Chillkey is back with its latest mechanical keyboard and it’s a doozy. We were impressed by its first product, the Paw65 but this is of a whole other caliber. The Chillkey ND75 comes in a full aluminum case, pre-lubed switches and stabilizers, tri-mode wireless, tons of foams for sound tuning, an OLED screen, VIA programmability, and more. At $99, it offers a complete custom keyboard experience, well-exceeding much of the competition, including the Keychron Q1. If you’re looking for a quality keyboard for typing, gaming, and everything in between, it should definitely be on your wish list.
Specifications
- Current Price:
- $99 (Chillkey)
- $109 to $115 (Cannon Keys)
- Layout: 75% layout
- Typing Angle: 6.5°
- Front Height: 19.2mm
- Case Material: CNC Aluminum
- Weight: 1680g
- Case Coating:
- Electrophoretic - Pure White
- Anodization - Jet Black, Mountain Blue, Elegant Purple
- Plate: Polycarbonate
- PCB: Tri-mode, Per-key RGB, Hot-swappable
- Screwless Quick Assembly System
- Mounting Style:
- - Split O-Ring
- - Silica Gel
- - Top Mount
- Stabilizer Mounting Style: Plate Mount
- Stabilizer Lubing: Factory lubed
- Support: Independent Driver / Software
- Switch: Gateron EF Dopamine Blue (Linear)
- Keycaps: Doubleshot PBT Keycap (Cherry Profile)
- Battery: 1800mAh*2
- ND75 Kit Contents:
- Keyboard (Includes Dopamine Blue Switches, batteries*2, keycaps)
- Instruction Manual
- TYPE-C Cable
- 2.4G Receiver
- Packing Box
- Dustbag
- Replacement Flexible Flat Cable
- Accessories
Chillkey ND75 - Design and Highlights
Great keyboards just keep coming. We’ve seen so many stellar options come out with enthusiast-level quality, pushing the prices lower and lower: the Epomaker x Feker Galaxy80, the WOBKEY Rainy75, Chillkey’s own Paw65, each of these keyboards challenge what you should expect for around $100. I’ve found a new favorite: the Chillkey ND75.
While each of the above keyboards and the more expensive options you can buy have their merits, sometimes you find a keyboard that just clicks with you. That’s the ND75 for me. On paper, it’s very similar to those other keyboards. It has a full aluminum case with a surprising amount of heft (around three and a half pounds), comes with switches, keycaps, and foams, and has a great sound and feel.
The difference, as with many things in the mechanical keyboard hobby, is subjective. It’s the culmination of each different element that makes one sing over another. Each keyboard is great for typing and gaming, but in the small details, the ND75 is officially, in my opinion, the best keyboard for around $100.
For now. We’ll see where the market is in a month. I kid, but it seriously moves that fast, so I would recommend not waiting for the next best thing. They just keep coming.
Starting with the case, Chillkey gives you four color options: blue, purple, white, and black. With the exception of white, which is e-coated, the four other colors are anodized for a consistent, durable finish. There were no imperfections on the visible surfaces of my sample and I looked closely to find them. I expected to, given its affordable price; there had to be cut corners somewhere, but my case was perfect.
Around the back, you won’t find any mirrored gold weights or anything like that, but there is a weight and it has a unique aesthetic that is understated but eye-catching. The weight appears to be steel, though this isn’t disclosed and is colored to match the theme of the case. The surface is textured with a precisely machined pattern that turns into stripes against the light. It’s a cool effect, and the centered logo is abstract enough that it doesn’t really feel like in-your-face branding.
It’s a 75% layout, so pretty compact, but it replaces the usual volume knob with two additional keys in the upper right and an OLED screen just above the arrow keys. The bezels are fairly thin and the front height, while higher than an ergo keyboard, is still low enough to use without a wrist rest.
The presence of a screen is the trend of 2024 (apart from Hall Effect switches), but it’s put to good use here. By default, it displays important information like your battery life and current connection method, as well as the time. Using a key combination, you can access settings to adjust the keyboard’s lighting, OS, connection method, and volume. Using the keyboard’s software, you can also upload your own animated GIF, which is a common, yet still-neat, feature.
Each case comes with a matching keycap set composed of doubleshot PBT. The keycaps are thick and high quality. If you look closely at the legends, such as Backspace, you’ll find some minor inconsistencies in the thickness of legends, but I found these easy to ignore. On top of the hot-swappable Everfree Dopamine Blue switches, they have a deep sound that enthusiasts call “thock.”
The keyboard comes with other custom keyboard features as well. Its 75% layout is fairly standard, so you shouldn’t have trouble finding alternate keycap sets if you care to change out, and since the per-key RGB LEDs are on the bottom of the switch, you won’t run into interference with Cherry profile keycaps sets. The stabilizers were perfectly tuned on my sample with as good of quality as if I had personally tuned them myself. Should you need to add more lube in the future, they’re plate-mounted and are easier to access and remove.
