REALFORCE R2 PFU Limited Edition Keyboard (Full, Ivory, 45G)

I have owned too many keyboards. I've owned both custom and stock keyboards. I've even built my own and every time I've found something that I hated, until I started using this one. Here are things that I like about it. It's tactile in a way that no other switch can give you other than Topre. The combination of tactility and smoothness is something you can't get with cherry and clones. I've tried plenty of different switches. Reds, blues, browns, zealios, healios, holy pandas, different hakos, box navies, jades, etc... It's very quiet. The only sound is a very pleasing deep sound from the case and the rubber dome. There is no high pitched noise like those you often get from normal mechanical boards, even "silent linear" ones. You can remap caps to ctrl easily. It looks great. Both the white and the black look amazing. I might buy the black version and swap the caps around eventually. The keycaps are very high quality. Much better than what you get on most boards. This also contributes to the amazing sound the board makes. I've only come up with two cons since I purchased the board. The cable is not detachable. It might actually lead to longer life though since removing and connecting cables is often a source of failure on the usb plug. There are no custom programming functions or macros on the keyboard. There are things that out of the box you can change, but you can't really create your own custom stuff. To mitigate this, I've created some custom auto hot key scripts that allow me to do with this board what I used to do with my keyboards that supported custom programming like QMK and TMK. It's not perfect, but it's good enough since I love everything else about the keyboard.

Although very expensive, this keyboard has proved to be my holy grail—finally attained. I already own three other mechanical keyboards (a CM Quickfire Stealth, and two different Das Keyboards) because I'm a disgusting nerd who loves PC gadgets. I like them with varying levels of affection but as someone who types thousands of words per day for work and for pleasure, I was always seeking that PERFECT experience. Those boards I already have are all equipped with Cherry MX switches, and I finally took a shot on this Topre board after hearing so many folks champion it, and boy, is it something. As someone who's always liked the Brown versions of the Cherry MX switches the best, these Topre switches fit my tastes perfectly. It has a distinct lack of 'clackiness' that you hear with the blues, but the feel of pressing in the key ends with a satisfying 'thud' when the letter is recorded. The keys also somehow feel far sturdier and more solid than the Cherry MXs—I believe this is due to the way they are anchored to the actual board. It makes it extremely hard to go back to Cherry MX switches, which feel very flimsy and wobbly by comparison. Using this board with its Topre switches gives the distinct feel of punching something that is one cohesive piece of plastic, rather than individual keys that are attached to the board by other components. It's difficult to explain—It's something that you've kinda just got to experience on your own to understand. In summary, this is the best board I've ever used, by far. It perfectly fits what I'm looking for in a typing board and it's an absolute joy to use. I now look forward to typing up reports, scripts, e-mails, etc. These are things I used to dread, now made more fun by having such a great board. The one suggestion I will make is that, due to this board's very steep price, anyone who's interested go and check out how it types in-person before making the purchase. Perhaps the way these keys feel will simply not be to your taste. For me, however, they are perfect. The price is worth it, as this is my "forever board"—ie. I will likely never replace it unless it breaks. It's that good.

This thing is essentially a glorified rubber dome board with a 10× as expensive price tag. Its appearance is extremely unassuming apart from the swanky carbon fiber brand plate. The most unique feature it has is the on-the-fly actuation point switching (which is actually extraordinarily rare and good to have). For me, this is precisely what I need and completely perfect; macros and such are beyond me. The bonus standalone and function keys are comparable to what a default laptop keyboard would have; mute, volume, calculator, etc. Keypress wise, it surpasses all I've tried and fits my tastes perfectly. It is quieter than regular rubber domes (thanks to the extra dampening in this special edition), slightly less tactile than clicky MX Blue, and extremely robust in quality and durability like my contactless linear Hall effect board. I prefer the slight tactility of the rubber dome in this keyboard for the excessive amount of typing that I do, but its light weight and relatively low resistance compared to specifically tactile boards also leave the keyboard suitable for gaming. For the fellow keyboard generalist willing to drop a pretty penny on this (already almost out of stock) collector's item, there's no reason not to buy it.

