We could all love Liberty Stroll’s F40 bodykit for the Autozam AZ-1, however the firm presents a package for the real article Ferrari F40 too — a package that Liberty Stroll has now determined to honor with a mechanical keyboard collab. I do know, that sounds absurd, nevertheless it’s truly extra becoming than you would possibly suppose.
There’s an enormous crossover between automotive fanatics and keyboard fanatics. Positive, to many the concept of a “keyboard fanatic” sounds comical, however the identical will be mentioned for automotive of us within the higher world. All of us like intricate engineering tasks which might be dismissed by others as mere home equipment. I’m not simply saying this to justify my roughly 5 keyboards. That’s an inexpensive variety of keyboards to personal, I swear.
The keyboard is a collab between Liberty Stroll and Unique Konbini, a model that doesn’t seem to exist outdoors the collab. Its Instagram account has no posts earlier than the Liberty Stroll keyboard, and its web site requires a password for something greater than submitting your e-mail for keyboard updates. “Konbini” comes from the Japanese comfort retailer, however transliterating the Unique Konbini title into hiragana returns no outcomes. The Drive, nevertheless, has some extra data:
“It is a piece of JDM heritage that lives in your desk,” mentioned Caleb Chandra, co-founder of Unique Konbini. “We need to convey the eagerness and exquisite modifications of those machines to your house, an extension of affection for one of the crucial iconic builds in current JDM historical past.”
As for the keyboard itself, its case is constructed from two milled blocks of aluminum that had been then coated in an off-white coloration just like the tuner’s F40. It makes use of low-profile mechanical switches and keycaps, however there’s no phrase on who makes them or their specs. The one swap element offered is that they’re tactile switches, which means they’ve a noticeable engagement level which you could really feel within the keystroke. Nevertheless, we do understand it’s a wired USB-C keyboard with RGB backlighting and a 75%-ish profile. For non-keyboard nerds, the latter implies that it has operate and arrow keys however no quantity pad or page-up and page-down buttons. The Liberty Stroll livery appears nice, too, with its easy black-over-white primary keys, black house bar with “Slammed” on it, and the Japanese flag on the enter key.
That title, Caleb Chandra, provides us a bit extra info to go on. Chandra can be the founding father of glossy keyboard outfit Monokei, however none of that firm’s PCBs appear to match up with the brand new Unique Konbini structure. The Kei appears closest, nevertheless it’s lacking a button within the first row — the Liberty Stroll board appears authentic.
Most fascinating is the declare of low-profile tactile switches and RGB lighting. That might imply the board makes use of Gateron low-profile SMD-compatible switches, both in brown or banana taste. My every day driver board — a customized handwired Alice-style break up 60 % — makes use of full-profile Gateron Milky Browns, and so they’re a superb swap. This Liberty Stroll collab could find yourself feeling pretty much as good because it appears.
The worlds of vehicles and keyboards aren’t so completely different, and if this Liberty Stroll collab bridges that hole then it may imply extra followers of each communities. I, for one, suppose that’s a plus.
