If you’ve been hoping for a dessert-themed set of keycaps with doughnuts, strawberries, and bears, the Dough Fluff Keycap Set will be perfect for your new keyboard! KiiBOOM’s Strawberry Jello switches strike the perfect blend of cuteness, clackiness, and smoothness fit for a casual gamer. Consider these switches as you build the perfectly pastel keyboard of your dreams!
Recently, DigitalChumps got the pleasure of reviewing two new products from the folks at KiiBOOM. First, we have a set of their newest keycaps. Second, we have a set of their newest mechanical switches. If you’re currently building a new mechanical keyboard and are looking for a touch of whimsy, these two products should be top of mind.
KiiBOOM is one of the several prebuilt mechanical keyboard manufacturers whose products we have reviewed over the past few years or so. I remain impressed by their products’ build quality and novelty. From their dual-colored aluminum LOOP75 to their crystal-clear Phantom lineup, KiiBOOM’s prebuilt mechanical keyboards do more than serve utilitarian purposes. They’re elevated art pieces!
KiiBOOM Dough Fluff Keycap Set
One of the more popular thematics I’ve seen in the Gen Z zeitgeist is that of the cute bakery. Think of chibi characters within a baked good context, teddy bears, strawberries, and sweets. Usually this thematic incorporates shades of pinks with earth tones, giving products a warm yet charming aesthetic.
If you like this kind of thematic and wished for it to exist on a keyboard, I have good news for you: KiiBOOM has released their Dough Fluff Keycap Set which includes all of that on two types of keycap profiles! Better yet, these keycaps look good enough to eat!
Check out the KiiBOOM Dough Fluff Keycap Set on KiiBOOM’s website! (Non-affiliated URL)
The Dough Fluff Keycap Set comes with 144 keycaps, which is perfect for any keyboard from the miniscule 65% layouts to the full-size 100 key layout. You have two profiles to choose from in this set: Theres the Cherry profile (which is my personal favorite – a good medium-height layout that’s ergonomic yet functional) along with the MOA profile (a taller layout which incorporates rounded edges and softer shapes). KiiBOOM claims that it doesn’t matter which profile you choose, as the keycaps are shaped in a way that allows your fingers to naturally rest at the center of each key.
I generally agree with that assessment, especially since I have tried other MOA-profile keycaps and Cherry-profile keycaps from KiiBOOM. Prior to today, I tested out their Pastel Y2K keycaps (MOA-profile) and felt that they were ergonomic enough, even though I personally prefer the uniformity of the Cherry profile. Imagine my surprise when I opened up the box to find Cherry-profile keycaps that retained that cute aesthetic!
I’m absolutely thrilled that KiiBOOM offers these keycaps in two profiles. I know that there are many consumers just like me who love the idea of cute keycaps but need uniform Cherry profile keycaps on their keyboards. This lets more consumers have the opportunity to design their mechanical keyboards how they want to.
As for the Dough Fluff Keycaps’ readability, I’m generally pleased with them and how they look on a keyboard. Legends are side printed, meaning that the strawberries, baked goods, and animals on the keycaps are positioned front-and-center. Side-printed keycaps can be a mixed bag, as I know some users look at their keyboards when they’re typing, but for those who aren’t – you can enjoy the keycaps in their adorably pastel splendor.
I just love the designs here, and they feel really good in-hand and in-use. The dye-sub PBT plastic feels soft to the touch and has a matte texture that prevents shininess from the oils of my hand. I wouldn’t consider these keycaps to be traditionally gamer-focused, but they hold up very well under pressure when I was playing games from Counter-Strike to Europa Universalis V.
If you’ve been hoping for a dessert-themed set of keycaps with doughnuts, strawberries, and bears, the Dough Fluff Keycap Set will be perfect for your new keyboard!
