Introduction
I have reviewed a lot of mechanical keyboards over the last several years, and the same three factors have dominated my judgement on how well they score. Those factors are affordability, wrist fatigue, and build quality. The affordability has often been the one factor that I have to take away points from because there was a period where mechanical keyboards were quite overpriced. Now that the patent has expired on the mechanical switch design, many chinese mechanical keyboards are popping up at unheard of prices. Today I am going to take a look at one of those.
A few months back, a company called 1st Player contacted me about reviewing their flagship keyboard, the Black Sir. I was a little hesitant at first because they asked me to purchase the keyboard, but after a few emails, they agreed to send me a very steep discount code to use when making my purchase. I was scared to throw down any cash on this keyboard because I had heard of horror stories from other reviewers who bought several chinese mechanicals that turned out to be junk. Fortunately, with the discount coupon, I ended up paying less than $10 for this unit. So let's jump in and take a better look at what kind of mechanical keyboard you can buy in the $50 price range.
Features and Specifications
From the Black Sir Amazon Page:
1STPLAYER was born for creating a unique and ultimate gaming experience for global ambitious gaming players. 1STPLAYER never makes a concession in design and quality, each model of mechanical keyboard was stacked with ergonomic thinking, ultimate typing feeling, and top industrial design. Definitely, BLACK SIR offers you enough backup whatever challenge comes.
1STPLAYER BLACK SIR is a professional-class gaming mechanical keyboard. Stacked with top industrial design，double layer PCB, 50 millions life time switch , anti-ghosting effects and built-in iron plate , the keyboard always remain robust and absolutely he will give you speed and responsiveness like never before
Features
- Full KAIH blue mechanical switch with click tactile feel and 50 million life time
- Double layer PCB ensure it remains robust
- 26 keys without any key ghosting effects, programmable FN+Q FOR responses and F5 TO F8 for quick multimedia control
- Anti-slip protection
- Cable routing slot
Unboxing
The Black Sir ships in a very sleek black box with a matte finish. If you have read my other reviews, you know that I am a major fan of minimalist packaging designs, and this box may be the best minimalist design of 2016!
The back of the box is less minimalist, and more on the informative side. The diagrams and descriptions go quite far in explaining the different parts of the KAIH Black switches and their benefits.
Opening the black box we find a second box that is made from a more heavy gauge cardboard. This box is what contains the Black Sir, and it appears that it has done a very good job at protecting it in shipping.
With everything unboxed, we get our first look at the Black Sir, and my first impression is good. The keys are super easy to see, it has a wrist rest, and the USB Cable appears to be long. I originally thought the keyboard was backlit and might have a real “Tron” vibe to it, but the lettering and borders are all just screenprinted on.
If you were wondering, the information packet contained a few pieces of marketing hype, but no user manual.
A Closer Look
Looking at the 1st Player Black Sir from the top down, it is actually a very beautiful keyboard, and I would wager that it would look good on anyone’s desk. I think this would be an excellent mechanical keyboard for someone with vision impairment.
Flipping the keyboard over, we find the manufacturing information logo, two standard feet, and a track for the USB cable to fit into. I do have to say that the rubber feet on this keyboard were a little stiff and the keyboard did slide a little.
As you can see, the labeling on the keys is very clear and crisp. I am not sure how long this screenprinting will last, but I used the keyboard for about 3 weeks, and saw no visible wear.
Just another artsy shot of the keys, and their bright screenprinted labeling.
We will finish out this section with a shot of the USB cable. For such a cheap keyboard, I was not expecting to find any gold plating. The cable jacket is out of focus, but it was comprised of a very tightly woven fabric. It actually felt like paracord sleeving.
Usage and Final Thoughts
I spent a good four weeks using the Black Sir as my main keyboard. In that time I typed over 45,000 words, played about 14 hours of games, and browsed the web for countless hours. The wrist rest definitely limited the amount of wrist fatigue I had after 8-hours straight at the keyboard, but it could have been longer. I am use to mechanicals that have a three inch or better wrist rest, but the two inch rest would be just fine for someone who does not have super massive hands like I do. I also like the fact that the keyboard only needs one USB cable. This does mean that you lose a USB port on the keyboard, but let's be honest with ourselves about how often we really use those ports.
Overall, the Kailh black switches are about as stiff, maybe just a little more than Cherry MX Brown switches. They definitely are a little more “clacky” and “tactile” than the last two brown-switched keyboards I have reviewed. Over the four weeks that I used the keyboard I did not notice any key fatigue, or any sagging, but I did not expect anything either as Kailh switches are usually pretty nice. If you like your mechanical to be less audible, then you definitely should consider o-rings for this one.
Overall I feel that the 1st Player Black Sir is an excellent mechanical for its price point. With that said, it is definitely not as flashy, or feature rich as something from Corsair, Patriot, or G.Skill. You do have to remember that you are getting LED lighting, and software suites with those companies though, so there is a tradeoff. The quality of this keyboard is not shabby either, and is quite heavy and stiff. The plastic does not feel like other cheap chinese products, and I can not find any aesthetic blemishes. I would definitely recommend the Black Sir to anyone looking for a quality mechanical with no frills to add to their gaming rig, or work station. At just $54.99 on Amazon.com, you can not go wrong with this keyboard.