This special edition of the Topre Realforce R2 line of keyboards does not possess NKRO. Instead, it has both a MINIMUM and MAXIMUM of 6 key rollover! This is better than the typical 2 key rollover that most keyboards has, for example, the legendary IBM Model M also had a minimum of 2 key rollover. However, this is the only real OBJECTIVE criticism I can give this board. As much as I'd like to dock another star (currently 4 as of this initial review), the rest of the board is so well done that I cannot in good faith be petty here! Lets start of with the whole "special edition" title going on. What makes this specific model of the Topre Realforce T2 line "special"? Two things, one of which is the Actuation Point Changer. Basically, you can decide between 3 main settings on how deep you want the actuation point to be. For gaming, you can set it super high, or for typing to avoid errors, you can set it super low. Personally I have it set to super high all the time. Secondly, Topre switches normally come out of the box with a very loud upstroke (when you finish pressing the key and it comes back up). Normally, you'd have to buy external silencing parts like Hypersphere Rings, or KBDfan rings, etc. All of which are expensive in their own right. Not to mention the personal work required to put them into the keyboard yourself. This special edition keyboard is basically $100 (USD) more than the "regular" R2 line of Topre Realforces. For that additional $100, you get high quality silencing so that the sound is more consistent across the board, and the aforementioned Actuation Point Changer to fit their user's specific typing styles. As for the Topre switches themselves. They carry the pros of both "traditional" "mechanical" keyboard switches, and the normal rubber-dome over membrane keyboards you'd find from Dell. The pros of the "mechanical" side of things being "part-way-actuation". Meaning, you don't have to bottom out to get the keys to function. Likewise, unlike most traditional "mechanical" keyboard switches, Topre switches have the quiet bottoming out and dust resistance of those regular rubber dome (over membrane) keyboards that are absolutely everywhere. Another advantage of Topre switches over the ladder is their life expectancy. In the sense that there is no real "major point of failure" so to speak. Topre switches to not use a physical sensing mechanism like traditional mechanical keyboards or membrane sensing (or both in the case of Buckling Springs over membranes AKA the IBM Model M). Because of this, there's hypothetically "no switch lifetime" to speak of to measure. That is because Topre switches are "non-contact" based. Basically, there's springs underneath the rubber domes in Topre keyboards. These springs conduct capacitance as they're pressed downward. Once the spring(s) gain enough capacitance, the keyboard senses for a set amount of capacitance. Once that set amount is "sensed", it actuates. This makes Topre switches a VERY reliable switch design for all sorts of purposes. From intense gaming, typing that late essay due in 30 minutes, etc. Now with that general introduction out of the way, what about the rest of the keyboard? Let's start off with the build quality. Its excellent. I've heard reports of people bending this particular model out of shape. Please note, while this keyboard borderline doesn't flex at all, it can bend with enough force like anything else involving steel. Do remember that this is a keyboard, not a sword. As for the chassis/outer-casing, it has one to begin with unlike most other modern keyboards that use a "floating switch" design. The problem with the floating switch design is that it makes key switches more vulnerable to damaging knocks. This particular model of keyboard DOES have a chassis to speak of. So no worries on that end! The cable that plugs into the keyboard is non-detachable. That sort of feature is best on portable keyboards. Being how this particular one I got is a full sized and is planted firmly to my desk with no intentions of leaving, I do not mind that lack of a feature. Bare in mind that this cable isn't braided either. Again, no worries if you don't do some crazy things to it. If a cable isn't braided, that doesn't mean it will fall apart just from breathing at it so don't worry about this one. Also it is fairly thick as well. There's a three way cable gutter so that you can route the wire underneath the