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Drop Carina Mechanical Keyboard Kit

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... / 60% KEYBOARDS / DIY KEYBOARD KITS / DROP

Drop Carina Mechanical Keyboard Kit

Name: Drop Carina Mechanical Keyboard Kit
Brand: Drop
SKU: drop-carina-mechanical-keyboard-kit
Price: 99 USD
Availability: OutOfStock
Rating: 4.244828 (290 reviews)

290

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Frequently bought together:

60% Switch Plate

Drop Holy Panda X Mechanical Switches

Drop Skylight Series Keycap Set

Product Description

Fashioned with a frosty acrylic case and programmable LED lighting, the 60% Carina mechanical keyboard kit comes together in minutes, and shines bright for years to come.

Review Highlights:

blwb1gK1LL

Pleasantly Surprised!

So for my first dive into the custom market I couldn't of asked for a better keyboard. The build was therapeutic and painstakingly fun. If you look past the stabs which you should, because we all know Drop's Stabs need work that's being nice about it. The case is well constructed and thought out (could use one more screw on bottom left side) 2 USB type C ports, 60% layout, easy setup and guides along the way. Did have some trouble with the flash as this was my first one, but as soon as I took a deep breath and read closely I was good to go. As for RGB works good, looks good and for me a plus. I work a lot at night and still can't remember the keys so north facing switches works in my favor so I can see what I'm doing. Last but definitely not least this is the quietest keyboard I have ever used and I Love It. 70g Silent Tactile Aliaz Switches Lubed w/Krytox205 G0, Band-aid modded the PCB, Cherry Plate Mount Stabs Modded and Lubed of course (Krytox205 G0/Dielectric Grease), Brass Plate, and White Pudding Caps. Yeah Ya boy set this SH** up right!!

Would recommend to a friend.

XM1n3r

This is an amazing beginner and overall keyboard kit for anyone!

I bought this after I bought the NK65 Entry and I wanted to compare them, and for me, this beats it. This keyboard is literally AMAZING. The only downside I experienced or would recommend doing, is getting different stabs, just because the ones included rattle quite a bit. Besides that, this is an almost perfect board for me. Also another quick thing, putting on keycaps might require a bit of extra force usually on the ones with stabs but just check all of them by pressing them down with extra force.

Would recommend to a friend.

See all 290 reviews

Q&A Highlights:

NickMBean

Very new to this side of mech keyboards and this caught my attention off the rip. Is there anything (aside from the switch plate) that I need to purchase to make this a complete keyboard? I'd hate to order this only to realize I need something else!

nicolechen

you'll also need switches and key caps

Drop+MechKeys

4350

Will this assemble without the add-on plate or do I need to also get a plate to assemble with this?

okhate

u do need a plate to fully assemble it

See all 121 questions

Customer Reviews

4.2

(290 reviews)

(146)

(103)

(19)

(10)

(12)

88% would recommend to a friend

By Feature

Sound

SilentLoud

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Build Quality

4.0

(3)

Paired SwitchPopular among reviewers

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Sort by: Top Reviews

blwb1gK1LL

Dec 20, 2020

Verified Buyer

Pleasantly Surprised!

So for my first dive into the custom market I couldn't of asked for a better keyboard. The build was therapeutic and painstakingly fun. If you look past the stabs which you should, because we all know Drop's Stabs need work that's being nice about it. The case is well constructed and thought out (could use one more screw on bottom left side) 2 USB type C ports, 60% layout, easy setup and guides along the way. Did have some trouble with the flash as this was my first one, but as soon as I took a deep breath and read closely I was good to go. As for RGB works good, looks good and for me a plus. I work a lot at night and still can't remember the keys so north facing switches works in my favor so I can see what I'm doing. Last but definitely not least this is the quietest keyboard I have ever used and I Love It. 70g Silent Tactile Aliaz Switches Lubed w/Krytox205 G0, Band-aid modded the PCB, Cherry Plate Mount Stabs Modded and Lubed of course (Krytox205 G0/Dielectric Grease), Brass Plate, and White Pudding Caps. Yeah Ya boy set this SH** up right!!

Recommends this product? Yes

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LpDncPikachu69

Dec 25, 2020

blwb1gK1LLHey I have question, what size space bar does the board take? Is it 6.25U or something else?

