What impressed me, however, is the Base 65’s RGB lighting: between the transparent casing, white silicone cushioning, transparent switches and keycaps, and reflective aluminum plate, the RGB absolutely shines, making this keyboard a standout. a brilliant centerpiece on any desk. Unfortunately, programming the RGB is a bit complicated and most factory presets have incredibly limited customization.
Paying for appearance
The salvation is HiGround’s collaborations in pop culture. You can make a keyboard In collaboration with Minecraftand there have previously been tie-ins to games and anime series, including naruto, Pokemon, Attack on Titan, gundamand yu gi oh. However, this usually comes with a downside: would you rather have a high-quality keyboard or one designed after your favorite multimedia franchise? This keyboard is eye-catching, colorful and eye-catching. But aside from the visuals, the Base 65 keyboard doesn’t do anything new or do anything to justify the price.
Photography: Henri Robbins
I also want to point out the “all sales are final” line in most of the company’s product descriptions. Combine this with massive brand tie-ins and an emphasis on “limited” releases, and it reminds me of the collaboration-based hypebeast sneaker culture of the 2010s; a marketing strategy that emphasizes exclusivity and causes people to opt for “rare” (i.e., artificially scarce) products and assume that they are more valuable or of higher quality than they are. I know this is a lot of advertising rhetoric that goes beyond the quality of the final product, but I think it’s important to keep in mind because the keyboards are what they are, and because They sell well despite some of the problems they may have. (As a side note, several HiGround keyboard collaborations are currently in the works. scalped on StockX.)
I also encountered some frustration when trying to review this keyboard because when HiGround had an upcoming release, every page on their website redirected to a password-protected countdown. This meant that the keyboard’s documentation, drivers, and even basic product information were unavailable the entire time while waiting for a limited release (in this case, the Minecraft keyboard collection).
Ultimately, it’s hard for me to recommend HiGround keyboards unless you In fact You want a brand-name keyboard for a certain media franchise and are okay with sacrifices in build quality and typing experience.