Glorious Aura keycaps review: Best pudding caps I’ve ever used

I am going to be genuine I am generally guilty of remaining one of those people mechanical keyboard snobs I tend to contact out in my evaluations and protection of the subject. A person of the parts where by I am most usually jaded is keycaps that seem low-priced or extremely flashy. For a long time, I’ve bundled “pudding” keycaps in that checklist of matters I’m not a supporter of. They pretty much always appeared to be of poor top quality, seemed slender, and normally ruined what may possibly have usually been a awesome-searching mechanical keyboard. 

Whilst I often do almost everything in my electrical power to go into a evaluate with a neutral outlook and cleanse slate of expectations, I felt I need to even now mention this was the state of mind I’d traditionally held when the Wonderful Aura Mechanical Keycaps arrived for review. These are Glorious’ own consider on the pudding style (named for its resemblance to multi-layered pudding cups when considered from the aspect) and, to get proper to the level, the greatest pudding caps I’ve ever used. Go through on to find out why. 

Really feel and sound

The very first thing that astonished me about these caps was that they ended up designed with thick, doubleshot PBT plastic. This implies that there are actually two discrete layers of plastic (one particular translucent and 1 in either black, white, or pink, dependent on your selected colorway) that match with each other so tightly there is no detectable hole. I did test to detect just one, for the report, but no fingernail nor fingertip could sense it. Currently being used to low-cost, thin pudding caps designed of one particular-layer translucent plastic, this was my initially idea. It was time to sit down and take see. 

Also: Mechanical keyboards: A in depth guidebook

1 of the other important pudding cap drawbacks has historically been their tendency to allow considerably far too a lot mild by means of. Even boards that had rather tame backlighting became veritable beacons if you slapped a established of pudding caps on them. On the other hand, Glorious’ Aura caps and their thicker PBT plastic present much superior lighting than most rivals.

This isn’t going to serve to block the mild to the level of creating it drab. It just pleasantly diffuses it, providing every crucial a comfortable but continue to very saturated glow that appears to be unusually superior-conclude. 

The come to feel of the caps is shockingly plush as effectively, especially offered the $30 inquiring value for a 145-critical established that should fill out just about any board, with the possible exception of definitely exotic layouts. 

As the frequently fewer-than-happy operator of quite a few keycaps sets that cost just about 10 instances that a great deal, I can say the PBT feels about as stable as any I have utilised. I will take note that it can be 1 of the smoothest PBT caps I’ve ever analyzed. If you choose PBT for that pretty much sandpaper-like roughness it can have, these aren’t for you. 

Even so, if you like it for the thick sensation it can lend to keys and the seem-deadening attributes it can deliver to enable lower spring whine and other unpleasant pings, those people are all current here. 

In shape and end

General, I located the complete much greater than its price tag point would propose. There have been no excessive tough spots on the base sides, nor any outstanding sprue marks from the casting system. I am going to also reiterate that the doubleshot levels fit quite a lot perfectly. 

The set wasn’t totally with no its flaws, on the other hand. There was just one situation where the spacebar preferred to adhere on 1 board (Glorious’ own GMMK Pro) but was great on all others I analyzed (like the Fall ALT). If you might be asking yourself, I did double-examine that it was the suitable size, and it was. It appeared to be a slight tolerance challenge with the spacing of the house bar stabilizers.

This challenge is a little something that could very likely be solved with 5 minutes and some sandpaper applied to the stems, but it is not one thing most conclude people would be way too pleased to have to deal with. Out of the 5 boards that I examined the keycaps on, only the GMMK Professional confirmed indications of sticking. I can’t be confident if you will run into this, and I can’t say for sure your unique space bar will never be great everywhere you go, but it truly is really worth noting. 

Also: 5 very best mechanical keyboards: From mini to macros

My only other gripe applies to the legends. That exact thick, diffusing PBT that I praised for providing the sides of the keycaps a tender glow dampens the lights of the legends a minor much too significantly. I experienced to up the brightness on most of my screening boards to around their utmost in order to make out the backlit legends, even in rather dim lighting.

It truly is not a enormous offer most of the time, specifically if you are an knowledgeable touch-typist, but it could be problematic throughout all those times when you might be trying to find an uncommonly applied key on a shiny working day. They’re legible, just not as apparent as I would like. 

Bottom line 

I previously spoiled the ending, but I will say once more these are the very best pudding caps I’ve at any time used. Aside from the handful of small in good shape and end issues I described, I would definitely look at making use of them myself in a board that I desired to ascribe to the RGB aesthetic that would display them off to their greatest result. 

Though I have paid for various stupidly highly-priced keycap sets, I by no suggests consider they’re for all people, nor do I consider they are normally the greatest. For illustration, I nevertheless use a $50 set from Matrix Keyboards on just one of my each day drivers, and I’m even now rather delighted with it. I’ve always been especially chuffed to bear in mind I compensated only $50 for it…and then Glorious’ Aura keycaps appear together at $35 and helps make me truly feel like I overpaid. 

Solutions to consider 

HyperX’s pudding keycaps are really very similar on paper. They’re also doubleshot PBT and also sell for a bargain price of $25. On the other hand, they’re a little bit far more translucent and their font is absolutely far more “gamery,” but that could be a superior detail for the appropriate person.

If you like the strategy of low-priced ($30) doubleshot PBT but you should not want pudding keycaps, Razer helps make a glow-as a result of line of caps that use the exact products. These caps, which will in good shape on any Cherry MX-compatible board and come in black, white, green, and pink colorways.

One of my private most loved spending plan keycap organizations, Matrix Keyboards, can make their own sets of pudding caps. This exceptional keyboard sets up the shade by applying the firm’s Peacock colorway on its translucent shells.