Vote

blwb1gK1LL

Dec 26, 2020

LpDncPikachu69They are 6.25u for the space and 2u for the 4 rest

Vote

Corvus917

Feb 2, 2021

Verified Buyer

An Excellent First Keyboard Kit

For anyone interested in making their first custom mechanical keyboard, or really just anyone looking for a decent customizable kit with fully functional RGB lighting, this is now easily the first board I would recommend. It offers everything most new enthusiasts would ever need or look for, and is as beginner-friendly as any keyboard kit could be. For starters, let's begin with the fact that it comes with a 5-pin, hot-swappable PCB for greater switch compatibility, which already places this board a cut about Drop's flagships like the CTRL or the ALT. Yes, it's a north-facing PCB, so probably not ideal for anyone using more esoteric keycap profile. Still, considering that this board was very obviously made for maximum RGB lighting goodness, and most shine-through keycaps are north-facing OEM profile, I think it's safe to say that most people who'd want south-facing switch boards wouldn't be considering this kit to begin with. Speaking of RGB lighting, the PCB's RGB LED lighting is excellent, especially the case/underglow lighting; unlike with other drop boards, the LEDs have been positioned closer to the center of the PCB for more evenly diffused lighting. Per-key and underglow/case lighting are accurately synchronized out of the box, as anyone would reasonably expect. As for the case, I was taken aback by how surprisingly solid and hefty it was. I seriously did not expect an acrylic case to feel quite this dense, and I admit that it made for a delightful surprise when I unboxed it. Likewise, I was similarly delighted to see just how stunning the case looks, both with RGB lighting enabled and without. Lastly, the case is a fixed angle board, just like Drop's other high-profile boards, and comes with four rubber feet already attached to the case. Regarding the plate, I chose a brass plate for mine, and it looks so much better than the photos Drop used. Seriously, none of their photos quite captures just how good looking the brass plate is. And from my experience, the plate was a perfect fit for the case, with pretty decent tolerance.

Assembly of the board was delightfully easy. A QR-code was provided inside the box to direct you to an assembly guide with both a video and step-by-step instructions. All the pieces fit very well, with the whole keyboard held together by just four standoff screws for the case and PCB, and then four Philips top screws to hold the plate onto the standoffs. Plate-mounted stabilizers fit well, and inserting switches was a breeze.

Finally, there's the programming. While it's unfortunate that Drop still doesn't include Via support, the QMK configurator they use is at least easy enough for you to remap the function layer keys pretty easily. That being said, Drop really should have included the instructions about how to use their QMK configurator at the end of their assembly guide; I had to search through their comments section of that quide to find a link to their QMK configurator guide. If there's one knock I can make about this kit, it's the usual one about all Drop keyboards: shoddy stabilizers. Seriously though, this is a relatively minor knock, and you probably should just get your own stabs; I personally recommend Everglide Panda stabs, or any plate-mounted stabs from Durock. Overall, the Carina has succeeded in exceeding my best expectations and, Drop's abysmal stabilizers aside. I can say with confidence that you will not be disappointed with the build quality of this kit.

Recommends this product? Yes

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HAHMB

May 23, 2021

Verified Buyer

Love it

Recommends this product? Yes

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Prawn69

May 25, 2021

HAHMBHow did you figure out how to use the software

Vote

HAHMB

May 25, 2021

Prawn69Go to https://drop.com/mechanical-keyboards/configurator/preset/carina--default and configure shortcuts +RGB then compile and download the file If you are using mac please follow the steps down below:-

create folder and move the file that you just download + mdloader_mac + applet-mdflash.bin
open terminal and direct to the folder cd [path of the folder]
then use the following command using terminal

mdloader_mac --first --download FILE_NAME --restart Note:-

you can download mdloader_mac + applet-mdflash.bin from here https://github.com/Massdrop/mdloader , also it includes more details about how to use it on various OS

Vote

Priz

Jan 24, 2021

Verified Buyer

Solid acrylic kit

Purchased for a POM/Boba U4 build and it delivered. The things I wished to increase the aesthetic I was going for are: white-painted plate, white plate screws, clear stabs. Edit: Couldn't get rid of all the rattle in the spacebar. Pressing the ends would have a tiny rattle, but I'm okay with that since I press the middle part during normal usage. Doing the holee mod would cure loud ticks in the spacebar and plugging the holes with grease in the stems would help with the rest. Also, the plate sits unevenly since theres no stand off on the lower left (my fault since I might have pushed it in too hard). This causes the right spacebar stab to hit the pcb harder than the left. Again, this doesn't occur during normal usage. Not sure why the board didn't come with all the RGB Matrix effects, but you need to unlock them manually. Meaning downloading the massdrop forked source code, compiling, and flashing yourself. I had to copy code from the settings and keymaps from the massdrop alt abishalom folder. Do this at your own discretion as I'm not liable if there is a mishap with your board. After doing this, I felt the kit was complete.

