We might all love Liberty Stroll’s F40 bodykit for the Autozam AZ-1, however the firm gives a package for the real article Ferrari F40 too — a package that Liberty Stroll has now determined to honor with a mechanical keyboard collab. I do know, that sounds absurd, but it surely’s truly extra becoming than you would possibly assume.
There’s an enormous crossover between automotive fans and keyboard fans. Positive, to many the concept of a “keyboard fanatic” sounds comical, however the identical might be mentioned for automotive people within the larger world. All of us like intricate engineering initiatives which might be dismissed by others as mere home equipment. I’m not simply saying this to justify my roughly 5 keyboards. That’s an inexpensive variety of keyboards to personal, I swear.
The keyboard is a collab between Liberty Stroll and Unique Konbini, a model that doesn’t seem to exist exterior the collab. Its Instagram account has no posts earlier than the Liberty Stroll keyboard, and its web site requires a password for something greater than submitting your electronic mail for keyboard updates. “Konbini” comes from the Japanese comfort retailer, however transliterating the Unique Konbini title into hiragana returns no outcomes. The Drive, nevertheless, has some extra data:
“It is a piece of JDM heritage that lives in your desk,” mentioned Caleb Chandra, co-founder of Unique Konbini. “We need to deliver the eagerness and delightful modifications of those machines to your area, an extension of affection for one of the crucial iconic builds in latest JDM historical past.”
As for the keyboard itself, its case is made out of two milled blocks of aluminum that have been then coated in an off-white coloration just like the tuner’s F40. It makes use of low-profile mechanical switches and keycaps, however there’s no phrase on who makes them or their specs. The one swap element offered is that they’re tactile switches, that means they’ve a noticeable engagement level which you could really feel within the keystroke. Nevertheless, we do understand it’s a wired USB-C keyboard with RGB backlighting and a 75%-ish profile. For non-keyboard nerds, the latter implies that it has operate and arrow keys however no quantity pad or page-up and page-down buttons. The Liberty Stroll livery seems nice, too, with its easy black-over-white major keys, black area bar with “Slammed” on it, and the Japanese flag on the enter key.
That title, Caleb Chandra, provides us a bit extra data to go on. Chandra can be the founding father of modern keyboard outfit Monokei, however none of that firm’s PCBs appear to match up with the brand new Unique Konbini structure. The Kei appears closest, but it surely’s lacking a button within the first row — the Liberty Stroll board seems unique.
Most attention-grabbing is the declare of low-profile tactile switches and RGB lighting. That would imply the board makes use of Gateron low-profile SMD-compatible switches, both in brown or banana taste. My each day driver board — a customized handwired Alice-style cut up 60 % — makes use of full-profile Gateron Milky Browns, they usually’re a wonderful swap. This Liberty Stroll collab might find yourself feeling nearly as good because it seems.
The worlds of vehicles and keyboards aren’t so totally different, and if this Liberty Stroll collab bridges that hole then it might imply extra followers of each communities. I, for one, assume that’s a plus.
