Tech

Drop’s The Lord of the Rings Dwarvish Keyboard is a gift for Tolkien fans


Drop the Dwarvish keyboard on the table next to a small pickaxe

What? Doesn’t everyone have a little bronze pickaxe on their desk?

Michael Gariffo / ZDNET

Drop has been offering Lord of the Rings themed keycaps for a while now, from Elvish keycap setto a manual keycap that features The ring itself is captured in turpentinearrive decoration set for this board. However, it picked a highly opportune time around Amazon’s launch Series Rings of Power to launch its first fully themed board. Anyone who’s used mechanical keyboards (or any themed peripherals) for a while can tell you they’re rarely subtle. However, Drop has managed to create a table here that even the most outspoken executives shouldn’t blush to have on their desks.

That flair and the quality of the build get a lot of its character from the fact that Drop chose to place the board based on its proven ENTR model. This all-aluminum body provides a solid foundation for the board, providing a solid typing experience in my testing. It has little to no annoying vibrations or springy key hum and works reliably, whether laid flat or raised on its foldable feet.

Close-up of Holy Panda X switching to Drop's Dwarvish keyboard

Drop’s Holy Panda’s Switch X

Michael Gariffo / ZDNET

Typing experience is also supported by Drop included Holy Panda Switch X. This is the company’s latest take on the legendary switch, remade from the ground up as a single product, not a combination of the many other switches that gave rise to the Panda name. The pre-lined switches deliver an incredibly smooth, tactile typing experience, without the rough feeling that some types of tactile feel. However, they weigh more than 60g. Just some getting used to if you’re coming from lighter linear switches.

The Doors of Durin design is carved from the Drop's Dwarvish keyboard

The design is lightly printed and engraved, ensuring it will last even after long time use.

Michael Gariffo / ZDNET

The most striking physical feature when you first set your eyes on the board will likely be the “Door or Durin” Design on the arrow key cluster. This is a direct representation of the magical door that Fellowship had some trouble unlocking on its way into the Mines of Moria. It’s a subtle graphic, and is something that will earn you respect from a fellow fan of Tolkien lore.

Close-up of Drop's Dwarvish keycaps

The print is bright and its texture is very resistant to shine, even after days of use.

Michael Gariffo / ZDNET

In addition to the face of the board, mainly focused around the included keycap set. The PBT keycaps use Drop’s own MT3 shape, although there’s something about them that feels a bit… different than other MT3 caps I tested. The indentation feels almost rectangular to me. It was a bit jarring at first, but I quickly got used to it and found myself enjoying the feeling of my fingertips touching them.

While these keycaps are printed rather than dual-photo, I found the legends bright, highly saturated, and showed no signs of premature wear during my weeks of testing.

Accessories included with the Drop Dwarvish keyboard

All accessories and press caps included with the board

Michael Gariffo / ZDNET

Besides the board itself, you’ll also get a package of striking keycaps (orange), keypuller, and a rubber USB-C to USB-A cable. The cable is usable, but definitely the weakest part of the package from a quality and impression standpoint. Thankfully, the surface-mounted USB-C port means you can easily replace it with just about any custom cable you like.

Drop's Dwarvish Keyboard is backlit

Backlit at full brightness in relatively modest lighting conditions

Michael Gariffo / ZDNET

Aside from this one small drawback, my only other gripe with the board stems from its backlight. Even at maximum brightness, it’s still pretty weak. This is likely due to the very translucent Holy Panda X case and thick PBT keycaps, but I’ve seen other boards that still manage to provide brighter backlighting under similar circumstances. If you work in a well-lit office, this is a bit of a moot point, but something to keep in mind if you want to keep things dim like the beak of the dwarf folk this table is themed for.

Dwarvish keyboard is available now for $199.

Fans of those long-eared forest dwellers may also want to know that the company’s Drop + Lord of the Rings Elvish keyboard can also be found at the company’s website and linked below.

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