As a typist, because I have been typing on some sort of machine since 1983, I am a bit of a snob about my typing surfaces. I prefer larger keyboards nowadays that include arrow keys and a number pad, but once in a while I dabble in smaller keyboards just to remind myself that I’m old and set in my ways.
Womier has now un-set me in my ways with their SK61 HE 60% keyboard.
How dare they.
The SK61 HE leads in design and style, and excels on the software side. Built for competitive gamers in love with WASD, this little keyboard has no flaws I have found. From design to functionality, it’s remarkable. It also helps that it’s sturdy, looks stylish and gorgeous, and features really nice magnetic switches that provide a precise, adjustable key experience. Oh, did I mention it was stylish and gorgeous? Yes, I did, but there it is again.
Anyway, let’s dive into this Womier beauty.
Design
I am in absolute awe of this keyboard’s design. On a basic level, it feels good to type on. With solid keys that feel far from cheap, a neat yet unique front-facing letter design, and a gorgeous casing that feels well-built. The design just screams “lots of love was put into this”. It’s a cool keyboard to look at on a basic level, but its well-built personality goes deeper than just that.
The SK61 HE’s design features Cherry Profile ABS keycaps that sound creamy while staying comfortable thanks to their ergonomic design and implementation. These keys feel great to type on and provide comfortable accuracy and long-term use without finger or wrist fatigue. This is the exact type of keyboard that you want to game with, and rest assured that your wrists aren’t going to hurt after hours of play, and your fingers aren’t going to get sore (it does happen). It’s designed to be user-friendly, and Womier does an exceptional job of pulling that off.
While this design nails practical use, there’s something to be said for a well-designed keyboard with some insanely cool style. Believe me, a keyboard’s coolness goes a long way when someone is deciding to buy a gaming keyboard. You want a keyboard to perfectly accent a gaming setup. With the SK61 HE, it really stands out.
The SK61 HE features an aluminum casing with artsy, cool carvings surrounding its entire outside and bottom. The carvings let LED light slip through, creating a wonderful aurora of gorgeous colors and a top-tier visual wow factor. When I first hooked this up to my machine, I was taken aback by how the colors wove in and out as they breathed through the casing. It was cool, and I felt cool for using it. And believe me, I need all the cool I can get at my age.
To round out the design, the aluminum construction of the keyboard adds some weight, which satisfies two things. First, the keyboard feels nice and heavy. Not too heavy, mind you, but heavy enough to be assured that this thing won’t be moving during intense gameplay. That is a huge bonus when you’re trying to sell your product to the gaming community.
Related to that heaviness, the SK61 HE simply doesn’t feel cheap. I have reviewed keyboards for the last few years, and some feel solid while others feel like they’ll break if I accidentally type too hard. The SK61 HE is beautifully sturdy and reassuringly whispers that it can take a hit and keep on typing. In short, it’s a well-constructed keyboard that absolutely doesn’t feel cheaply made. It feels like the design is worth every bit of the money. That is satisfying on so many levels.
Functionality
While a pretty, durable, and nicely designed keyboard is a huge plus, its functionality and adjustability are a whole other set of attributes that need to excel, too. And, thankfully, the SK61 HE’s functionality and adjustability are quite good. In all aspects.
Starting with the magnetic switches, they are a marvel. They are the best way to adjust actuation points and make individual keys work the way the user wants. Having that adjustability at one’s fingertips is so satisfying, especially when seeing the fruits of one’s cognitive labor instantly. Its precise millimeter measurements allow small, accurate adjustments. If you have never worked with keys this way, then you’re in for an absolute treat. These adjustments let gamers find their comfort spots with key response and, more importantly, the sweet spot for how a key feels for them. All of this is backed by an 8000Hz polling rate (polling rate means press-to-response speed between device and computer). Together, the switches and polling work in harmony on the SK61 HE.
To make this dance happen, the keyboard needs easy-to-use software with a healthy, HCI-led design. Using the software that comes with the SK61 HE, you can adjust resets, action triggers, and pretty much every aspect of a keypress. Adjusting those attributes means making changes in the software, loading them instantly (2-3 seconds at most), and then testing to see whether the adjustment is enough or needs more tweaking. It’s super-duper simple with the software provided. Once installed, it took me 10 seconds to find the key settings, and then I played around with them to find a sweet spot that worked for me. It was quick, easy, and just a thoughtless (respectfully) process. If you don’t want to install software on your machine to tweak a keyboard, there is also a web option.
Other notable parts of the SK61 HE’s functionality, at least on the software side of the tracks, include the ability to create macros (which you should expect), create different profiles for different keyboard experiences, and change the style of the LED lighting. All of which is easy-peasy. Again, the software is seamless and thoughtless for the user, which is what you want when you’re trying to deliver good functionality.
Overall, this is the ultimate in 60% gaming keyboard experiences. The SK61 HE truly excels and delivers what it advertises. Again, I have never been fascinated with smaller keyboards, especially ones lacking arrow keys and geared solely towards a gaming experience, but the SK61 HE has now changed my point of view. It’s designed beautifully, works brilliantly, and is just perfect in every single way a keyboard should be.
I highly recommend this keyboard.
If you want to check out the Womier SK61 HE, click here.
Also available on Amazon: click here
