I bought this keyboard to test out the Holy Panda switches because my favorite switches are the Holy Panda X. The Drop + Invyr Holy Panda switches are definitely heavier and have a more defined tactility when compared to the Holy Panda X switches. Another thing to note is the difference in sound because the Holy Panda switches have a deeper sound.
Overall, the keyboard has a solid build quality and I enjoy the white light coming through the clear keycaps. The combination of the salmon color stems with the clear keycaps gives this board a unique and awesome look.
The C key does not register reliably after 3mo of use. A couple keyaps show wear, as well. The switches take quite some force to actuate compared to the KB I used previously.
That said, I was excited to receive this, and I enjoyed using it!
This is my first mechanical keyboard. The Holy Pandas are nice (I have no reference point but very click-clacky IMO). I am a big fan of the clear (reminds me of old nintendo products), and the lights are really nice. Had to read another review to realized you can adjust the brightness with Fn + arrow keys.
I am however going to ding this keyboard on two minor things.
The colon/semi colon key and apostrophe key came swapped. Not a huge deal, but for a $99 (formerly $199) keyboard I would expect the keys to be in the right place upon arrival.
It was kind of hard to tell that the bottom of the board is solid black based on the pictures. It is definitely pictured if you look closely, but there was no back keyboard shot in the product photos. Was surprised it wasn't totally clear when I got it.
Again, these things are minor and this keyboard is really cool. I will probably purchase more DROP products in the future and would recommend to friends.
funalexThanks for reaching out with your feedback on your purchase. We apologize that the keyboard did not function as you expected. I have passed this information about mac compatibility to the appropriate teams for future review.
funalexThanks for the review. This is quite common with mechanical keyboards, however there is an easy fix. You can see this article and how easy it is to make the keyboard work with Mac. Hopefully this will resolve the concern/challenges you've experienced: https://drop.com/talk/109632/using-a-mechanical-keyboard-on-mac
My first mechanical keyboard, saw that it was Holy Panda switches and was immediately interested. Got an excellent deal on Halloween which pushed me to buy one right away. Really pleased with the feeling and quality of the keyboard, am looking forward to getting some of my own keycaps and doing some basic mods to really perfect this board!
My first keyboard with the Holy Panda switches. The feel is perfect for me, with just the right "click". Build quality is excellent. I got the smoke keyboard, and the LEDs were too bright, until Jyri_Drop told me how to turn them down (function down arrow). Thanks Jyri.
Typing experience is very nice, with a top bump and a very satisfying bottom out. The switches aren't hot swappable, which for a normally $200 keyboard is kinda bad, otherwise it would get 5 stars. The lights also shine bright enough that you can't see the legends through the keycaps even on the black ones.
I've only ever owned membrane keyboards up until this point, although I've tried mechanical ones. This one feels nice, surprisingly.
However, it seems the case is not properly insulated. If I put my hand on the left side of the keyboard, just between escape and tilde, it lightly shocks me, although it is noticeable.
I started out on my mechanical keyboard journey some time ago, on FILCO keyboards and became a Cherry fan, this is my first experience with Holy Pandas and I had to get this keyboard since I'd been reading great things about Pandas.
I love the aluminium chassis, to me it has a nice solid feeling and good weight, the LED switches are also great, the included keycaps are not so great ( I got black), the light shined through that I couldn't see the letters and I'd either have to turn the LEDs off or squint when I couldn't find the key I was looking for. I ended up getting some yellow pudding tops keycaps for like 20 bucks from amazon and now I am very happy.
tl;dr
Great switches and chassis, recommend replacing keycaps
I'm not an aficionado by any means but I love me some tactile switches. When I saw Drop was selling a fully built keyboard with Holy Pandas I pulled the trigger and I definitely don't regret it. The board is really sturdy and has a nice weight. The backlighting is surprisingly bright, I work mostly by lamplight and this is by far the brightest thing in my office next to my monitor. The switches are terrific, in my retails days I worked on an ancient IBM register with the punchiest switches and have longed for something that felt like that. This is a pretty good substitute. The keycaps feel really good to type on but I don't love the look in general. I'm not having the same problem as other reviewers but I'm still planning on replacing them. It's worth nothing that all the plastic on the top of the keyboard is rather soft and slightly frosted and will mark with something as soft as a fingernail. I understand that it's necessary for the glow effect, but I feel like something your hands will be all over should be slightly more resilient.