keyboard in three directions, up, left, and right. This is one of those things that are just nice to have but lots of people underestimate the convenience of. Speaking of convenience, unlike first generation Topre Realforce keyboards, these second gen. Realforces (AKA the R2 line) have lots of more rubber on the bottom of the keyboard to prevent slipping. The flip out feet are also rubberized. All of which does a great job at keeping everything nice and stable and where it should be. There have been reports of Topre stabilizers being "rattly". My particular one does not have that. They do sound slightly more "hollow" than the regular keys though. But that is mainly due to the keycap material being a thin but high quality dye-sublimated PBT keycaps. These are one of Topre's most famous features as they feel great, with a subtle but still present texture, high durability, very clean legends, etc. But due to their thin nature, and being PBT, they most certainly do make for the switches to make a "higher pitched" sound profile verses say, ABS, which most keyboards use as their keycap material of choice. The sound is subjective though. As for add ons that come with this special edition. It comes with two rubber mats for the alphanumeric cluster/block (where most of the letters are located on the keyboard). A moderately thick rubber mat, and a VERY thick rubber mat. The thicker the mat, the even quieter the bottoming out of the Topre switch will be. A bit gimicky however, as this special edition, and being Topre already, it is already very quiet. But its there if you want to use it. The other item it comes with is a keycap puller. I do not recommend pulling the keycaps off unless you know what you're doing however, as Topre stems (the piece the keycap "attaches to") are notoriously easy to bend out of shape or outright break from messing with them. If you want to clean this keyboard, use compressed air. Being as it is a rubber dome keyboard, compressed air does its job without damaging anything. Note that this keyboard is not spill resistant. This particular edition/model has dedicated volume keys. They also have Function Commands for things like opening the Internet Browser. Keep the instruction manual(s) that come with this keyboard as they all have all the combinations of keys for all those function shortcuts. Note that the Context Menu key is now a Function Sub-legend of the Right Windows key. So unlike most keyboards that would just get rid of that key entirely, Topre kept both of them. Not sure why other keyboard makers don't do that. Both of those keys are awfully useful! The cherry on top of this keyboard is that, like other Topre keyboards, IF you know what you're doing, you can replace the rubber domes to fit your specific needs. Such as replacing the stock rubber domes with something lighter, or heavier. Personally I use BKE Extremes. They're very heavy, but EXTREMELY tactile rubber domes. Even though they require a large amount of force to use, they're still quiet within this special edition Topre Realforce R2 keyboard. All in all, I do like this keyboard very much. But the disappointment of the NKRO not being present on this special edition keyboard is very off putting. NOTE THAT, the RGB line of R2 keyboards DO have NKRO according to reports. So this isn't a universal problem with R2 keyboards it seems. Other reports do confirm that these special edition models all have a MAXIMUM/MINIMUM of 6 key rollover. So long as you don't have a rhythm game that uses more than 6 keys at a time, most users should be fine with the 6 key rollover this keyboard possess. I however, occasionally (used to) play a rhythm game that used 9-keys. Bit of a shame as it would've been pretty neat to use this keyboard with BKE Extremes for that particular game. On the bright side, it can be used for virtually everything else. As long as the NKRO isn't your main objective, everything else is very stellar! PS: Yes the Actuation Point Changer works on Mac. Yes the dedicated Volume Control keys work on Mac. Most of the Function combinations also work on Mac like pause and play media as a example. If Topre ever had this exact model of keyboard, but just made it actually have NKRO, it would be perfect! But as it stands, four stars is what I will give it. One less due to the lack of NKRO as allegedly advertised, but 4 stars overall due to the extremely stellar quality of this keyboard!

