Ctrl-C-C-C-C t1_iu8jk06 wrote on October 29, 2022 at 11:50 AM

Aifei, shenpo, and xiami (or XMI or its main US vendor which is 21kb), are good people that try to bring good and affordable doubleshot ABS and dye-sub PBT to the hobby.

I only recommend buying from these people. Please don’t buy cheap dye-sub PBT clones from other people, especially HK Gaming. You’ll just get awful dye-sub quality like in this post or people that don’t care about this hobby.

Also, I have 2 of Keychron’s doubleshot PBT keycaps sets. It is fantastic. The legends may not look like GMK, but at least it’s consistent. Its compatibility is unrivalled. Largest kit for just 40 USD.

exeacc27938 t1_iu89797 wrote on October 29, 2022 at 9:32 AM

Not everyone can afford nice GMK’s and wait like 3 years for them to arrive lmao

Mycroft2046 t1_iu8icg0 wrote on October 29, 2022 at 11:36 AM

Then buy Nicepbt. Or NK's pbt sets . There are plenty of good keycap sets in the market right now. There's absolutely no excuse to buy clone sets anymore.

Ctrl-C-C-C-C t1_iu8j065 wrote on October 29, 2022 at 11:43 AM

Honestly, morals alone cannot convince a lot of people to spend 80 USD for a keycap set.

Aifei new icons only modifier doubleshot ABS keycaps set is selling for 139 RMB which is like 19 USD and it has basically 2 sets in one. https://m.tb.cn/h.U4iAENr

Many SEA countries are third world countries. They don’t have the means to live like first world countries. Even US people struggle with minimum living wage with high rent prices. Morals being a concern for buying clones is very, very low in priority for most of these people and we should never bully them out of the hobby.

Blur_410 t1_iuc6ghr wrote on October 30, 2022 at 5:23 AM

If I lived dollar to dollar, I likely wouldn’t care about keyboards as I likely couldn’t even afford a computer to use them with. That said, I wish those that absolutely cannot afford keyboards as a hobby all the best. A lot of people I have seen with the cheap keyboards and clone GMKs own multiple keyboards. They could clearly have invested in one good board but chose to chase a certain aesthetic or garner clout with some staggering number of keyboards. Supporting the clone manufacturers as a poor person merely promotes the poor management practices that create more poor people elsewhere. It’s why I buy keyboard stuff maybe once a month, then I can make a sound decision on what I want without compromise. Yeah I don’t build a keyboard a week like a lot of the newer people in the hobby but I am satisfied

Ctrl-C-C-C-C t1_iuck4m9 wrote on October 30, 2022 at 8:28 AM

Not necessarily paycheck to paycheck that kind of poor. It's just that they are the kind of people that like mechanical keyboards as it is and don't need anything more than a plastic kit with keycaps that they don't need to spend above 50 USD.

It is just a different priority for them (house, family, kid's future education) and mechanical keyboards is just very low on the list. They are satisfied because they are able to customise a keyboard to their liking.

I do not encourage buying from companies like HK Gaming because they aren't enthusiast, just cash grabbers. Or to buy some poorly cloned dye-sub PBT keycaps with cloned novelties.

Please actually look at the sellers that I recommend. Aifei that sells clone sets do not copy novelties. In fact, he/she puts his/her own novelties in the set, such as Ai and Fei in Chinese characters.

Blur_410 t1_iuco5xr wrote on October 30, 2022 at 9:27 AM

The people who don’t care about showing off their boards that much don’t really post a lot on this Reddit. Thus I see it as a non-issue. And I’m not a GMK absolutist. Some of my favorite keycaps sets are made by JTK and Domikey, who make Cherry double shot clones, triple shots, and an improved version of SA. I’m not even against the practice of clones, but buy things that are worth the money. Cheap PBT reverse dyesubs are clearly not worth the money.

Ctrl-C-C-C-C t1_iucy94t wrote on October 30, 2022 at 11:43 AM

I think we are arguing for the same point.

Those sellers that I have mentioned do not sell reverse dye-sub. They sell doubleshot ABS or dye-sub PBT for beige or white keycaps.

If you have actually tried them then you have the right to judge them but don’t judge them to be poor quality when you have never bought keycaps from those 3 sellers that I have mentioned. Bonus mention is Keychron’s doubleshot PBT cherry profile keycaps.

Blur_410 t1_iudmaa7 wrote on October 30, 2022 at 3:11 PM

I will be transparent, I actually don’t like PBT keycaps all that much. Not to say I don’t own quite a few, but I prefer ABS as a material for the feel. That said I have been to many meetups and have seen quite a few boards from average people. I would consider this as an acceptable alternative to buying all the cheap PBT caps ever(I have bought some). I wasn’t even trying to necessarily argue clones versus genuine, I was trying to argue quality per dollar.

Ctrl-C-C-C-C t1_iudq40e wrote on October 30, 2022 at 3:38 PM

Yeah but did your meet-ups have beige, grey, or white dye-sub PBT keycaps from XMI or shenpo? XMI is on the pricier side ever since he stopped selling on xianyu and taobao. He was selling for 198 RMB ~ 27.3 USD. Now on 21kb is about 60 USD. Which is still cheaper than most beige sets out there.

For shenpo, it’s very cheap for large compatibility. https://m.tb.cn/h.UVzUxZM?tk=tkg9dZLc8ld This beige set with Hebrew sub legends is only 188 RMB which converts to 26 USD. The quality per dollar is insane compared to lousy clones with reverse dye-sub.

These dye-sub pbt have smooth texture. I’m not sure if you understand but I’ll try to explain. Some ABS sets have those texture like when you rub your finger against it slowly, it will skip little by little. When I type on it, it moves me finger ever so slightly after bottoming out that it throws me off and I hate it.

Aifei’s previous batches of doubleshot ABS have that same texture, but for that price (169 RMB ~ 23.3 USD), I really can’t complain. Their new icons only mod doubleshot ABS set have very smooth texture like dye-sub PBT. I managed to try it at a recent meet-up but I didn’t test this “skipping” texture. If you just move quickly over it, it feels very smooth. I just ordered one set to try out for myself.

Keychron’s doubleshot PBT cherry profile keycaps have smooth texture too but a little “skippy” which triggers me a little hahaha. I’ve touched some doubleshot PBT from Monokei as well and that has quite rough texture. So I guess it’s not about the material, but rather the moulds that they use. It’s quite difficult to judge a set’s texture before touching it yourself :/

Again, not arguing against poorly made dye-sub or 5-side dye-sub PBT keycaps. Just trying to show you that there are dye-sub PBT keycaps that are done well and well worth its 25-30 USD price tag

Legit GMK Striker R2 (number row) vs clones copped on Amazon

Ctrl-C-C-C-C t1_iu5lnk8 wrote on October 28, 2022 at 6:45 PM

Blur_410 t1_iu83daj wrote on October 29, 2022 at 8:03 AM