It used to be the case that you would need to spend a good amount of money to achieve a custom keyboard typing experience — or, frankly, anything resembling it — but now, thanks to companies like Epomaker, the hobby has been democratized. And with the TH85, we have a shining example of the kind of quality you can get for well under $100. Now available in a bundle with Epomaker’s FPS friendly Click mouse, you’re able to outfit your desktop with premium feeling and performing peripherals on a budget. It’s well worth the cost of entry whether you’re buying each individually or together at a discount.
Specifications
Current Price:
Epomaker TH85: $79.99 (currently 20% off – Amazon)
Epomaker Click: $69.99 (currently $59.99 on Amazon)
Bundle Price: $127.48 (Epomaker)
Layout: 80% QWERTY ANSI US Layout
Number of Keys: 84 keys
Battery: 4000mAh
Connectivity: Cable Wired, 2.4GHz, Bluetooth 5.0
Compatibility: Mac/WIN/Android/PS4/5/Xbox
Case Material: Plastic
Plate Material: PC Plate
Flex-Cut: Yes
Stabilizers: Plate-Mount Stabilizer
Mounting Structure
Gasket-Mount
5 layers Sound Dampening
Poron Sandwich Foam, IXPE Switch Pad, Sound Enhancement Pad, Poron Switch Socket Pad, Bottom Silicone
Keycaps Profile: Cherry Profile
Keycaps Material: PBT Plastic
Keycaps Manufacturing Technique: Double-Shot
Hot swappable: Yes, 3/5-pin mechanical switches
RGB: South-facing, per-key RGB
Polling Rate: 1000Hz (USB, 2.4Ghz), 125Hz (Bluetooth 5.0)
Latency: 2ms (USB), 5ms (2.4Ghz wireless), 11ms (Bluetooth 5.0)
Anti-Ghosting: N-Key Rollover
Programmable Keys: QMK/VIA Software
Keyboard Dimensions: 35cm in Length, 14cm in width, 4.2cm in height.
Weight: Around 1kg
Epomaker TH85 – Impressive Value Proposition
The Epomaker TH85 is the latest in the company’s TH series. This line has always been about delivering features usually reserved for custom mechanical keyboards at accessible price points.With this release, we have a compact TKL, which means that it has a full function row, a selection of navigation and editing keys, and dedicated arrow buttons. It also comes to us with wireless functionality consisting of Bluetooth 5.0 with up to three devices and 2.4 GHz for gaming-grade wireless performance.
This design consists of a number of qualities that elevate it above your average gaming keyboard. However, it’s also worth mentioning that many of these features are becoming more common with the rising awareness of what an enhanced typing experience truly can be. For starters, it features double shot PBT keycaps that are thick walled and will never chip or fade even with heavy use. They have crisp legends and use a standard layout so you can change keycaps if you prefer to fully embrace its custom inspirations.
The case is made out of plastic. This is a fairly sizable difference compared to custom mechanical keyboards, but when you consider the cost difference, I think it’s more than reasonable. It still manages to have a good amount of heft, and has quite a bit of RGB flair with a wrap-around RGB light around theback and sides. .It accounts for style points with the keycaps as well. There’s a nice contrast between the black of the case and the white of the main key set. However, the blue caps really pop out and look good.
Beneath those keycaps is where we really see its range of features pop out. It features multiple layers of sound dampening. In fact, there are five in total. There’s poron foam between the plate and the PCB, IXPE switch foam, As well as two additional layers of sound dampening inside the case. Finally, there’s a layer of silicone in the bottom to add weight and make sure that there isn’t any hollowness whatsoever. While this might seem like overkill, completely filling up a plastic case like this is an effective way to allow the sound of the switches to come forth cleanly.
