I’ve been reviewing Cougar Gaming products since 2018 and I have to say that it's been interesting to watch how they have developed and refined their peripherals over the years. Interestingly one of the first products I ever reviewed, the Puri TKL RGB Mechanical Keyboard, is still one of my favorite keyboards.
In the past year or so there has been a push to refine and expand its product line and Cougar is both breaking into new areas like the Envision capture card as well as revisiting existing items in its robust catalog. The latter is what perked my interest as Cougar has recently released the Puri Mini, a 60% DSA Mechanical Gaming Keyboard. This Compact board is essentially the successor to the Puri TKL. Naturally, I was interested to take a look and see all it had to offer. Can it hold an RGB candle to the Puri TKL? Grab that coffee, kick back, and find out in our review of the Puri Mini from Cougar Gaming.
Specifications
- Current Price: $89.99 (Cougar Gaming)
- Keyboard Style: Compact 60% DSA Mechanical
- Keycaps: PBT Doubleshot Ball Shape
- Switches: Gateron (Red) Mechanical Switches
- Lube Switches: Yes
- Anti-Ghosting Keys: N-Key Rollover
- Sound Absorbing Foam: 2 Layers
- On-Board Memory: 3 Profiles
- Backlight: Underglow RGB Light Strip
- Connection: USB Type-C to Type A
- Cable Length: 1.8m
- Weight: 678g
- Dimensions: 11.6 x4.8 x 1.5 (Inches)
- Software: Cougar Pix (Windows 10, Windows 11, Mac OS)
A Fine Form Factor
The Cougar Puri Mini is a compact board. However, Cougar has worked hard to leverage every square millimeter of surface area to offer optimal key placement. Its compact form factor also means that there isn’t a whole lot of room for fancy design flourishes afforded larger boards. Despite this though, The Puri Mini manages to mirror many of the design aesthetics of its larger TKL counterpart in only 60% of the space.
The board edge is marked with signature screw heads that double as magnetic anchor points for the included plastic dust cover. The aluminum faceplate has a brushed, textured finish while the keycaps have a nice two-tone grey and black theme. If you glance at the Puri Mini from an angle you can see the FN operation of each key as well. The underside includes a vibrant RGB underglow light accenting the edges of the keyboard.
A single USB Type-C port insets the back of the board while two adjustable feet allow for height adjustments of the Puri Mini. The keys, while placed close together are still full-sized thanks to their DSA profile. For those new to after-market keycaps, there are a few factors that make up a unique profile. Height, shape, and size all play a part in creating a unique look and feel for the user. Switch and Click has a great article highlighting the difference for those that want to do a little late-night reading. In the case of a DSA profile, they are specifically designed to be uniform across all the keys. This coupled with their shorter height and ball shape design creates a low-profile look and feel that works well with the compact profile of the Puri Mini.
The Puri Mini is a solid-feeling board that looks sharp and minimalistic. Like the Puri TKL, the Mini comes with gaskets and acoustic foam built in, reducing the sound as well as cushioning keystrokes. My only issue with the design is that it comes with a lack of RGB backlight switches. This is something I find interesting with the Puri line in general. They do offer an RGB version of both the Puri Mini and Puri TKL which makes me wonder why one without RGB is needed. Regardless the board's overall design and build quality feels solid and makes the most of a much smaller surface area.
Plug and Play
The Puri Mini is designed to be a no-fuss, no-muss keyboard. As such it can very easily be a plug-and-play experience for those looking for a quick, mobile keyboard option. The included USB Type-C cable offers almost two meters worth of length to wrap around any setup. Additionaitionally the aforementioned Protective cover means that packing and unpacking the Puri Mini is easy without fear of damaging the board during transport.
For those so inclined, The Puri Mini is supported with Courgar’s PIX Software. I have to confess that I generally dread working with peripheral software as a lot of the time it's buggy or a simple rebrand of the same generic software. However, I have been pleasantly surprised at how well PIX has worked.
It instantly picks up and registers the Puri Mini when plugged in and offers some great features such as macro programming, Button assignment, and GameMode, the latter of which allows you to disable certain key combinations (e.g. Alt+F4) while in-game. RGB controls for the included underglow light can also be found here and offer the standard visual adjustments. The software works great, has a clean layout, and has no problem-saving profiles to the Puri Mini.
