An established mechanical keyboard brand, KPrepublic is known for their keyboards, cases, keycaps and switches. And within this umbrella of KPrepublic, you will find keyboards from Domikey, Taihao, Eleworks, ROYALE AXE to name a few.
And for this review, I am reviewing the ROYALAXE Y98 Wireless RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard, Tri-Mode Wired/Bluetooth 5.0/2.4G with Coiled Aviator Cable. Before I begin, I have to emphasize that ROYAL AXE and ROYAL KLUDGE are two different brands.
And with the ROYALAXE Y98 Wireless RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard, Tri-Mode Wired/Bluetooth 5.0/2.4G with Coiled Aviator Cable, this is a collaboration keyboard with ProtoArc, a company well known for their ergonomic keyboards and mice and also creating products geared towards comfort.
So, the first thing you are going to see when using this keyboard is the blue and red profile, with the “ROYAL AXE” and “Never Stop Fighting” on the front. “UNSTOPPABLE” word on the sides with three air vents. And of course, the “YOU HAVE SLAIN AN ENEMY” on the space bar and the blue metallic switch on the top right.
While inside, you get four Gateron G Pro 3.0 yellow switches as extra, keycap puller and switch puller, kickstand legs and to my surprise, you get a blue aviator USB-C cable. Wow! That is awesome already.
But let’s go ahead test the mechanical keyboard and I have to say, these Gateron G Pro 3.0’s yellow switches, they are near silent. What a surprise! Many companies have their own color switches but they tend to be variations of red, browns and blues. But these yellows are quiet silent. If anything, most of the noise comes from the space bar. But for those wanting quiet keyboards, the Y98 is no doubt worth it for that and the keyboard is 5-pin socket hot swappable as well!
The key caps are double shout PBT keycaps and are oil resistant. The keyboard also features N-key rollover and full keys which have anti-ghosting. And the reason why it’s called the Y98 is that it’s a 98-key keyboard. ROYALEAXE does make a Y87, 87-key version as well.
Underneath, you get 3 tilt angles.
The upper right blue metal switch is primarily to switch from Wired, Bluetooth or 2.4ghz wireless, it is not a volume knob.
There is a Caps Lock LED if you need to know if CAPS LOCK is on (as well as NUM LOCK as well).
Weight wise, lifting this mechanical keyboard up and down, it’s a bit heavy and I like to say “Built like a tank”. Surprising, considering it’s not gasket mounted. But looking into the making of this keyboard and there are layers of sound absorbing foam.
Also, for wireless use, this keyboard comes with a 4000mAh battery, most have 1000 or 2000 and that means 350 hours of standby time and 14 hours with RGB light on.
And with the ROYAL AXE software driver, you can make macro programming and light customizations.
For the most part, it costs under $100 for this mechanical keyboard, so it puts it in a higher tier side which is a lot for a non-gasket mechanical keyboard. But you get so much, considering the aviator cable, magnetic feet, multi-layer sound absorption and Gateron Pro 3.0 yellow switches, it’s hard to complain. Sure, I would like it at the $75-80 price point but it’s still under a $100 and a well-made keyboard that really performs well.
So, if you are looking for a blue/red, silent gaming mechanical keyboard which provides for bang for the buck, definitely consider the ROYALAXE Y98 Wireless RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard, Tri-Mode Wired/Bluetooth 5.0/2.4G with Coiled Aviator Cable.
