A couple months ago I purchased a Plum 84 35g electrostatic capacitive keyboard frommech greenhand's Aliexpress store. I have been quite pleased by it.
A bit on the reason for purchasing a Plum 84 keyboard. I liked the layout, I am a big fan of ultra lightweight tactile switches, and I wanted to try a Topre clone keyboard. With the combination of the layout and lightweight switches, I decided to purchase a Plum 84.
But after using the Plum 84 for a couple months, my curiosity grew to compare the keyboard to a genuine Topre keyboard. So I purchased a used Realforce 86U for that purpose. I also wanted to try out 30g Topre switches, as I am considering a uniform 30g Realforce keyboard.
Plum 84 35g (photo courtesy of mech greenhand)
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Realforce 86U variable force (photo courtesy of seebart)
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First Impressions
Spoiler:
Plum 84: Not bad for $100. This is not a premium product, but certainly has some worthwhile features. More than I expected.
Realforce 86U: Okay, now I fully understand the hype. The quality and refinement are immediately noticeable when I started typing, no break-in period or adjustment required. Probably one of the highest quality off-the-shelf keyboard I have tried. Well done.
Verdict: Realforce wins the first impressions battle.
Spoiler:
Plum 84: The case is a slightly glossy white with kinda thick rounded edges. Nothing special, maybe a little outdated. The case snaps together without any screws, which makes you think it would be easier to take apart and look inside. Not really. When one end is loosened, it is very difficult to loosen the clips on the other end. I had to insert some old shopping cards to hold open clips while I loosened the other clips.
Also, the case seems like it was designed for a different keyboard, perhaps the Noppoo Choc Mini wireless, because there is a compartment for batteries on the back, but no wireless hardware attached to that compartment. I assume this decision reduced manufacturing costs.
The cable is braided and detachable with cable routing options. For a $100 keyboard, the cable is decent. No complaint there.
Realforce 86U: I think most of us reading this know that Realforce keyboards have sturdy, reliable, and tasteful cases that are easy to take apart. Yes, some the edges are a little excessive, but you barely notice the large edges when the keyboard is sitting on your desk. The cable, while not detachable, is thick and sturdy, and the case has routing options as well.
Verdict: Realforce 86U, no contest.
Also, the case seems like it was designed for a different keyboard, perhaps the Noppoo Choc Mini wireless, because there is a compartment for batteries on the back, but no wireless hardware attached to that compartment. I assume this decision reduced manufacturing costs.
The cable is braided and detachable with cable routing options. For a $100 keyboard, the cable is decent. No complaint there.
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Verdict: Realforce 86U, no contest.
Spoiler:
Plum 84: Stock keycaps are a thick PBT, MX stem, and look to be about in the middle of Cherry and OEM profile. I am not aware of the legend printing method, but looks like lasered to me. The legend printing is slightly inconsistent and not the finest font selection, but at least it is not gamer font. I like the keycaps enough that I have not felt the need to replace them.
The stabilizers are simply Costar stabilizers. They came lubed out of the box, so thanks for that, Plum. A couple of the modifiers do not return to the up position as quick as the other keys. I would consider the stabilized keys to be slightly lower quality than a Topre stabilizer, but the Costar stabs are needed for the MX compatibility.
Realforce 86U: Again, I think most of us are familiar with Realforce keycaps. Dye-sub PBT and classy legends. I do not like how they scrunched the full words on the keycaps in the navigation cluster, perhaps abbreviations would work better in that location.
Verdict: Plum 84. I like the thickness of the keycaps more the Realforce. Cherry MX compatibility is great as well.
The stabilizers are simply Costar stabilizers. They came lubed out of the box, so thanks for that, Plum. A couple of the modifiers do not return to the up position as quick as the other keys. I would consider the stabilized keys to be slightly lower quality than a Topre stabilizer, but the Costar stabs are needed for the MX compatibility.
Realforce 86U: Again, I think most of us are familiar with Realforce keycaps. Dye-sub PBT and classy legends. I do not like how they scrunched the full words on the keycaps in the navigation cluster, perhaps abbreviations would work better in that location.
Verdict: Plum 84. I like the thickness of the keycaps more the Realforce. Cherry MX compatibility is great as well.
