EPOMAKER Niz Electro-Capacitive Keyboard Initial Impressions ( WIN ! )

Computers
#1

this keyboard:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087LYPKWD?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

is amazing.

typing on it right now.

it isn’t just nice or i like it or stuff like that - it is legit in a different league from other keyboards.

its sort of how you know there are consumer grade products, commercial grade, medical grade, military grade and so on …

well this keyboard feels like something a person who invented blockchain would be typing on … it feels like mere mortals shouldn’t have access to this level of gear …

aside from that, the keyboard is quite basic. no wireless or backlighting. it does have a detachable braided USB-C cable as well as includes a key cap puller, some Apple specific key caps you can install and a set of secondary springs that can be installed to increase the weight of the very light 35 gram keys.

it also includes a thin clear plastic dust cover, which is a nice touch.

the packaging is simple brown cardboard and instructions are in Chinese only, but you don’t need them.

overall this is a no-BS keyboard. it doesn’t skimp on anything of substance while completely skipping over any BS like RGB or even an English language manual that you don’t need.

i realize that to the untrained eye this looks like a $20 keyboard and when you add the fact that it doesn’t even include instructions in English that would drop it to $10 in most people’s yes … so is the $180 price really justified ?

YES

this keyboard is cheap on the surface but when you look closer it is world class.

i compared it to an actual $10 keyboard that my Grandma uses …

it’s kind of like Mercedes G-Wagen versus Jeep Wrangler - they look the same to the untrained eye, but they are not the same AT ALL.

that said G-Wagen isn’t for everybody, certainly it isn’t for me …

and this Keyboard also may not be for everybody …

but i love it.

Epomaker is actually just a distributor for Niz.

This wasn’t my first choice of Niz keyboard but the 1st choice was only available through Epomaker directly and i waned to buy on Amazon ( sold by Epomaker, shipped from Amazon ) …

for a keyboard that is SO different you want to have the option of hassle free returns, which Amazon offers … whereas buying from Epomaker directly return process looked a bit sketchy to me …

Only been using this keyboard for a few hours but so far yes i recommend it IF you can get it from Amazon with free returns like me …

If you have to go through Epomaker perhaps it would be too much of a risk in case you may not like the feeling and might not be able to return it …

With Amazon i actually got SAME DAY DELIVERY for it here in New Jersey and of course i have PLENTY of time to return it, though i have no intention of doing so …

i think the sticking point for most people with this keyboard will be the white color and to a lesser extent lack of backlighting …

but actually for a keyboard that isn’t backlit white color is optimal as it makes the legends more legible …

which goes back to the theme of this keyboard - it is all about function. if you want bling - this keyboard is not for you. if you want amazing typing experience - order one from Amazon and try it out - you may be blown away, or you may hate it - but it is like nothing else. LITERALLY.

Literally no other keyboard has switches that work, sound or feel the way Niz switches do. not even Topre switches which Niz cloned …

But i am not the only one who thinks that Niz clones of Topre are actually superior to the authentic Topre, due to being damped on the upstroke …

The people who think Topre is better than Niz are probably basing their judgement simply on the fact that Topre is the original Japanese made electrocapacitive switch while Niz is the Chinese clone, and i 100% understand that logically one would assume that the original Japanese would be better than Chinese clone …

But that simply doesn’t seem to be the case …

I haven’t tried Topre but i have watched a direct comparison video and what i am experiencing with the Niz is 100% consistent with what i saw in that video, which concluded that Niz was superior.

here is the video:

please note the video uses a more compact Niz keyboard than one i have, but the switches are the same.

the YouTuber who made the video got their KB directly from Epomaker, so they were able to choose from a wider range of models than the limited Amazon selection.

#2

i swear Epomaker / Niz aren’t paying me to write this but i literally feel like i’m reading the text as it appears on the screen as opposed to typing it …

like i am thinking about what i’m trying to type and simultaneously realizing it has already appeared on the screen …

i think it’s because with regular rubber dome switch the key press is only registered after you pressed the key all the way down … but with with electro-capacitive switch it’s registered earlier … so it seems as if the letters appear on the screen before you pressed the key … because they really do !

of course other types of switches can do this too, i think maybe the illusion is because Niz electro-capacitive switches actually use rubber domes and have some of that feeling so the brain expects them to act like a rubber dome but they activate faster … almost “prematurely” LOL

so the brain gets confused …

#3

the keyboard is so quiet it makes my Logitech G903 Mouse click sound deafening by comparison.

when i have Bose 700 noise canceling headphones on i can’t hear myself type at all …

of course Bose 700 allow you to adjust noise cancelation or even reverse it into noise amplification if that’s what you want, so if you WANT to hear yourself type that can certainly be arranged …

this would be a great keyboard to use in an open plan office due to how quiet it is …

