HexGears GK705 (Kailh White) Mini-Review

I picked up the “HEXGEARS GK705 104 Keys Waterproof Kailh BOX Switch Mechanical Keyboard Hot Swap LOL Mechanical Gaming Keyboard” from AliExpress to see what a cheap hot swap mechanical keyboard would be like. I opted for the white backlight and Kailh Box White switches, which are essentially the Kailh Pale Blue switches (thinner click bar) with a lighter spring.

The keyboard itself is about $60; with shipping it came to about $77. For a full-sized hot swappable keyboard that ships with Kailh switches, that’s a heck of a deal.

The AliExpress website kinda sucks; tracking the order was a PITA, and required this weird verification process that tended to be hit-or-miss. I was stoked when the package got handed off to USPS and I could track it through their system. AliExpress initially said the keyboard would arrive sometime around April 10th (I ordered it on February 24th), but it was ultimately delivered on March 15th, just shy of three weeks.

 

I hooked it up to an old MacBook I had handy, remapped Alt to Command and Windows to Option in the Mac control panel, and proceeded to knock out some discovery responses I had due. Verdict: I like this keyboard. Nothing about it is particularly amazing, but it’s just a competent, reasonably tactile and clicky, keyboard. I was fast enough typing on it to, at times, overwhelm that poor old computer (which wasn’t a speed demon when it was new, 14 years ago). Compared to Cherry MX Blues or Gateron Blues, the click is less sharp, and I believe a bit quieter. I was on a Zoom conference (iPad Pro, Bose QC35 II Bluetooth headset) typing on it, and no one complained. I have a HexGears Supernova (Kailh Box White switches) on the way that’s not hot-swappable (but was “used, good” for $50); I may use that as my new balcony keyboard based on my experience with this keyboard and White switches, and swap this board to Navy switches.

One of these days I’ll have to do a real comparison between the Glorious GMMK with Pale Blue switches, this keyboard with Navy switches, and the HexGears Supernova with White switches... (I also have the Keychron K8 with Jade switches, which I like a lot, and the K2 with Navy switches, which is close to being my favorite keyboard; I love the look, and the feel of the Navy switches, and the portability, but I’m not wild about the layout... I guess I’m a TKL fan if I can’t fit a full-sized.)

 

(The GK705 identifies itself as a Hexgears keyboard 黑峡谷科技游戏键盘 (according to Google Translate: “Black Canyon Tech Gaming Keyboard”), Product ID 0x002a, Vendor ID 0x258a, manufacturer SINO WEALTH.)