(Edited)

Recommends this product? Yes

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Orien

Aug 6, 2021

Verified Buyer

Meh

Hardware is good. They dropped the ball in software though. They claim qmk compatibility, but they never got their drivers merged into the official repository. So now the only way to update firmware on the board is by using their fork which is increasingly out dated. Making matters worse, they stopped updating their fork in November 2020, and have been ignoring requests from the qmk maintainers to help them fix their code. Yes, the hardware works well. Yes, if all you want is the basics out of the keyboard firmware, this will be fine. If, however, you came here for a fully qmk compatible board to really tweak some things, or are hoping for some of the more modern qmk features, you’re probably going to be as disappointed as I am with this piece of abandoned hardware. Kinda sad that they’re still selling it.

Recommends this product? No

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JaiDogMoney

May 8, 2021

Verified Buyer

This board is beautiful and the LED lights are great, the effects are a letdown.

TL;DR You can't make custom lighting effects so it's kinda a waste of great LED hardware. I was super happy with the board after building it with some amazing lubed NK Cream switches. The lights were absolutely gorgeous. After playing around with the super complex way of making your own button assignments and led's I discovered the only way to make your own custom lighting effects were addressable static colors. I will be holding onto the board as I love it and I've been told that more LED RGB customization will be coming soon. Also an important note: the stabilizers suck on this keyboard, I'd suggest getting other ones if you're finicky about that stuff. Overall it's a great entry-friendly keyboard (although the price isn't). Great work Drop!

Recommends this product? Yes

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Xuusty

May 27, 2021

JaiDogMoneywhere did you hear that more LED RBG customization will be coming soon? will there be some sort of update on the Carina software? I was also super disappointed when I found out you could only have custom static colors, especially at this price rang. My old $60 keyboard has better RBG customization smh

fugitive-legacy

Dec 4, 2020

Verified Buyer

Lovely little keyboard, terrible stabilisers!

-- UPDATE -- Regarding the stabs, I've sourced replacement authentic Cherry plate-mount stabs (surprisingly hard to find ATM). I've compiled a comparison of Drop's included stabs compared to Cherry's. You can see the photos here: https://imgur.com/a/lgMeeuB My conclusions are that the authentic Cherry stabs have better tolerances, and the spacing between the housing and the stem is smaller compared to Drop's included stabs. But I'm not sure it's entirely sizing which is the most notable issue. But rather the oddly designed stabiliser stem which Drop provides, see bellow image:

Both stems have been clipped, however, as you can see Drop's stem (Right) is missing a protrusion. This is appears to be non-standard and is what I believe is causing Drop's stabs to wobble considerably more than usual and once clipped will absolutely fall through their housing. Thus, don't clip the included Drop Stems. But even when they are not clipped, this missing protrusion results in a less secured fit to the housing.