If you are looking for a first-rate keyboard with great touch and durability, the Realforce R2 may be your best choice. Its main virtue is its feel -- just supple enough to make it easy to type but firm enough so that you don't make mistakes. It is not quite as good as the Keytronic KB101 -- the best keyboard ever made -- but Keytronic is no longer in business and, in any event, they stopped making the KB101 decades ago and the ones available on eBay often work only with DOS, not Windows . Realforce comes very close to the KB101, making typing a pure pleasure. It is so well-made that I would guess it will last for twenty to thirty years of hard use.

Just purchased one of these keyboards. I am overall very satisfied with the typing experience, but the manufacturer should have made a sturdier frame. Pros: - typing feels great. best keyboard design ever. - the letters, numbers, and symbols on the keys are beautiful & very easy to read under different lighting conditions - this is a very silent keyboard. the keys make a satisfying 'thud', though, when pushed all the way down. - the key resistance is just perfect for me Cons: the top cover of the keyboard's frame is made of relatively thin plastic and it feels flimsy. When I hit it even slightly around the arrow keys with my fingertip (which I often do while thinking about what to write next) the cover makes an annoying noise as it bangs against something underneath. It's the sound of hard plastic hitting hard plastic. Same noise when i slightly hit the area between the ESC and F1 keys. I just tried this with the 6 other keyboards of varying quality (priced between $20 and $150) that are lying around in my office and none of them makes that kind of noise. I'm torn between keeping the keyboard, or returning it because if the poor design of its frame.

This is the highest quality rubber dome keyboard I've ever felt in my life. Pretty quiet too. Its surprisingly heavy for a keyboard thats all plastic on the outside. It's designed to be refined and practical unlike many of the modern zoomer mechanical keyboards with their gamer asthetics. I don't need RGB lightshows, but I think I prefer my Model F for feel and sound. I can't reasonably have that at the office which is why I bought this. It would be extremely nice if I could remap the keys on this keyboard to replace capslock with function and have another layer available with a slight movement of my left pinky. I know there are dedicated arrow keys, but I'm very used to fn+{ i, j, k, l } for arrows without moving my hands.

I have gone through MX reds and brown in search of my perfect fit and I believe I have found that with topre. I have the Leopold 980C and need the num pad as I use this for work so it's a necessity. So far, the Realforce has lived up to its name and the typing experience has been amazing, it's pretty silent and the quality of the board is great. I use these keyboards for work so if I ever have a late night at the office (or home office now), I will use this as a weapon as it is very heavy and could do some damage, although on second thought, with this price point, I may just take it with me while I run. If you are looking at these boards then you already know what you want so just go ahead and buy it.

No creo que exista un teclado mejor. Look no further, period.

These keyboards are like the Herman Millers of the mechanical keyboard world. I never thought I'd spend this much on a board, but after having tried numerous other units and switches (including the Cherry MX Red, Silent, Speed, Brown, Blue, Halo True, Halo Clear, and Zilent V2s) and failing to find anything silent enough or tactile enough for my tastes, I figured what the hell- I might as well try out the biggest baddest keyboard I could find and see how that goes. Long story short, these keyboards do not disappoint. Everything about them oozes quality. The key caps feel solid and significant (unlike the ultra thin ABS keycaps found on some cheaper gaming boards), and the key press is unlike anything I've ever experienced before. It's smooth, really smooth, but also surprisingly tactile with a nice big round bump at the top of the keystroke. The chassis is made out of thick plastic and presumably some sort of steel structure on the inside (the keyboard is HEAVY, far too heavy to be made from plastic alone) and the entire unit feels extremely sturdy to type on. I particularly enjoy the APC feature on these boards since I can set the keys to the highest trigger level (1.5mm) for high speed response in games, but throttle that back to 2.2mm or 3mm during the work week when I need to do a lot of typing. About my only complaint is that the USB cord is captive- I would have preferred to see a removable cord on a keyboard this expensive, but the cable itself seems to be pretty high quality so I don't really mind. All in all, this is easily the best keyboard I've ever typed on and well worth the money. I'll be really happy if it lasts 5-10 years, but from what I've been hearing Topre switches have a pretty robust lifetime so I suspect that won't be much of an issue.

I got this keyboard for home office, mostly typing and some gaming. Typing this topre feels very satisfying and it is also factory silenced. The adjustable actuation point allows you to set up on the fly when gaming (1.5mm for extra responsive) or 4mm for best typing experience. It is definitely a great keyboard fit office or home. If RGB isn't your thing then this is the one to get. It is also a limited edition, will be difficult to find in the future, hence value will not drop off you decide to sell. Highly recommend.

It's hard to describe the emotion when I hit the first key. My hands felt right at home in the first few minutes. Yes it's a really expensive keyboard, but no I do not regret buying it. It's much more comfortable to type on than any Cherry MX keyboard I have, its design is timeless and it has a superior quality feel to it.

this keyboard feels awesome. however we need to move japan next to canada so its less expensive