Fearing for the life of my HHKB (which is being lugged to and from work every day), I wanted a keyboard with the same layout that wasn’t quite as expensive to replace. Along came the Infinity keyboard drop on Massdrop. It seemed perfect. Same layout, a wide variety of switch choices, and customizability up the Wazoo.
It took a little while to get here (drop finished March 12, got the kit on May 23), but I was pretty stoked to get the package in the mail that morning. I forewent breakfast and went straight to soldering and putting it together.
Construction was a breeze and I almost wish that the process lasted a bit longer (no soldering of diodes), but 2 hours in the thing was finished and I was frustrated. It seems that the stabilizer assembly components (Filco style) are of really flimsy. The bars are WAY too thin, the key inserts offer too much friction, there doesn’t seem to be much of a bend in the bar, and all that put together made my stabilized keys stick. The Massdrop discussion page for this keyboard is fraught with issues ranging from the stabilizer issue to half-soldered on diodes, to diodes missing altogether, to bad keycaps shipped. It’s kind of a mess and I wish the QC on this was better.
So, if you get yourself this kit, get 3 of these, two of these, and one of these as well.
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WASD stabilizer bar on the left and the stabilizer bar that comes with the kit on the right. Note the difference in bar wire diameter and the lack of bend on the right.
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WASD insert on top, Infinity insert on the bottom.
And even with those replacement parts, the keys are still a bit sticky but I hope that it gets better over time. I’m currently also waiting on my DSA granite keycaps which should help with this issue (or so I’ve read), so check back here in a few months for a long term review on how that went.
This may sound a a bit like I’m nagging, but it would really suck for someone who doesn’t have the replacement parts laying around like I do to have to try and fix this issue somehow. However, I am sure that Massdrop will address these issues in the future and the second drop for this will go much smoother.
Anyway, this is the default layout it comes with out of the box:
Now, the layout isn’t exactly the same as the HHKB, but it’s close enough to avoid the confusion of going from HHKB to Poker 2, which is a muscle-memory nightmare. I will modify the layout to match the HHKB more since I already seem to be hitting the dedicated caps lock key right under the function key all the time. Also, I don’t think I will need a function layer toggle, so the extra keys are kind of wasted on me.
As for the switches, I opted for Gateron Clears. They kind of feel like super light Cherry MX linear switches but don’t feel as springy. I haven’t done a weights test yet, but I think the actuation point for these guys is probably somewhere around 35 to 40 grams. They are very very light; you breathe on these things and they actuate. They feel buttery smooth though, I’m very impressed with how these Gaterons feel so far.
In spite of the stabilizer quirks, I am liking the keyboard so far. The switches are nice and lend themselves to typing very well, but the real challenge will be the day-to-day typing experience. The backplate gives the keyboard a nice heft and combined with my Tex aluminum case, it’s a lethal weapon. Though, the backplate is a fingerprint-magnet, so do as your mom said and stop touching it. Check back here in a month or two for an update on the keyboard and hopefully a more permanent solution to my stabilizer problem.
