I really, *really *like good keyboards. I spend a big chunk of my day typing articles like this one or sending emails. I then spend some evenings playing computer games or chatting with my friends. I type fast and I type a lot. I can work with a mediocre mouse, a random screen, but if a keyboard is meh, it’s not making the cut.

The Mechlands Vibe 99 is not a meh keyboard. It has a fantastic feel; it seems durable yet somehow soft and creamy. It’s an aesthetic keyboard, and you can’t really find too many flaws in it. Except for the position of two keys that annoy me endlessly.

Goldilocks Typing

There are a million and one keyboards on the market, and mechanical keyboards aren’t as rare or inaccessible as they used to be. But many mechanical keyboards don’t *feel *satisfying to type on. A part of that is the sound, a part of that is the feel itself. Some are just too loud, others don’t feel mechanical at all. My first impression was of the thock sound when you type.

Then, there’s the touch factor.

There’s obviously a personal preference for how sensitive keys should be, but in most cases, you want a keyboard that’s not too easy to press (because then any slight inaccuracy leads to a typo) but not too hard, either, because then it just gets tiring and annoying. It’s Goldilocks for keyboards.

The Mechlands Vibe 99 hits that sweet spot.

I’ve tested it at fast typing speeds, and it does the job just fine. I’ve typed on it for an entire day, and my fingers didn’t feel tired or sore. The keyboard feels great, no matter how you type on it.

Destroying people on Typeracer.

For some people, the sound of mechanical keyboards is very important. I can’t claim to be among those people, but I don’t like overly loud keyboards. The Mechlands Vibe 99 has a deep thock that feels pretty satisfying, like muffled raindrops. It’s not silent, so if you’re room sharing or something, be aware that there is a sound, it’s just nothing too bad.

This sort of muzzled sound comes from the gasket-mounted design. In a typical keyboard, the “plate” (which holds the switches) is screwed directly into the plastic or metal chassis. This hard-contact point transmits every vibration directly into the case, which acts as a resonance chamber. The gasket design isolates this entire assembly. The plate “floats,” suspended between silicone gaskets on both the top and bottom of the case. This isolates the typing impact, preventing harsh vibrations and creating a much softer, bouncier, and acoustically muted typing experience. This feature alone was, until very recently, one of the primary selling points of $300+ keyboard kits. Now, you can get it in keyboards in the $100 range. I won’t bother you too much with more details, but it’s a pretty clever engineering trick.

Close-up of the keyboard. Image credits: Andrei Mihai / ZME Science.

A Pretty Solid Keyboard

The keyboard is a bit heavier than you’d expect, which is a good thing in my view. It has that sturdy, durable feel. I’ve been using it for over a month, and I’ve not found any significant structural weaknesses.

The keycaps are double-shot PBT. Polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) is a polymer that was originally used as an insulator in the electrical and electronics industries. But keyboard engineers figured out this plastic could also be used for keycaps. Most cheap keyboards use thin ABS plastic, which quickly develops a greasy “shine” and uses painted-on legends that fade. PBT is a denser, more durable, and slightly textured plastic that resists shine and produces a lower-pitched sound. “Double-shot” means the legend (the letter) is a separate piece of plastic molded into the keycap, making it practically impossible for it to wear off.

The quality is good, I’ve punched it (mildly) a few times, and it withstood admirably. It also survived an accidental coffee spill with nothing but a few small stains.

Image credits: Andrei Mihai / ZME Science.

At the same time, the keyboard looks and feels delicate. It’s got that soft, matte texture to it. The keyboard features south-facing RGB LEDs. This is another clever choice; by orienting the LEDs toward the user, the design produces a more subtle, diffused “underglow” on the desk mat rather than a harsh shine through the key legends.

I like my aesthetic keyboards, and this is definitely one of them. It’s nothing special in the design area, but everything is done with good taste, and it looks pretty, with or without lighting. I could see it in a serious office and a teenager’s battlestation just as well.

The Features

9.5Expert Score

Our score: excellent.

• Feels great to type

• Sturdy build

• Easy to customize

• Aesthetic

• One questionable key placement

• The screen space could be used better

The keyboard can work wired and wirelessly as well. I start my morning plugged into my desktop with the included USB-C cable. I got a fast, zero-lag connection. This also charges the battery. When I want to move to the living room, I flip a switch and connect to my laptop via Bluetooth. It can remember up to three Bluetooth devices. Then, for a gaming session, I plug the tiny 2.4Ghz wireless dongle into my PC. This gives me a rock-solid, low-latency connection that’s indistinguishable from a wired one.

The 4000mAh battery is a workhorse; with the RGB lights off, it lasts for several days of heavy use. With the lights on, the battery life is substantially shorter.

The Vibe 99 is also “hot-swappable.” This is the feature that makes it a true “gateway drug” into the wider hobby. It means you don’t need to solder. If you don’t like the linear switches it came with, you can just… pull them out. You can buy a set of “tactile” (bumpy) or “clicky” switches, and pop them right in. It’s very easy to customize if that’s your thing.

Me changing the lighting settings from the dedicated software.

There is one area where the Vibe 99’s budget becomes apparent: the software. The program used to customize the RGB lighting, record macros, and upload images to the TFT screen is, to be charitable, simplistic. It is clunky, and I’ve had issues recognizing my keyboard.

It’s also got a screen that shows you a few basics like time, date, and your battery level. The screen is cute, not particularly useful (at least not for me) except for the battery level. Having a volume knob would perhaps be more useful. Installing it is seamless; you don’t need anything in particular.

Pricewise, the keyboard is discounted to $70 (from $82.99) at the time of this writing, which is a fair price for a quality keyboard.

Having Your Numpad and Eating It Too

I’ve typed on several types of keyboard layouts. It feels that designers have experimented quite a lot and, after some truly questionable decisions, have zoomed in on things that really work.

Its most defining characteristic is the 1800, or 96%, layout. This design compresses the 100-key set, integrating the number pad, arrow cluster, and navigation keys into a single, dense block. This choice aims to resolve the primary conflict between compact (tenkeyless) boards and full-size utility. It wants to offer the full range of keys (including the numpad and the F keys), without being big and bulky.

It manages that.

In theory, a photo of the small keyboard screen. In practice, I’m trying to shame these two keys.

Yet again, we’re in the Goldilocks area. I like having an extended keyboard, but this isn’t a bulky keyboard. It uses its real estate very well. With one exception: the Pg Up and Pg Down keys.

These two keys are positioned (at least to my hand) in the most inaccessible part of the keyboard. It’s just a weird angle to press with your pinky. I’d much rather do away with the screen and have them positioned in a better place, along with the Delete key. It’s my one gripe with this keyboard. I work with a lot of documents, a lot of tabs, and I like the easy navigation with these keys. Having to readjust or customize other keys feels like needless pain.

The Verdict

The Mechlands Vibe 99 is not a good keyboard for the price. It is, full stop, a great keyboard. The fact that it costs $80 is a bonus. I’ve typed on keyboards that cost close to double the price and didn’t hit the quality. It looks and feels premium.

I’d recommend this keyboard to the workaholic writer, to the student starting university, and to the gamer who also needs their computer for work. It’s not the cheapest, but it’s in the affordable range for its quality.

Is the design going to be a problem for you? I’d suggest checking beforehand. Again, the design choice feels very inspired, with one notable exception.

Overall, however, I believe products like the Vibe 99 have the potential to bring true market disruption. Good keyboards don’t need to break the bank anymore.