The switches are hot-swappable and self-facing to ensure compatibility with different keycap sets. You can choose between linear Epomaker CreamyJade Switches or tactile Epomaker Milk Blue switches. Both of these have an operating force of 45 grams and a bottom-out force of 50 grams. They are also both long pole switches with the Creamy Jades offering 3.6 millimeters of total travel, while the Milk Blue switches offer 3.3 millimeters.
I was sent the version with linear switches and enjoyed them. They are weighted almost identically to Cherry MX Reds, so anyone who has used a linear gaming keyboard before should find them fairly easy to adapt to. Epomaker has done a good job of pre-lubing these switches. They feel very smooth and don’t have any unwanted noise from the internal springs.
The battery life on the keyboard is decent, but like any wireless gaming keyboard, you’ll want to make sure you turn off the lighting or at least lower it, or alternatively, keep it on a static color. In my testing with RGB on, it lasted around a week with intermittent use. In total, this is probably around 20 hours or so. I regret that I didn’t run a timer every time I used the keyboard.
Wireless connectivity was reliably fast throughout my testing period. It never dropped connection once and switched effortlessly with its given key combinations. This kind of reliability is exactly what you want when you’re taking it into a competitive setting. It alerts you before the battery runs dry, so you know when you need to plug it in.
Overall, I think the TH85 is a pretty fantastic value for only $80. And it’s even better if you pair it with the Click mouse.
Epomaker Click Gaming Mouse – Viper Shape, Low Price
The second piece of the bundle is the Click Gaming Mouse. This one especially caught my eye because it’s almost identical to the Razer Viper. If you have read any of my mouse reviews over the years, then you may already know that this is one of my favorite shapes of all time. Given that the click mouse only retails for $70 on its own and is fully wireless, with 8K polling and a high-performance PAW3950 sensor, it shapes up to be a viable alternative at a fraction of the cost.
For the money, the mouse offers impressive specs. In addition to running at 8K over 2.4 GHz, it features a maximum DPI of 42,000. While this is obviously far higher than the vast majority of people will ever use, it does allow you to engage in high DPI, low sensitivity play if that’s what you prefer. It also features 50g of acceleration and a top speed of 750 IPS.
The shape is excellent. This is very much in the vein of the Razer Viper and feels just as comfortable. It’s a lightweight claw or fingertip mouse, weighing only 58g. The left and right buttons have center contours that guide your fingers toward their center. Clicks are mechanical and satisfying, thanks to the Omron DS or D2LS switches beneath.
The mouse does feature a downloadable software driver for in-depth customizations, but you can cycle through its different DPI, polling rate, and connectivity settings right on board, so you really don’t need this unless you want the extra bit of control.
The texture of the mouse is also very similar to the Viper, except it lacks grippy sides like some of Razer’s earlier iterations. To make up for this, Epomaker has included grip tapes in the box. Unfortunately, these aren’t very good. While they are made out of foam and comfortable to use, the pattern on the top began to fade and darkened my fingertips in only a single day. I wound up pulling them off and using it as is. While I don’t feel grip tapes are ultimately necessary for this shape and weight of mouse, if you prefer them, you’ll need to go with something generic or make slight modifications to tapes designed for the Viper.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I’m quite pleased with this bundle. The Epomaker Click makes for an impressive alternative to the Razer Viper and doesn’t force you to pay extra for features like 8K polling. At the same time, it does lack the optical switches Razer offers in some of its more advanced technologies, so it isn’t exactly one-to-one. Genuinely, however, I didn’t miss these additional features, and for the savings, would personally leave them off anyway.
The Epomaker TH85 keyboard is excellent, as I’ve come to expect from the brand. Over the last couple years, its keyboards have really arrived in a big way. It’s one of the best places to get a custom-level keyboard, albeit with some trade-offs like plastic cases on some models. Though even that isn’t a certainty, as we’ll explore in some upcoming keyboards soon.
For just under $130, it’s a great bundle. But each product individually earns my recommendation as well. Budget products are always welcome, especially when they are well done like these two are.
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.