#4

my long term goal is still a more compact keyboard layout but i’m happy with what i have here for now

the keyboard essentially “disappeared” - i am no longer aware i’m using it - i’m basically just printing text from my mind to the computer screen

when i build the next computer i will probably order another Epomaker Niz but this time in a more compact form factor and if necessary i will order it from Epomaker because at that point i won’t be taking a chance on some product i know nothing about so the risk of not being able to return it will be a lesser consideration …

this is the one i actually wanted:

it’s smaller than the one i got and it’s wireless …

but it wasn’t available on Amazon and i was too scared to order something i can’t easily return …

if i needed a second keyboard this Wireless Micro 84 ( 75% ) is the one i would get …

but you should stick with Amazon because you need to form your own opinion on whether you like this key feel …

it’s not enough to be OK with it - you must LOVE it otherwise why are you paying so much for a rather plain looking keyboard with a limited feature set …

i love it …

#5

i think one potentially very real downside is once my typing technique is fully optimized for this keyboard i will not be able to type on anything else.

the keys are so light i’m still struggling to reduce the force of my key presses to what is optimal. obviously it still works fine if you mash the keys as you’re used to with other keyboards but only about 1/2 to 1/3 force is actually necessary to type on this Niz.

in fact the amount of force necessary is so low i can’t even really register it with my brain.

i always like to be as efficient as possible at everything so i’m trying to learn to type with less force here but the problem is that if i succeed in learning to type with almost no force applied to the keys then i won’t be able to type on any other keyboard.

i would basically have to carry my own keyboard with me everywhere and not be able to use laptops.

LOL

#6

i could install the included 10 gram secondary springs to make the keyboard feel more like a normal keyboard but for some reason i don’t want to do that.

on one hand i’m a little worried i might damage something and on the other i don’t want to ruin the whole “typing on a cloud” experience.

though it’s actually quite hard to make it feel like you’re typing on a cloud while going fast.

when i first tried it out i was focusing on feeling the keys not going fast and it definitely felt like i was typing on a cloud because i was going slow, light and deliberate.

but when you’re just banging away pages of text you’re not measuring the force you’re typing with and you just start to mash the keys and then it just feels almost like a regular old school rubber dome keyboard just a bit more refined.

well maybe that’s not a bad thing.

#7

my mother learned to type on a mechanical typewriter and for many years after that she continued to mash the keys on keyboards with absolutely violent force, which is actually necessary on a mechanical typewriter but obviously not on an electronic keyboard …

basically muscle memory is a thing …

which is why it was more important for me to get a keyboard with great feeling switches than with features like RGB or wireless …

of course if you can get both in the same keyboard why not, but it may not be possible.

if you think about it why would somebody developing a key switch for serious typing bother to integrate RGB lighting into it ?

even though Topre and Niz both have RGB options they don’t really work that well because on this type of switch they are a complete afterthought …

in fact my previous daily driver Logitech was the only keyboard and switch ever made that really was developed from the ground up around the RGB LED … it had ZERO spill with the LED at the very center of the key and the lighting was great … but the quality was shit and it completely disintegrated and Logitech stopped making them.

the classic Cherry MX type switches have LED more as an afterthought but it is more or acceptable the way it works …

Topre and Niz on other hand have RGB that pretty much doesn’t work at all … which is why i didn’t bother trying to get it.

I do wish they keyboard had bluetooth so i could use it with a home theater PC from the couch, but realistically if you’re typing from the couch at that point probably key feel is not very relevant.

so maybe just have two keyboards.

#8

damn these typing tests are hard !

it’s a lot harder to type something that you’re reading compared to something you want to say that’s already in your head.

and this test wasn’t even as bad as some of the other ones.

one test would get stuck anytime you made a single typo and wouldn’t let you go on until you fixed it, which was very distracting. another test would only let you see the next 3 words or so that you’re supposed to type and actually started lagging to the point where i couldn’t even see what i was supposed to be typing.

but this particular test seems fair. i will go back and re-test later.

#9

even though the tests are different the results are remarkably consistent. i took about 10 tests on several different sites and they were all within 10% of each other.

not really happy with the results. not going to tell you what they are LOL.

much prefer telling people what my IQ is instead LOL.

#10

i think for really fast typing like on these tests the keys may be a bit too light.

but for regular typing when i’m not trying to set any speed record i enjoy that lighter keys allow for a more plush and quiet typing experience.

still, my ego has taken a blow.

ouch.

#11

i hope at least some of the poor performance can be attributed to having spent too much time with the fucking logitech …

and some to me still not being used to the lightness of the new keyboard …

but also i’m being held back by lack of accuracy …

going back to fix typos is what kills my speed …

not sure how much improvement is on the table really …

fuckit i don’t care. when composing real posts i spend more time thinking than typing anyway …

i guess this makes me a retard on top of a shitty typist.

fuck.

#12

idiots spelled Mickey Mouse as “Micky” Mouse in their typing test but they penalize ME for typos !

Chinese assholes.

LOL