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Vissles V84 wireless mechanical keyboard review: nostalgic keyboard action blended with Bluetooth
Vissles V84 wireless mechanical keyboard
pros and cons
- Customisable keys for Windows and Mac
- Sturdy mechanical Bluetooth keyboard
- 19 colourway backlights
- Long lasting battery
- Nothing bad about this keyboard at all
As soon as I took the Vissles V84 mechanical keyboard out of its box, I fell in love with it. If you are old enough to remember and enjoy the feel of the keyboard on IBM-PC compatible computers you will love the Vissles V84 keyboard too.
The Vissles V84 keys travel up to 4mm when pressed, and give a satisfying clunking sound reminiscent of old keyboards. However, the keyboard is more compact at 315 x 125mm – and it has far more features than those old keyboards. It weighs 824g – a nice solid weight.
Inside the box there is the keyboard, a wrist rest cushion, and two magnetic rubber feet supports to tilt the keyboard to six degrees away from horizontal.
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There are three replaceable keys, a key puller, tweezers, a charging cable, and three spare keys. There are also two non-slip pads to stop the wrist rest from sliding around the desk.
There are 84 keys on this keyboard and the layout is configured for Mac by default. To change the keyboard to Windows use, use the keyboard puller to change the option, cmd, and command keys to win and alt keys.
The key puller tool makes this far easier than trying to lever the keys off with a penknife. Then press the fn and S or A keys to switch the keyboard between Windows/Android and iOS/Mac.
The keyboard has a 3750mAh on-board battery which will last for up to 180 hours with no backlight. You can also connect to the keyboard in wired mode using the USB-C cable. Alternatively you can use Bluetooth to connect.
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In Bluetooth mode you can use the keyboard for up to 19 hours if the backlight is on maximum brightness. You can also connect the keyboard to up to five different devices.
After five minutes in standby, the Vissles V84 will reduce its backlight brightness, and after 30 minutes on standby mode, will go to sleep.
The keyboard has up to 19 different multi-lighting effects, with 9 monochrome and colour to get an array of different colour schemes for the keyboard.
The keyboard can be programmed to carry out a set of macros, and the function keys will navigate through music tracks or play and pause tracks as well as increase the volume.
In use, the Vissles keyboard is solid. No matter how hard I type, the keyboard does not flex. It is quick to wake up too and the response time of the keys gave me an experience the same as typing on my laptop.
I love the fact that with a couple of key changes using the key puller tool, and a set of keystrokes, the device switches between Mac and Windows modes.
There is little not to like about the $99 Vissles V84 mechanical keyboard. It has a long-lasting battery, is rechargeable, and works wired or with Bluetooth.
It will pair to five devices – either Windows, Android, iOS or Mac. It has customisable lights, customisable keys and a range of functions.
Oh, and if you hanker for keyboards of old – the satisfying clunk of each key will make you very happy indeed.