Internally, there are multiple layers of optional acoustic foam that come pre-installed. There’s plate foam to isolate the sound of the switches, IXPE switch foam to add crispness and pop to the sound, a PET that works in tandem with the IXPE, and a layer of PORON PCB foam that fills in the bottom of the case. This gives the keyboard a quiet but crisp sound signature with a lot of depth. It is a very foamy sound, however, so you’ll need to enjoy tha sound signature to really find this keyboard a good match for you.
It can also be mounted in three different configurations. These include using a split o-ring (o-rings around tabs on the PCB), silica gel gasket beans, and top mount. These options allow you to dial in the feel of your keyboard from firm to soft beneath the fingers.
Should you want to change any of these features, it’s easy to do thanks to its ball-catch assembly system. Like the JRIS75, the ND75 uses a completely tool-less design. To access the keyboard’s internals, all you need to do is pull up in the top case and it will snap free from metal catches surrounding its inner chamber. This is perfect for tinkering and genuinely saves a lot of time. Interestingly, the USB-C daughterboard attaches with magnetic POGO pins to the case but still uses a ribbon cable to plug into the PCB.
The ND75 supports tri-mode wireless connectivity, so you can choose whichever connection method works best for you. It supports up to three Bluetooth hosts than can be hot-swapped between on the fly and a single 2.4GHz connection using an included dongle. This is the preferred way to connect for gaming as it yields wired-like connection speeds. Battery life is average with RGB on, lasting about a week. Without RGB, you could easily extend its 3600mAhs to a month or more.
The biggest thing this keyboard lacks is support for VIA. Thankfully, the included software allows you to remap keys, record and assign macros, assign shortcut keys, and customize its lighting and display across multiple layers. It’s not as polished as the software suites from big brands like Razer but you wouldn’t expect it to be and it gets the job done.
Chillkey ND75 - Performance and Typing Demo
The Chillkey ND75 is a truly exceptional keyboard for its asking price. The thing that stands out to me most is just how refined its typing experience is. Everfree, a sub-brand of Gateron, did a fantastic job with the lube on these switches. They’re consistent and oh-so-smooth. If I didn’t know any better, I would say these switches were hand-lubed, which is a testament to how far Gateron’s factory lubing process has come.
The switches sound great. I am a fan of the marbly, dampened sound signature, so it’s right up my alley. The PET pad does a good job of adding a layer of brightness on top of its deeper overall tone. The switches themselves have long poles and a light, 45-gram weight, which makes bottoming out and creating that telltale pop all the easier. It’s really, really good.
The feel of typing is also great. Even with all of the foams pre-installed, its gaskets and polycarbonate plate allow it to move slightly under each keystroke. It makes the keyboard feel soft without ever feeling mush and substantially quieter if you need to type or game around other people.
The stabilizers are also the best I’ve encountered on a pre-made mechanical keyboard. They are simply perfectly tuned. There is no tick, no rattle, and like the switches themselves are pre-lubricated. The sound and feel consistency are excellent.
Chillkey has even made the modifiers sound good. The spacebar in particular has a deep, satisfying sound, showing that the way the keyboard is constructed and mounted has been well-thought-out for its acoustics.
With that said, I do think the keyboard needs its foams to sound its best. It’s one of the only areas that the $99 price point really shows. More expensive custom keyboards leverage internal case design to create consistently high-quality acoustics even without foams whereas the ND75 and others similar to it sound their best with that bit of extra help. Taste is subjective, however, so I would encourage anyone to give it a shot in different configurations and see what works for you.
The layout strikes a great middle ground between work and play. It’s compact enough for big sweeps in first-person shooters, but you also have a full function row and arrow keys for typing essays and emails. Over 2.4GHz, I wasn’t able to tell any difference between it and a wired gaming keyboard, except that it felt and sounded much better to use.
It doesn’t come with some of the fancier things you might find on a pricier Meletrix keyboard, like a full-zipper carrying case, but that goes with the territory at this price. The only thing I’m really left wanting is VIA support, but Chillkey has confirmed that they’ve heard the demand, so we may see support for it in a future release.
Chillkey ND75 - Typing Demos
The following typing demos were conducted by members of the mechanical keyboard community on YouTube. Please visit their channels and offer them a subscription.
Video credit: The Keebs Store
Video Credit: Rx003
Video Credit: Merkeebs
Final Thoughts
Another day, another exceptionally good keyboard for the price. If the Chillkey ND75 proves anything, it’s that you don’t have to spend more than $100 to get an excellent keyboard anymore. It’s an accomplishment and a fantastic option whether you’re a gamer or not. I highly recommend it.
The product described in this article was provided by the manufacturer for evaluation purposes.
