The Epomaker x Leobog Hi75 is a color compact keyboard aimed at improving your gaming experience. It comes in at less than $100 ($99 with an instant $10 off coupon as of this writing) and features a full aluminum case, doubleshot keycaps, name brand switches, and masses of pre-applied mods. It tries hard but does it pull everything together to deliver a top-tier gaming experience? Find out in this review!
Specifications
- Current Price: (Epomaker, Amazon)
- Brand: EPOMAKER x LEOBOG
- Type: Mechanical Keyboard & Kit
- Model: Hi75
- Structure: Gasket
- Material: Aluminum
- Backlit: RGB
- LED: South-facing
- Anti-ghosting: NKRO in All Keys
- Connectivity: USB Type-C Wired
- Product Weight: 1.23kg
- Package Weight: 1.3kg
- Dimensions: 330x135x45mm
- Inside the box
- 1x Hi75 Keyboard or Kit
- 1x USB Type-C Cable
- 1x User Manual
Epomaker x Leobog Hi75 - Design and Features
The Leobog Hi75 is one of the latest collaboration keyboards from Epomaker. We have reviewed a number of their keyboards over the years and generally found them to be a very responsive brand to what's currently in vogue within the community. Leabog is not a brand I've personally heard of before but since Epomaker generally finds international brands and makes them available in new markets, that's not exactly unusual.
In fact, one of the things that has become very apparent, is that international brands tend to be much more up on what is popular in the mechanical keyboard space. Mechanical keyboards are actually a long-standing hobby in a number of eastern countries which makes some of these brands particularly exciting as they balance features with affordable pricing.
That is indeed the case with the Leobog Hi75. It features a fully aluminum case, double-shot PBT keycaps, pre-lubed switches, and a unique design that is both colorful and stylish. You can pick it up in three different keycap profiles, including MDA, Cherry, and a rounded profile called SOA.
It was, actually, the color scheme that first caught my eye. The White Purple colorway uses pastels on white (or white on pastel) and genuinely looks really neat. I’m not even a pastel guy, usually, but this breaks the mold a bit. This is the only colorway available in Cherry profile, but if you opt for MDA, you also get a White Green option. SOA opens up even more options that are quite a bit more playful and have script-like legends and cartoon bunny rabbits that look like Hello Kitty.
For only $99, I was surprised to find that it comes with a fully aluminum case. It's painted white and has a volume knob in the upper right to match. The case has a substantial amount of half in feels quite premium for this price point. There is a small magnetic badge next to the Escape key and a planet etched into the back for some extra flair.
The 75% layout is particularly appealing for gaming, because it balances having the additional arrow keys and function row with maintaining extra space for the mouse hand. The layout also has a single column of navigation editing buttons on the right side. The keyboard does support software so all of these can be remapped, also, and assigned macros.
I was initially torn on the knob, because the black center really didn't seem to match with the white aesthetic of the rest of the board. The more I use it, though, the more I like it. It has this cool infinity mirror effect when the LEDs are on that's pretty neat and not like any other volume knob I've seen. It has knurled edges for easy manipulation, tactile feedback, and is big enough to prevent fiddling around with it when you're trying to make a quick adjustment.
Epomaker x Leobog Hi75 - Custom Inspiration
The thing that really sets the Leobog Hi75 apart, however, is the inspiration it takes from the custom keyboard community. Custom mechanical keyboards are more accessible than they've ever been. You don't need to spend a large amount of money to have a great typing and gaming experience that is far in excess of keyboards you can buy off the shelf from the major brands. This keyboard is going after that market, challenging what you should expect from low cost mechanical keyboards.
The aluminum case is absolutely part of that, but it goes much deeper. The keyboard uses prelude mechanical switches and stabilizers, for smoothness and enhanced acoustics. It uses a gasket mount design that isolates the plate and switches from the rest of the case, again enhancing acoustics as well as delivering a softer typing feel. There are layers of foam and — the new trend among pre-built mechanical keyboards — even layers of pet plastic throughout the case.
