I have reviewed hundreds of gaming mechanical keyboards, but yet, I haven’t reviewed a LEMOKEY mechanical keyboard. That is until now.
So, what is LEMOKEY? First, they are a gaming brand under parent company, Keychron (formed back in 2017) by keyboard enthusiasts, Will Ye (who has 9 years of keyboard production) and Sven Zhu (10 years of experience in industrial design). These enthusiasts partnered with a factory to produce top-notch keyboards.
Keychron produces awesome keyboards, but for more customized premium keyboards and peripherals, this is where their gaming brand LEMOKEY was developed.
So, this leads me to the LEMOKEY X5 96% Wired Gaming LED Backlit QMK/Launcher Mechanical Keyboard for Windows/Linux.
This particular keyboard is a wired mechanical keyboard which is hot swappable and featuring a 96% layout and QMK support (this allows to program and remap every key), anti-ghosting NKRO. Also, a 1000 Hz polling rate, gasket mount structure and shine through keycaps. LED features a red backlight (with 14 red light effects) and is available with Keychron red or brown mechanical switches which are pre-lubed.
I particularly want the best of both worlds, so I went with brown (not so quiet, not so loud and just in between).
So, depending on your needs, you can select this X5 (96% without the ins, home, pgup, pgdown, del, end buttons) or you can select a LEMOKEY X0 (35-key one handed QMK mechanical keyboard), X1 (without the ten key), X3 (100% full sized), X4 (75% layout) and X6 (65% layout if you prefer even smaller keyboards). If you want the heavier aluminum body, then you can go for their P series or L series for wireless connection.
Now, this X5 is about $50 and you get a USB-C cable, key cap puller and extra key caps in black (if you don’t want the red keycaps).
So, after using this mechanical keyboard, I have a few things that come to mind.
– For a gasket mounted keyboard, it’s quite light and that’s because there is really one layer of foam. It’s not like others that have seven layers of foam.
– The Keychron brown switches are tactile and are what to be expected from brown switches, not so loud and not so quiet. Just what i like and doesn’t take much force.
– For the most part, looks wise it can be looked at as a budget wired gaming keyboard with RED LED lighting. But it’s a keyboard that probably can be used as one’s entry way to modding and customizing their own keyboard.
– Again, this is a plastic body and no aluminum, so if you want that, go for the L series not the X series.
– Those who are very particular with having an LED light for caps lock and num lock will like this keyboard.
– Kind of reminds me of the gaming mechanical keyboards I reviewed from five years ago but now has gasket-mounting.
Overall, for under $50, the LEMOKEY X5 96% Wired Gaming LED Backlit QMK/Launcher Mechanical Keyboard for Windows/Linux is a very good wired gaming mechanical keyboard but the problem is, this industry is so competitive that you have other brands that offer similar or even a wireless option at a much cheaper price.
Of course, you are also paying a little bit more for the Keychron brand, but yet the Keychron brand of keyboards (especially their V and Q series) come in much better colors than their gaming counterpart and also offer QMK/VIA support and 1000 Hz polling rate.
So, while LEMOKEY is the gaming brand of Keychron, Keychron mechanical keyboards have more of an edge in terms of more bang for the buck (yes, you are paying a little higher). But what LEMOKEY offers are more different sizes of mechanical keyboard.
Overall, if one is to say that LEMOKEY is their budget line of gaming keyboards, then I can definitely understand. It’s under $50 and way cheaper than their Keychron counterpart (the Q6 is wireless and custom at $189). But if LEMOKEY is going against budget class, there are other budget class brands that have established themselves as top tier and it’s going to be an interesting battle.
But for those wanting to spend under $50 for a very good gaming keyboard, while not the best under $50, the LEMOKEY X5 96% Wired Gaming LED Backlit QMK/Launcher Mechanical Keyboard for Windows/Linux is still worth considering.
