KiiBOOM Meow Pudding PC keycap set overview

I had the inexperienced Phantom with the foolish froggy keycaps, however the Meow set would not actually match that base shade for my part, so KiiBOOM was sort enought to ship me a blue one too. (The white variant, that includes the Meow caps in most official photographs, has been out of inventory for a while.)

Unboxing & Contents

The Meow set is available in a girlish, mild pink packaging, even with a lightweight pink ribbon, mimicing a hand bag. (The KiiBOOM Phantom 81 Lite got here within the typical, very good cardboard field.)

Contents: Simply the keycaps in good trays. So no keycap puller.

Packaging

The keycap set got here in these good three-level trays that appeared on my radar final 12 months. Gentle pink tinted this time, frosted, however the MoeeTech caps got here in very comparable trays as properly, virtually an identical.

All in all, I want these type of trays over the most likely less expensive skinny and totally translucent outdated resolution. They defend the keycaps and in addition maintain them of their supposed place.

The very best factor? These new trays are infinitely stackable.

Though not precisely an identical, the KiiBOOM one appears to be the improved model, they snap into one another after eradicating the lids.

First impressions, design language

The unique MOA caps look incredible too, very detailed 5-side printing, and their profile matches the spherical edges of the case properly. Identical to the Meow MAO ones – at first look MOA with kitty ears.

These jelly-like PC caps give the keyboard setup an entire totally different look and temper although.

Keyboard specs

The blue one is solely a shade variant with a blue ABS housing, and the matching cake-themed keycap set.

Keyset specs

• Variety of keycaps: 134
• Profile: MAO
• Stem: MX
• Materials: PC, UV tech legends
• Homing: nothing
• Format compatibility: 60%, 65%, 75%, TKL, 96%, 100%

Format

With 134 keycaps, this comparatively massive set helps a number of kind components and layouts.

As well as, the profile is uniform, which means you’ll be able to freely jumble your alphas as you want. In case you are one of many legendary keymap wizards rockin Colemak, Dvorak or one thing much more unique, the keyboard can simply match your logical association even when the letters find yourself in numerous rows.

The set accommodates loads of further caps over the bottom 100% set, with varied sizes for mods or further 1U caps for e.g. all-1U splits, Tsangan backside row, and so forth.

The one factor you will not discover on this set is the ISO Enter, break up spacebar, and caps with arrows.

Whereas you could find one thing for some break up spacebar preparations, there are not any devoted break up spacebar keys within the extras, not even mentioning convex variants.

And there are not any devoted arrow keys both, though there are many 1U “leftovers”.

Leftovers after populating a 75% keyboard

High quality

Stable construct high quality. I have not discovered any points.

Materials

Made from high-grade PC materials – stated to be sturdy, impact-resistant, and promising no yellowing. In contrast to different keycaps that will put on/fade, these PC caps will keep clean and colourful in response to KiiBOOM.

The UV-cured ink makes the legends clear (tiny symbols straightforward to learn), scratch-resistant (no fading/peeling underneath heavy use), and color-stable – preserving cute cat-themed designs long-lasting.

Coloration-stability is tough to check in such a short while body, however I’ve stried scratching, and the set carried out as anticipated: no harm to the legends.

Colours

A pleasant and calm palette consisting of pastel colours – yellow, mild pink/pink, purple, and light-weight blue –, distributed randomly throughout keys and key teams.

Legends

The legends are tiny, alphas positioned within the decrease heart a part of the keycaps.

In any other case virtually each keycap options these cute kitty ears, with the alphas and most mods that includes additionally varied facial expressions.

Legend high quality is nice, particularly given the very tremendous strains, dots and whatnot.

Keycaps contact & really feel

I suppose that the MAO is an in depth relative of the MOA profile: the uniform, rounded form was saved, and prolonged a bit to kind the kitty ears. Perhaps the highest dish is a bit bigger? I am unsure. It is arduous to substantiate. Nonetheless, the footprint/skirt of the MAO (kitty) caps appears undoubtedly bigger – with a fraction of a mm although. In trade, the MAO is a tiny bit decrease, however once more, we’re speaking about fractions of a millimeter.

The general form being very comparable, it should not trigger any problem to get used to for those who’re conversant in MOA and even XDA.

Nonetheless, the contact and really feel may be very totally different.

In distinction, these PC MAO profile caps are completely clean and glossy, the one palpatable components being the UV-fixed legends and design parts.

Weight

For years, I have not thought of how essential keycap weight will be – till attempting the super-heavy Awekeys steel caps, particularly mods. Experiencing that some switches and is derived are just too weak to even carry and reset heavier caps after a keypress tought me that this is a crucial issue too.

These MAO caps are of common weight, and will not trigger comparable points.

That stated, keycap weight alters the way you expertise change actuation power: a heavier keycap makes the spring really feel weaker.

Impact on sound

PC just isn’t the most typical materials for keycaps, and these MAO profile caps are comparatively excessive, thick, and their form is dome-like, so I used to be interested in their sound.

All in all, they make the unique loud and clacky Phantom 81 sound only a tiny bit increased pitched. That stated, the sound remains to be loud and nonetheless nearer to thocky than clacky I would say.

Impact on lights

As you could guess, the translucent materials mixed with the seemingly randomly chosen particular person colours for the keys lead to each improved and restricted RGB traits.

Uniform white mild

On the primary hand, per-key LEDs can superbly illuminate these keycaps. Alternatively, even when per-key RGB just isn’t actually restricted with excessive brightness settings, the keycap colours intervene with the RGB LED colours.

Uniform non-white mild

As you’ll be able to see, even inexperienced mild (nonexistent within the keycap palette) can shine by:

Conclusion

Value & Availability