Spoiler:
Plum 84: The housing and slider for the switches are a translucent white that seem a little less robust than genuine Topre. The slider is MX compatible, so you can use all the fancy keycaps that you have lying around. Next, to make room LEDs and screws, it appears the manufacturer cut out a corner of the switch housing rather than made a cutout in the plate. Finally, silencing bands are included in the switch housing. When typing next to unsilenced Realforce, the Plum 84 is noticeably quieter.
Realforce 86U: While not MX compatible the slider and housing seem more robust than on the Plum 84. I wonder if the two keyboards use different types of plastic on these parts. Also, to accomodate LEDs, Topre uses a slightly modified housing and makes a cut in the plate rather than slicing off a corner of the switch housing. Nice touch.
Verdict: Realforce 86U, just seems like higher quality for these particular parts.
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Verdict: Realforce 86U, just seems like higher quality for these particular parts.
Spoiler:
Plum 84: The 35g key weighting was one of the main features that led me to purchase this keyboard. At first, 35g felt very light and almost linear. I never had typed on a switch as light. Over the first week of use, my fingers adjusted to feel more tactility and make less typing mistakes. I also did a rudimentary coin test and I can confirm the key weighting in even across the keys. Overall, the 35g weighting is a very unique feeling.
Realforce 86U: The Realforce 86U has 30g, 45g, and 55g key weighting. The 30g feels almost linear and the 45g/55g feels like pushing against a wall compared to the pillowy soft 35g switches on the Plum 84. I have noticed that I probably make less typing mistakes on the Realforce 86U, and I attribute this to the increased tactility compared to the uniform 35g key weighting on the Plum.
One aspect of Realforce keyboards that always has bothered me is the official key weighting tolerance published by the manufacturer. Realforce publishes +/- 15g, while Plum published +/- 5g (I can confirm the accuracy of the Plum weighting). If I am paying $100 more for your keyboard, why must I tolerate a greater potential variability in the key weighting? My only guess is that Realforce publishes this high variable weight range so that no consumer ever can complain that the keyboard falls out of that range. I don't know, maybe this topic has been discussed elsewhere.
Verdict: Realforce 86U, has a more refined feel to keys.
Realforce 86U: The Realforce 86U has 30g, 45g, and 55g key weighting. The 30g feels almost linear and the 45g/55g feels like pushing against a wall compared to the pillowy soft 35g switches on the Plum 84. I have noticed that I probably make less typing mistakes on the Realforce 86U, and I attribute this to the increased tactility compared to the uniform 35g key weighting on the Plum.
One aspect of Realforce keyboards that always has bothered me is the official key weighting tolerance published by the manufacturer. Realforce publishes +/- 15g, while Plum published +/- 5g (I can confirm the accuracy of the Plum weighting). If I am paying $100 more for your keyboard, why must I tolerate a greater potential variability in the key weighting? My only guess is that Realforce publishes this high variable weight range so that no consumer ever can complain that the keyboard falls out of that range. I don't know, maybe this topic has been discussed elsewhere.
Verdict: Realforce 86U, has a more refined feel to keys.
Spoiler:
Plum 84: The plate on the Plum 84 is of a medium thickness and decent enough. I think it is stainless steel, which can be obnoxious if you prefer a plate with a more subtle finish. The soldering on the PCB and controller are clean, no complaints there. The PCB is connected to the controller with a ribbon cable, so I wonder if the controller can be replaced.
The rubber dome mat reveals some of the shortcuts taken in this keyboard. The LEDs are poked straight through the mat, without a hole for the whole LED as we see on genuine Topre keyboards, so I would have to tear the mat or cut out a larger hole to remove the mat completely.
Realforce 86U: The stock plate and PCB are perhaps the thickest I have ever seen in an off-the-shelf keyboard, seemingly hefty enough to stop a home intruder. While I did not pry apart the plate and PCB to view the dome mat, I have seen plenty of pictures and am aware of the quality. The plate and mat both have cuts for the LEDs. Topre does not take any short cuts with the internals of this keyboard.
Verdict: Realforce 86U, obviously.
The rubber dome mat reveals some of the shortcuts taken in this keyboard. The LEDs are poked straight through the mat, without a hole for the whole LED as we see on genuine Topre keyboards, so I would have to tear the mat or cut out a larger hole to remove the mat completely.
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Verdict: Realforce 86U, obviously.
