I. Preface: Very small 68-key layout mechanical keyboard
Speaking of cool and cold supreme, many players may first think of its solid quality, strong specifications of the chassis, power supply, radiator and other products, in fact, in the field of peripherals, cool extreme products also maintain a very high level.
As a big brand for many years, "Cool Mom" peripheral products have actually been many, covering keyboards, mice, e-sports chairs, etc., the workmanship is natural and first-class, the functions are very rich, and the price is often very affordable.
Recently, we fast technology received a 68-key layout mini mechanical keyboard from Cool Extreme - Sleeve Blade CK721.
The biggest feature of the cool extreme sleeve blade CK721 is that it adopts a 68-key scheme that is smaller than the 87-key layout, which is small and compact, easy to carry, and has built-in up to 18 kinds of RGB lighting effects by default, and also places a volume knob in the upper right corner, which can realize the function of adjusting the volume and lighting with one key.
The keyboard also supports USB, Bluetooth 5.1, wireless 2.4GHz trimode connection technology, Bluetooth mode can be switched between 3 devices, you can change the use of the scene as you want.
In terms of shaft body, the cool extreme sleeve blade CK721 uses a domestic TTC mechanical shaft body, and the one we received is a red shaft version.
TTC mechanical red shaft has fast response and high accuracy, with a total stroke of 4mm, a trigger stroke of 2mm, a trigger pressure of 45gf, and a trigger life of about 50 million times.
The following figure shows the specific parameters of the Cool Extreme Sleeve Blade CK721, and then we take a look at the specific performance of this keyboard.
Second, the appearance: sandblasted aluminum cover has a texture The rotation button is very distinctive
The packaging uses the characteristic style of cool extreme, and it can be seen from the introduction that the cool extreme shaft blade CK721 is a red axis mechanical keyboard with a 68-key layout, which supports features such as Bluetooth connection and RGB lighting effects.
Cool Extreme Shaft Blade 721 body is a 65% customized small size mechanical keyboard, providing a complete input area, direction area and function area, the overall key position is relatively compact, the overall size is only 334× 118×37mm, weighing about 764g.
Only 68 keys naturally sacrifice a lot of keys, but the keycap side also added the corresponding key switching function, the user can achieve the corresponding button through the FN + number key.
The included ergonomic wrist rest, made of surface fabric material, with a soft and elastic sponge, is delicate and smooth to the touch, allowing users to use the keyboard easily and comfortably, while reducing wrist fatigue and pressure.
Cool extreme sleeve blade CK721 keycap is made of ABS material, which has the characteristics of impact resistance, heat resistance, low temperature resistance, chemical resistance, etc., and also has the characteristics of easy processing, good surface gloss, and good light transmittance. RGB keyboards generally use such keycaps.
The upper cover is made of sandblasted aluminum for a high service life and reduced reflections, giving this keyboard a low-key aesthetic.
In addition, the all-metal top cover of this keyboard is snap-on design, which is easy to remove and easy for users to clean.
The Fn function key of the Cool Extreme Axis Blade 721 is the brand LOGO of Cool Extreme.
And, this keyboard supports both Windows and Mac layouts, which can be quickly changed via Fn+ Right Shift.
Removing the keycaps to expose the shaft body itself, using A TTC mechanical red shaft for faster response, greater accuracy, and a more comfortable touch.
Satellite axes are used on both sides of the spacebar to prevent left-right imbalance.
The upper right corner of the keyboard features a rotary button that can be tapped and rotated, the default rotation is volume adjustment, and the tap is silent/normal mode switching.
Users can also customize the operation function through the MasterPlus application to achieve functions such as up and down curve switching/pause, backlight brightness level/backlight opening and closing, light mode switching/light effect speed adjustment and so on.
Cool Extreme Axis Blade 721 supports three-mode hybrid connection technology, which can switch between Type-C, Bluetooth 5.1 and Wireless 2.4G, and the user can select the corresponding connection method from the right side of the keyboard.
At the same time, it also supports Bluetooth wireless connection for iOS and Android devices, and you can match it with one click by pressing the key combination.
The bottom of the keyboard adopts an integrated bottom shell scheme, the overall design is relatively simple, and the foot brace on the back is a two-stage design, providing 5 °, 8 °, 10 ° three-step slope adjustment, and the user can adjust the height of the keyboard according to their needs.
There are two mesh non-slip pads underneath to prevent the keyboard from shifting during gameplay, entry and other operations, affecting the feel.
However, seeing here, I believe readers will notice that this keyboard does not have a battery compartment. That's because the Cool Extreme Sleeve Blade CK721 has a built-in 2000mAh battery, which provides a maximum of about 73 hours of battery life when the backlight is turned off.
The keyboard body has only one physical interface, using a USB Type-C port, which must be praised for the design of the detachable cable.
Inside the package, there is a manual, USB-A to USB-A cable, USB-A to USB-A adapter, and a spindle puller.
There is an openable silo on the left side of the keyboard, which contains a 2.4G wireless adapter.
The included USB-A to USB-A adapter, the front and back details at a glance.
The following figure shows the keyboard lighting effect, and the user can also customize the lighting effect mode through MasterPlus.
Third, experience: three-mode switching is very convenient MasterPlus program has many functions
This cool extreme shaft blade CK271 uses TTC mechanical red shaft, with a total stroke of 4mm, a trigger stroke of 2mm, a trigger pressure of 45gf, and a trigger life of about 50 million times.