There are a couple of other noticeable differences, such as the front of Drop's stem not having two holes, and the back having one hole. The internal hole that the stab wire is placed through is also not angled, which also appears to be non-standard. Overall, I honestly can't recommend using the included stabs, and highly suggest replacing them with authentic Cherry. The included stabs, even when clipped, lubbed fundamentally don't work. They won't just be noisy, but will cause issues when putting on or taking of keycaps, and cannot stabilise the keycap. -- REVIEW -- Received my Carina after quite a wait, delivered safely to the UK but delivery was a little slower than expected. Also as usual expect customs fee for UK buyers around £22. As for the Carina itself packaging was good though the usual brown reserved Drop box. All components were securely packaged and arrived in perfect condition, the polycarbonate case I think looks fantastic and the build quality is actually impressive. The PCB is a nice white to complement the light opaque case, the only minor annoyance with it are the north facing connectors, but the extra pin holes for 5 pin switches is welcome along with very good LEDs (if you're into RGB). The only other minor complaint with the PCB was that the function key was mis programmed to the right alt key, but re-flashing the QMK firmware solved this, which I was going to do anyway to setup custom layers. The aluminium plate looks good with no blemishes, but does seem a touch thin, but not a real issue, though it does create a less frim typing experience (greater flex than I'm use to). However, the included stabilisers don't quite fit 100% securely into the plate. Unlike my Drop CTRL, the stab housing is slightly loose, but this could be due to the stabs themselves. Talking about the included stabs, oh boy... If you've read the other reviews you probably know that these stabs are awful, utter rubbish, they are in fact so bad that I would highly avoid clipping them as this will allow the stems to pass right through the housing. The housing is the main issue, the sizing is completely different to original Cherry and 3rd party cherry-style stabs. The housing is too large for the stems, by about 1mm, which is ridiculous. They wobble like crazy and when removing even slightly stubborn key caps, the stab stems pull out of their housing. I lubed these stabs to try help the rattle and it certainly helps, but honestly just chuck the included ones away and get an authentic set of cherry plate mount stabs. The included ones are absolutely unfit for purpose and frankly drop should send all buyers replacement ones! As for typing experience, with lubed linear switches I found that it's quite pleasing with very little to no spring or leaf resonance, but is still more 'clacky' than 'thocky', and I would not describe it as a quiet keyboard. However, the outer keys (spacebar, backspace, enter, etc) do not sound as good, a bit 'tinny' but for now I'm thinking that better stabs will hopefully resolve this to some extent. Assembly was straight forwards, but due to the awful stabs took longer than necessary. Once built and configured the underglow is very pleasing with perfect even diffusion, no visible LED hot spots can be seen when the keyboard is on a desk. The polycarbonate case really does look beautiful with the LED glow, a real highlight for this keyboard. I found that only illuminating the case (underglow) provides a rather sleek appearance and avoids the tacky appearance that RGB often creates. -- TL;DR -- Replace the stems, lube your switches and stabs, enable underglow and disable key LEDs, possibly add foam for a slightly quieter keeb and enjoy.

(Edited)

Recommends this product? Yes

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XM1n3r

Dec 5, 2020

Verified Buyer

This is an amazing beginner and overall keyboard kit for anyone!

I bought this after I bought the NK65 Entry and I wanted to compare them, and for me, this beats it. This keyboard is literally AMAZING. The only downside I experienced or would recommend doing, is getting different stabs, just because the ones included rattle quite a bit. Besides that, this is an almost perfect board for me. Also another quick thing, putting on keycaps might require a bit of extra force usually on the ones with stabs but just check all of them by pressing them down with extra force.

(Edited)

Recommends this product? Yes

Was this helpful?

Dimbo_Hemon

Nov 18, 2021

Verified Buyer

Great looks and great sound, but has its limits.

So to start this off, this is a very pretty looking and pretty sounding board. I was rather impressed with how separated the key glow and the under/edge glow was. And with the QMK configurator you're free to go and find your favorite color combos, on top of the very nice built in options. For sound it sounds very nice and poppy with the brass plate and some Akko cs lavenders for switches, and this is not a quiet board. Neither bad or good, but thought I would mention it. Stock stabs were eh, ended up swapping them with some Durocks. But I hear with some modding the stock stabs can be good. The build process was very simple and easy as well, with drop even giving you a QR code to a page with a guide and some tips. It's hot swap, so ontop of saving you some time on soldering. You're free to pop out and change out the switches with relatively little hassle. A big plus for those just getting into keyboards and are wanting to test out a bunch of different switches. Yeah and it has QMK, so if you don't like the default keybinds (or lighting effects as I have already said) you can go and change them with the Drop QMK configurator. BUT I have two gripes, 1 is the south facing LEDs. Not the worst thing in the world, but it does limit you out of using cherry profile keycaps and should be mentioned. I do sorta get why they went with north due to the better shine through it gives with some keycaps. But I would rather have south tbh. 2 you are forced to use the Drop QMK configurator. Not that the Drop QMK configurator is bad or anything, but it is lacking some features I would like it to have. Also having the option to use your QMK configurator of choice would be a nice plus. Overall a very solid first time build for those who like a bright and shiny board that either wants, or doesn't mind it being on the loud side. But it does have some quirks that can limit some people with their builds.

(Edited)

Recommends this product? Yes

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