Happy Hacking Keyboard Professional2 (White)

I've been using mechanical keyboards and drinking the mechanical keyboard Kool Aid since the Model M. After Model Ms faded from fashion and Cherry MX boards cropped up everywhere, I've enjoyed Cherry Blue and Brown switches for over a decade, and have always been happy to use them. I had a highly customized Filco Majestouch 2 TKL before I ordered this. So, I kept hearing about how great Topre switches were, and how awesome HHKBs were, and finally, I bit the bullet and ordered one. Literally two days later, sold the Filco. NO RAGRATS. Since most people looking at these are probably familiar with Cherry, Gateron, or Alps switches (I guess it's possible someone without the MKB addiction may be looking at this... maybe?), if you've never used Topre, here's what I can say by way of comparison. 1) The keys feel much more uniform than any of the other switches. Every key on the board feels precisely the same. I thought every key on my Filco felt the same until I used this keyboard, though, so you may not notice this unless you have a basis of comparison. 2) The sound is very different than the other switches listed above. It's much deeper and plonkier. It's not a high pitched snapping noise. It almost sounds wooden. It's quite nice, and a lot quieter than Cherry Browns. 3) Yes, the layout is weird. Yes you will adjust. Yes, you will miss the backspace key every single time you try to hit it for three days. Yes, you will become immediately convinced that the HHKB layout makes a lot more sense. I do still miss the arrow keys, but I'm getting better with the Fn button, and I'm realizing I didn't really ever use them that much. I would certainly consider the Japanese layout. All in all, this keyboard is fantastic. It's the best keyboard I've ever used, and unless someone beats Topre at the switch game, I can't imagine myself changing. I definitely don't miss the feel of the Cherry switches I was using at all. My WPM has increased on 10fastfingers, and my accuracy is up. Two thumbs up.

As a person who suffered from RSI due to always bottoming out on Apple Mac scissor switches (those found in their laptop and desktop aluminum keyboards) I have been on an ongoing journey to find a better keyboard. I switched to Cherry MX Blue switches 6 years ago and been dabbling with Greens, but they are too heavy for me. I heard so many good things about the PFU Happy Hacking Keyboard Professional 2 keyboard which sports Topre switches. Now there are those people who swear Topre are the best switches available and those who think they are just overpriced glorified rubber dome switches. This discussion reminds me much of the discussion about the Apple product line. As I have experienced by using Apple computers for a few years as well, I was suspecting that the truth lies somewhere in between, but I like to make up my mind myself instead of relying on hearsay. I picked the HHKB Pro 2 over the Realforce products because of two things: 1. the white color (because it has almost a retro look to it) and the layout. I should point out that I am a software developer who heavily relies on Emacs and vim, so the fact that there is a keyboard that gets rid of the dreaded "shout" key (Caps Lock) and replaces it with one of my most used keys (Control) justifies taking a closer look at it. Since this is the most expensive keyboard I have I bought it pre-owned from a US seller, so I paid significantly less than 200 USD and arrived in 2 days. As to my experience this keyboard is as good as any keyboard I have used so far, and the 45g are light enough to be comfortable and they have a nice tactile bump. Since all of the keys except the Space bar are made out of PBT plastic, they feel very nice while typing, ABS can have that flimsy type of feeling to them. The Space bar is ABS, but it feels good and most important it does not wiggle. In a lot of keyboards you wiggle the Space bar and it feels and sounds just wrong, so yes, I love the build quality of the keyboard. It is pleasantly quiet as well (and I am using the non-silenced version) More about the layout, as I said the layout is very good for a Unix/Linux/BSD/Mac using software developer who rarely uses the mouse, especially the left hand side. As for the right hand side, that definitely needs some time getting used to. The cursor keys, the Home and End keys are all reached by a Function key combination, which needs some adjustment time, on top of that Tilde/backquote and Pipe/backslash are in different positions, if you use them a lot, you will probably make a lot of typos in the beginning. Another useful thing I should note: I use an alternative keyboard layout, namely the Colemak layout which rearranges more frequent keys to the home row. I had worries that the HHKB layout would cause problems with that, but it works just fine as expected. In conclusion, would I recommend this keyboard ? Yes it's a fine keyboard, especially if you are a console-and-editor user, but I have to say that I personally think the price point is too much, and I don't really agree with people who say Topre switches are so much better than Cherry MX. To me they feel like really good rubber domes, like the ones I used in the Amiga 2000 keyboard which is one of my favorite keyboards. It's a matter of preference and both MX Blue and Topre 45g work well for me. But whereas I paid roughly 100 USD for my tenkeyless Cherry MX, the HHKB costs more than twice, for me the difference is too much, 150 USD would seem like a fairer price point to me.