KiiBOOM x StrawberryJam1986 Strawberry Jello Switch
I’ll admit – I haven’t tried too many individual switches from KiiBOOM unless they’re pre-installed on their keyboards. I don’t consider KiiBOOM as a switch manufacturer, although I recognize that the switches in their keyboards are of excellent quality and align quite well with the keyboard’s thematic. This is especially true of KiiBOOM’s Matcha Latte switches; the Matcha Lattes are delightful linear switches from KiiBOOM that emphasize creamy thocks with a decent operating force.
The Strawberry Jello switches are a collaboration between KiiBOOM and StrawberryJam1986, a designer who creates custom keyboards and novelty keycaps. This set of switches are designed with pastels in mind, featuring a soft-pink housing made of PC and PA66 and a key-lime green stem made of POM. These switches can be purchased directly from KiiBOOM for $19.99 for a set of 35 switches (~57c per switch).
Click here to check out the KiiBOOM x StrawberryJam1986 Strawberry Jello switches! (non-affiliated URL)
A myriad of plastics are used in this set of switches. The top housing is comprised of polycarbonate (PC) while the bottom housing PA66, a far softer plastic than PC. The stem is comprised of POM, which is one of my favorite harder plastics used to create keyboard plates. I know from prior experience that a harder stem (e.g., POM) and a harder housing (primarily PC) results in a loud and clacky acoustic profile.
The colors used in this set of switch is quite smart, as the individual switches look like pastel-colored strawberries. They’re perfectly tailored to be used with the Dough Fluff keycaps that I reviewed above. While most keycaps will hide the colors of the switches, you can still get a glimpse of the switches from some angles.
I was pleasantly surprised to use the Strawberry Jello switches, as they shirked my expectations of traditional gaming switches with their decently strong operating force and relatively deep pre-travel. On the pre-travel front, most gaming switches I test exist within the 1.5mm to 2.0mm of pre-travel; it’s rare for switches to have a pre-travel that exceeds the 2.0mm mark because of 2.0 being the “middle point” for the majority of switches. The 2.2mm of pre-travel here meant that I had to press down a little more than I was used to. I don’t have a problem with that because of how I prefer switches with ~2.0mm of pre-travel, so the 0.2mm different felt like a natural extension for me. For some gamers, though, the 2.2mm will feel too deep.
These switches have a good middle-ground of operating force, requiring 40gf of force to press down on the switch. If you’re unfamiliar with the idea of operating force and how that translates to real-world use, think of it like this: If operating force is small (35gf or under), that means that a light touch could activate the switch. If operating force is large (45gf or higher), that means that your fingers need to press down with a slight degree of force to activate the switch. Some players I know prefer lighter operating forces, as lighter operating force reduces fatigue over time.
That said, the 40gf necessary operating force is important here, as they’re good all around switches for most consumers who want to casually play games on their computer and do work on the side. They’re even better than other linear mechanical switches because they have virtually no stem wobble. This means that typing will feel consistently smooth, press after press.
You’re welcome to check YouTube for the myriad of sound tests with these switches, but I’ll go ahead and describe these switches as learning clacky and slightly loud. Remember, switches made from harder materials (meaning things like PC and POM) produce loud and clacky sound signatures. They sound similar to the Epomaker Flamingoes and/or the TTC Sacred Heart KOMs. They have a slightly fuller clack than the HMX Hyacinth V2Us, as well. I prefer deeper thocks on my switches, but I generally enjoyed the acoustics of these switches.
These switches will be a perfect fit for a casual gamer given their deep 2.2mm pre-actuation. If you’re wanting to play twitchy games that involve peeking and lighter inputs, you’ll probably need a switch with a pre-travel of 1.7mm or under. If you’re playing anything from Stardew Valley to Absolum to Europa Universalis V, then this might be the switch you need for your gaming experiences.
KiiBOOM’s Strawberry Jello switches strike the perfect blend of cuteness, clackiness, and smoothness fit for a casual gamer. Consider these switches as you build the perfectly pastel keyboard of your dreams!