Spoiler:
In the keyboard world, probably because we are particular enough to spend as much on the keyboard as we spend on the computer itself, we also particular enough that we notice all the nuanced sounds produced by our keyboards.
Plum 84: A couple of things. I noticed a ping almost immediately after using the keyboard. When I am typing away for an extended period, I don't notice it anymore, but when pressing a few keys, I definitely can hear it. Many also have described to a scratchy sound and feeling in the Topre clones, which I did not notice initially. But next to the Realforce 86U, the scratchiness definitely is noticeable. My guess is there some friction in the slider mechanism that causes this scratchy sound.
Realforce 86U: We all know about the THOCK (or whatever is your favorite onomatopoeia) to describe the Topre sound. Next to the Plum 84, the Realforce 86U is slightly louder overall, but does not have the scratch sound. When the two keyboards are next to each other, the scratchiness of the Plum 84 is audible and somewhat off-putting. I cannot confirm if the Realforce is smoother, because the different weighting of the switches do not offer a direct comparison.
Verdict: Realforce 86U, not as annoying.
Plum 84: A couple of things. I noticed a ping almost immediately after using the keyboard. When I am typing away for an extended period, I don't notice it anymore, but when pressing a few keys, I definitely can hear it. Many also have described to a scratchy sound and feeling in the Topre clones, which I did not notice initially. But next to the Realforce 86U, the scratchiness definitely is noticeable. My guess is there some friction in the slider mechanism that causes this scratchy sound.
Realforce 86U: We all know about the THOCK (or whatever is your favorite onomatopoeia) to describe the Topre sound. Next to the Plum 84, the Realforce 86U is slightly louder overall, but does not have the scratch sound. When the two keyboards are next to each other, the scratchiness of the Plum 84 is audible and somewhat off-putting. I cannot confirm if the Realforce is smoother, because the different weighting of the switches do not offer a direct comparison.
Verdict: Realforce 86U, not as annoying.
Spoiler:
One of the main reasons I bought this keyboard was the 84-key compact tenkeyless layout. All the keys of the typical TKL keyboard with dead space chopped off the sides and top. Nice, right? However, I have noticed that the 84-key layout may have some ergonomic issues. When I use the arrow cluster, I have to bend my wrist to the right and this can cause some strain if I am camped in the arrow cluster. On an 87-key TKL layout, my arm and wrist are straight. I know that any of these flat, staggered layouts are far from ideally ergonomic, but the 84-key layout did cause some wrist issues for me with heavy use of the arrow cluster.
However, The Plum 84 has a couple major layout advantages over the Realforce: embedded media keys, shortcut keys, and numberpad, and programmability through software. You need Windows to program the Plum 84, but still, nice to have the option if you want to customize your layouts.
However, The Plum 84 has a couple major layout advantages over the Realforce: embedded media keys, shortcut keys, and numberpad, and programmability through software. You need Windows to program the Plum 84, but still, nice to have the option if you want to customize your layouts.
Spoiler:
These two keyboards are what you would expect them to be. The Plum 84 has some unique features like the thick MX compatible keycaps and programming software, but is a lower cost Topre clone with some design shortcuts that reduce the overall quality. The 35g switches certainly are unique, and are some of the lightest tactile switches I have ever tried. It has some solid features for a keyboard that cost me about $100 shipped from China.
The Realforce 86U is a Realforce: solid, pleasurable typing experience, aesthetically conservative, and excels in the details. You know exactly what you are getting with this keyboard. The Japanese really know how to make some great stuff.
I will not make a recommendation. Each keyboard has their own unique features that the other lacks. But I will admit that the Realforce 86U definitely feels like a higher quality keyboard that does not make any design shortcuts. From a quality standpoint, the Plum 84 leaves a few things to be desired, but does have more features. Whether the extra cost of a Realforce is worth it, that is up to you.
The Realforce 86U is a Realforce: solid, pleasurable typing experience, aesthetically conservative, and excels in the details. You know exactly what you are getting with this keyboard. The Japanese really know how to make some great stuff.
I will not make a recommendation. Each keyboard has their own unique features that the other lacks. But I will admit that the Realforce 86U definitely feels like a higher quality keyboard that does not make any design shortcuts. From a quality standpoint, the Plum 84 leaves a few things to be desired, but does have more features. Whether the extra cost of a Realforce is worth it, that is up to you.