Speaking of Profiles, the Puri Mini can hold up to three custom profiles along with a host of macro-programmed shortcuts. They are easy to set up and push to the keyboard making the whole experience pleasant, which is a change from many of the software packages I’ve worked with before. As an added bonus, Cougar PIX is also available on Mac meaning you’ll have no problem getting up and running on your MacBook Pro or Mac Mini if needed.
The Key to a Good Keyboard is… The Keys
While I’ve already briefly mentioned the keycaps it's time to dig into the design, look, and functionality of the Puri Mini keys. As mentioned the keycaps carry a DSA profile with a ball-shaped design. Along with the DSA design the Puri Mini key caps are also Doubleshot PBT caps meaning that they essentially have two separate layers of plastic, one for the cap and one for the letter inlay, fused together. This results in a stronger and more durable keycap.
The keycaps come in a matte finish which is also resistant to oils, dust, and hot wing sauce, keeping everything looking clean and smudge-free. The keycaps feel textured to the touch and ball-shaped keys actually firmly define where my finger should rest. In my testing, this resulted in less mashing of two keys which I am prone to do. It was a slight adjustment to get used to but after a few minutes of typing, it felt quite comfortable to use.
The Mini comes equipped with either red or blue GATERON mechanical switches. The board I received included the smoother, quieter red switches. GATERON mechanical switches are some of the smoothest mass-produced switches on the market. The reds offer a smoother, quieter experience while typing and are designed for prolonged periods of typing without fatigue. This is accomplished by offering a more moderate pressure and a smaller travel distance. The structure of the red keys is linear which pairs nicely with the ball shape design of the keycaps since your fingers will naturally rest at the center of the key. To add to an already smooth and quiet typing experience, Cougar also lubricated all of the keys on the Puri Mini further reducing the noise caused by spring recoil.
With support for N-Key rollover, the Puri Mini is designed to never miss a keystroke. N-Key Rollover is a term used to describe a board's ability to actively scan each key individually versus the PC trying to manage it all. This results in precise keystrokes every time without missing any of the input. In practice, I found the key actuation to be precise without needing a lot of force. It is exceptionally comfortable to type on and game with even during long periods of work or play. From my testing, the N-key Rollover worked fantastically, never missing or skipping an input. While I personally lean more towards blue mechanical keys I will say that I was quite happy with the feel and response of the Puri Mini.
The whole switch and cap design as well as implementation feel great and offer a solid experience for gaming and productivity alike. As mentioned, while I do prefer blue or brown keys, the GATERON mechanical red switches respond exceptionally well, offer a quieter gaming experience and feel great even over a long play or work session.
While this isn’t a critique of the Puri Mini I did want to mention a quick note for those that may have never used a compact keyboard before. While moving from a full board to a TKL can be a little bit of an adjustment, moving from a TKL to a Compact doesn’t come without some concessions. The biggest ones come in the form of the actual form factor. I never realized how much I leveraged the arrow and delete keys for basic work functions until they weren’t readily available.
While the Puri Mini does have an FN key programmed to handle these features, not having the physical buttons was an inconvenience more than once during my testing. With time I began to adjust but it was a bit more of a learning curve than I expected. Again, this is not a strike against the Puri Mini in any way, more just a note for those interested in trying out a Compact keyboard. There is a learning curve but there are some great advantages to a smaller form factor, namely desk space!
Final Thoughts
The Puri Mini from Cougar Gaming is a solid follow-up to the Puri TKL. It offers the same great switches, a nice low profile, durable keycaps, and the same minimal design that I love about the Puri TKL. Its leverages its compact design well and offers a great solution. The included PIX software is also a notch above most of the other peripheral software out there. It is a bit of a mystery to me why there is a version of the Puri Mini without RGB keys but regardless the board is a solid offering from Cougar Gaming. Priced at $89.99 USD, the Puri Mini is worth considering if you are in the market for a capable compact gaming board.
The product described in this article was provided by the manufacturer for evaluation purposes.
