fan of that as well. This is an 1800 Compact, which is apparently a keyboard size that’s as rare as an Asian unicorn, giving you only 97 keys while still boasting a numeric pad and arrow keys. I hate it when full-sized keebs take up most of my desk, and the RT100 seems to have found the perfect compromise here.
It’s not at all a keyboard you’ll want to lug around in your weekender bag or backpack, especially if you’re traveling by plane, but it’s not particularly heavy either. So if you want to take it on a road trip or train ride, I fully support you. It feels very sturdy, despite being plastic-made, so it should survive the journey. The PBT keycaps feel like they could take a beating, and the cable, though not braided or coiled, is thick and flexible, with both ends are encased in sturdy aluminum.
Just be sure to pull that mini display out and stow it away, lest you risk breaking it and losing the pleasure of Pedro’s company.