From the user feedback, although TTC is a domestic shaft body, but the performance is not inferior to the German cherry shaft body, TTC has now become the most popular mechanical shaft body on the domestic market.
This shaft body adopts a linear feel scheme, straight up and down without a sense of paragraph, stable bottoming, timely rebound, excellent hand feel, and the overall performance is still very feeling.
Next, let's dive into the features of this keyboard.
- Keyboard test
Cool Extreme Axis Blade CK271 has a latency of 3ms and a return rate of about 1000Hz in wired and 2.4G connection modes, which supports full key no punch in this mode.
The delay time in Bluetooth mode is 8ms, which is about 125Hz, and the 6-key no-punch in this mode is supported.
In terms of performance, the Cool Extreme Sleeve Blade CK721 is the mainstream level of wired and wireless keyboards, and it can easily cope with different use scenarios such as office audio and video, game entertainment and so on.
- Bluetooth connection
Cool Extreme Axis Blade CK271 uses a three-mode solution, supporting Type-C, wireless 2.4G, Bluetooth 5.1 three connection methods, of which Bluetooth mode can store the pairing information of 3 devices.
It can support major operating systems such as Windows/macOS/iOS/Android at the same time, and there is no need to worry about compatibility players.
Users only need to long press FN + DEL, PGUP, PGDN (keycap side engraving corresponds to Bluetooth devices 1, 2, 3), the corresponding keys will have a rapid flash of light, prompting the user to enter the matching mode at this time, just match the device to the keyboard, the overall operation is still relatively simple and fast.
During the experience, the author used Bluetooth mode to connect the PC and iOS devices, and the switching process was relatively fast, as smooth as the flow of clouds, and the typing experience was also very smooth.
- The MasterPlus experience
Users can set the keyboard function and lighting functions through the cool extreme MasterPlus application, the page is simple and intuitive, Xiaobai is also very easy to use, and the wrong configuration does not need to worry, the user can also directly reset to the default settings.
The RGB illumination of the Cool Extreme Shaft Blade 721 supports 16.7 million colors, and has 18 different lighting modes built-in, which users can also switch through the FN+T assembly.
Users can also further adjust the light brightness, color, dynamic speed, and direction through the MasterPlus application, and support a variety of lighting effects such as rainbow waves, night star flashes, breathing, water ripples, etc., and the gameplay is very rich.
However, it should be noted that after turning on the RGB lighting effect, the battery life is only 14 hours long.
The MasterPlus application also supports full key key mapping, which can be changed to media keys, alphanumeric punctuation keys, multimedia keys, macros and other functions, but the author recommends only operating on the keys that are not commonly used, otherwise it is quite embarrassing for daily typing to become a key map.
If set up, it can be upgraded to a notch for gaming and office productivity.
Earlier we also mentioned macros, users can customize macro operations in the MasterPlus application, where you can record the operations that implement the combined skills in the game and the office batch processing, which greatly reduces the user's repetitive operations.
The gif below shows the author changing the rotation button to click to switch the light effect, and rotating left and right to change the brightness of the RGB light effect.
- Battery life
This mechanical keyboard also has a built-in 2000mHa battery, in the case of charging to 95%, turn on RGB, use three hours after standby to the next day's remaining 75% of the power, according to this calculation of three hours a day can last about four days.
This performance is very much in line with the officially advertised endurance performance of turning off the RGB backlight for about 73 hours and turning on the RGB backlight for about 14 hours.
Daily users can also directly charge the keyboard when wired, or very convenient.
Fourth, summary: small size and excellent workmanship The use of the scene is very flexible
From the author's experience of the feeling, the workmanship and texture of this cool extreme sleeve blade CK721 belong to the level of the big factory, and the price is not expensive, and it is worth the money.
The compact 68-key layout can fully meet the needs of daily input use, while the appearance is more refined, which is also one of the reasons why it is favored by many users, plus this keyboard uses a top cover made of sandblasted aluminum, which raises the grade to a level.
The domestic TTC mechanical shaft body has a button life of 50 million times, and it also has a performance that is not inferior to the cherry feel in terms of rapid response and high accuracy, taking into account the performance and longevity, and can further reduce the price. For consumers, they can buy the keyboard they want at an affordable price, and they don't have to be "hungry" because of the price problem.
Although the 68-key layout is slightly compact, but there is no lack of functions, Bluetooth 5.1 / wireless 2.4G / wired three modes of switching, in the Bluetooth mode can store the pairing information of 3 devices, very convenient for users to be able to use in games, office and other scenarios, do not have to be limited by the cable caused by the trouble.
The most distinctive circular rotary button is designed in the upper right corner, and users can also customize functions or record macros through MasterPlus, which can be easily started in games and offices, reducing repetitive operations and improving efficiency.
This mechanical keyboard also has a built-in 2000 mAh battery, which can last about 73 hours by turning off the RGB backlight and about 14 hours by turning on the RGB backlight. Such a performance is completely satisfactory when going out to use.
Cool Extreme Sleeve Blade CK721 provides two styles of black and white, and there are three versions of red shaft, green shaft and tea shaft in terms of shaft body, which are priced at 549 yuan, which is very attractive.
If you have high requirements for the volume of the keyboard, hope to be able to use in different use scenarios, as well as take into account the needs of portability and playability, this 68-key layout of the mechanical keyboard cool extreme sleeve blade CK721 must meet your requirements.