On my desk sits a Coolermaster MK750, and an Anne Pro 2. There is a Das Keyboard on the shelf, and a Corsair K95 platinum. None of these keyboards are being used any more because of the HHKB. I'm a writer and I bang out about 750K words a year, so I need a great keyboard. After 2 months of use I'm please to say that this is the best keyboard I have ever used. It's light, feels a bit cheap, but man oh man, are the keys magical. It sounds like a dream, and the keys fire off with a whisper touch. I did add some sticky tape to the bottom to keep it from sliding around. I also picked up a nicer USB cord that is looped. Yes this keyboard is expensive and it takes a few days to get used to typing on it, but the experience is worth it. If this broke tomorrow, I would sell a kidney to purchase another. How's that for an endorsement?

First of all, it is a good keyboard if you can get used to it. I have friends who absolutely love their HHKBs. But I really couldn't get use to the super non-standard layout. Lack of some important keys and obscure layout of some other keys is a big issue for me. I tried to get used to it for two weeks, and it seems I'm making some progress. But the other day I plugged in my old WASD code keyboard, I immediately don't want to go back to HHKB any more. So I'm returning it. The keyboard actually feels quite light and build quality does not look very solid -- maybe it is just the way it looks. The key is definitely quieter than the other mechanic keyboard that I tried. But the layout...

Absurd price for keyboard with low build quality. I used this keyboard for 1/2 a year. Haven't used it in a few weeks, now I go to plug it in and it's not responsive. Test the power by daisy-chaining another USB device to this, and this unit isn't receiving any USB power. Web search turned up one guy with similar problems who ended up opening up the keyboard and soldering a permanent power cord. Maybe they should have done that from the start? This has 1 Mini USB receiver, which even though now obsolete wouldn't be an issue, but it never was a secure connection in the first place. Some cords plug in and stick, this one would slip out easily. I just bought an i7 laptop for the same price I paid for this keyboard. Not happy at all. Don't fall for the hype.

For the price they're charging for this keyboard, the build quality is a total joke. I bought this alongside a Realforce 87U for comparison purposes. The HHKB felt like total garbage compared to the Realforce. Loose keys, very light with an all plastic construction, some case creaking, a crappy piece of plastic as the dip switch cover, scratchy feeling keys when pressing them from the side rather than the direct middle (been told this goes away after a couple of months of use but who knows), absolute joke for $210+. The only nice thing I can say about was that the 45g Topre switches felt good, but the ones on the 55g Realforce felt way more solid, with no rattle or scratchiness, a lot smoother and more tactile. I'll say if you're going to go out of your way to spend the money for Topre switches, spend the 30 extra bucks and get yourself the Realforce. The HHKB has a cult of fans that will defend it no matter what, and while the layout and aesthetics of the keyboard are fantastic, it's built like a toy.

I flipping LOVE this keyboard, more than I thought it was possible to love a keyboard. It's beautiful to look at and a joy to type on. The non-standard layout was the main thing that kept me from purchasing an HHKB earlier, but I was pleasantly surprised to see how quickly I got used to it. Now a tenkeyless board feels huge, and it seems inconvenient to have to move your hand to use the arrow key or to stretch all the way up for Backspace. With the HHKB layout, everything is *right there*, and it just feels correct. I've gone back and remapped all of my other keyboards to match (ctrl <--> caps, backspace <--> back slash), which makes it even easier to switch back and forth. I also was hesitant about the switch to topre, after using mostly buckling spring and MX blues previously. I still like those, but I think I may be *Topre 4 Lyfe* now. Other switches still feel good--but not this good!! It's such a wonderful bouncy but still solid feel; just this lovely, bouncing thockity-thock thock thock. Shortly after getting the HHKB, I purchased a Realforce 87u 55g to use at home (I got so sad leaving the HHKB at work. It's small enough to carry back and forth, but I like to travel light, and the idea of packing up a keyboard twice a day has no appeal for me). That's also a great-feeling board, but I think I still prefer the feel and sound of the HHKB. The sound of this keyboard is also wonderful. It's like little shells or raindrops. A satisfying noise but at the same time, not loud enough to disturb office mates the way other clicky types can. Keyboards are so subjective, and it can be a bit of a leap of faith to try one of these out if you've never used a topre board (as I hadn't). It's not going to be the perfect board for everyone, but if you're interested and you've got the dough, it's absolutely worth going for it. These boards are so popular that even if you end up hating it, it should be easy to sell on to someone else. 10/10 would buy again!

It is obvious that this keyboard is expensive, but it is worth every penny. It took me a couple of days to get used to the layout, but once I got the hang of it, I noticed how much more efficient this keyboard is compared to full-size keyboards. I have tried a lot of switches, but these are by far the best I've tried. The topre switches are insane in my opinion, very satisfying and comfortable. Even if the board is in plastic, it feels quite + the USB ports are a nice addition. I would definitely recommend this to any keyboard enthusiast. If you found this review helpful, please click the “helpful” button. If this is not helpful, please comment on it so I can improve my future reviews. Thank you!