We’ll start with the pros first:
Pros:
The packaging of the keyboard is top-notch. The style, design, and feeling of unboxing are all great.
What's included: the normal things — a switch/keycap puller, a nice braided cable (which feels a lot better than others I’ve used on more expensive boards), an extra ribbon cable for the USB-C daughterboard to PCB, and a tool to take it all apart.
The style of the board is great. The gray and blacks look good, and the overall matte finish is fantastic.
As far as performance, I only used it in wired mode, and so far it's great. I'm not a pro gamer or anything, so I doubt I would see a big improvement to my skills (lol).
It comes preloaded with a lot of lighting options — and they are good options as well.
Speaking of lighting, it looks really good and vibrant. It's not super bright, mainly because the keycaps are not shine-through or pudding style, but the light is still noticeable even on a sunny day.
Cons:
This keyboard is loud — like, really loud. Do not use this board in an office space, a room where people are trying to sleep, or if you have an open mic. It's loud, and it will be heard.
Key travel distance: it's only 3.5mm instead of the standard 4mm, and it is noticeable. Some may like it, and some may not.
The badge on the keyboard is not customizable. You can make your own if you have a 3D printer, but they don't sell any badges for this, so you're stuck with the Chilkey logo of the dog/wolf in black and white.
The drivers are web-only — you cannot download them. So if you take this keyboard on the go and need to change something that requires the driver, and you have no internet, you're out of luck.
Finding the drivers was insanely hard. There is no link to it in the manual or on their website. I had to spend about 10 minutes searching different terms on Google before I finally found the page. The web console points to a page that is not available on their website, so there’s no simple way for you to just go to the site and click a link to access it.
I give a a 3.5 out of 5 stars would have been 4.5 out of 5 if the web console had a downloaded able version and was easy to find on the site. they should have a tab at the top for software or downloads
In the end, I will be replacing the Jade Pro switches with Glorious Lynx Silent HE switches, which have a 4mm travel distance and are a bit quieter. I’ll also be looking into alternative badges for the keyboard, as I don't want to be seeing the Chilkey logo out of the corner of my eye all day.