But let's take a closer look. The plate itself is made of soft polycarbonate plastic and is laced with flex cuts to increase the amount of softness and movement during normal typing. The circuit board is also laced with flex cuts for the same purpose. The plate and PCB are mounted with a gasket mount structure using soft gasket strips that isolate the PCB assembly from the rest of the case, which helps to round out typing sounds and is a third element that leads to a soft typing experience. Between the plate and PCB is a layer of PORON plate foam, beneath the switches is a layer of switch foam to increase poppiness, beneath the circuit board is an additional layer of PORON foam, this time to remove hollowness from the case, and below that is a PET plastic pad for static isolation as well as in acoustic enhancement.
Yeah, this keyboard is doing a lot, especially for the cost of entry. But does it succeed?
Leobog Hi75 - Performance and Should You Buy It?
For the most part, I think it does. The Hi75 is a good keyboard. There's really not a whole lot wrong with it. If you are looking for your first ever custom mechanical keyboard and don't want to build it yourself, and also don't want to spend more than $100 to try it, this is a decent option. If you are willing to spend even slightly more or go up in size, however, I do think there are better options out there.
The sound profile is poppy and marbly, exactly what has been in vogue in custom mechanical keyboards for a couple of years now. You really do not have to open this keyboard or perform any mods at all to have the sound signature. It's good to go out of the box.
On top of that, the build quality seems quite good. It's clear there was a level of consideration in the design to make sure it would check all of the boxes that someone searching for a customer mechanical keyboard would look for. It uses stacks of foam to achieve its sound profile, it has south facing switches for compatibility with a wider array of keycap sets, it's made of aluminum and well painted, and has a decent keycap set that genuinely looks very nice and unlike most other mechanical keyboards out there today.
With all of that in mind, I do find the sound to be a little bit thin. My sample was also sent with Gateron G Pro Yellow switches, which doesn't seem to be an option on the epo-maker site right now. These switches in particular have a small amount of spring noise which detracts from its sound. I will fully contend, however, that most people will not notice this, as it's only something that exists in the background and I pick up on having reviewed and built so very many mechanical keyboards.
Since the keyboard supports hot swappable switches, it can easily be used as a platform to build upon and further explore the hobby. That's an important point as swapping out switches is one of the most fun elements of the hobby. For beginners, this is genuinely a good option.
The problem is that there are so many other good options that I'm not quite sure this does enough. For example, Epomaker's own Epomaker x Feker Galaxy80 is only $6 more and has a better sound, feel, and offers tri-mode wireless connectivity. Virtually every other feature is the same: great keycaps, layers of acoustic material, a fully aluminum case — the works. The concession there is that it is only available in a TKL format but considering there is only about an inch of difference between the two, I would wholeheartedly recommend the Galaxy80 over the Hi75 every time.
So, the Leobog Hi75 is a good keyboard that only a year or two ago would have been somewhat mind-blowing. Today's market is quite different. It's incredibly competitive with so many good options that it can be genuinely confusing to find out which is the best for you. In this case, I don't think very many people would be disappointed to receive the Hi75 as a gift. It's good, and as a starting point to enter the hobby is well priced and offers a lot of flexibility. Lacking wireless connectivity diminishes its value somewhat, and though it sounds good, its acoustic profile isn't the best you can find at this price point.
What's more, this price segment only stands to get more competitive over this coming year with keyboards like the Rainy75 coming into prominence, magnetic keyboards getting cheaper and more accessible, and new acoustic tricks emerging all the time.
As it stands, I think the biggest selling point truly is the look and form factor. That is what sets it apart from those other keyboards that are attempting to accomplish the same thing. The Galaxy80 looks nothing like the Hi75, and that works to Leobog's benefit. This is truly a case where aesthetics may actually be the final decision maker.
The product described in this article was provided by the manufacturer for evaluation purposes. Some articles may contain affiliate links and purchases made through this will result in a small commission for the site. Commissions are not directed to the author or related to compensation in any way.
