A total of 34 reviews of this product on Reddit.
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If you’re willing to wait a few months Amazon.ca has a Cooler Master Novatouch for around $200 CAD, I ordered mine a few weeks ago and it says it’s shipping May 27 or something like that. It even has Amazon Prime.
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I have tried a lot of keyboards over the years — and my current one of choice is the CM Storm NovaTouch TKL. It is very expensive but IMHO, worth it.
It uses Topre switches (which feel better than other mechanicals IMHO) but with the added bonus of being having MX compatible stems so you can use any MX based replacement keys.
It is an 80% layout — because while you won’t need those arrows/home/end/page-up/page-down for vim, there are many other apps you will need them in / for. 80% keyboards are a nice middle ground — no incredibly useless keys so you get to keep the keyboard in a sane place without pushing the mouse into another timezone.
It comes with dampeners (2mm) in the box (not installed) that makes its volume work appropriate (even shared office), far from silent but your co-workers won’t want to cause you physical harm as they would with many other mechanicals.
Downsides are price, and an aggressive spring-back which makes typing very fast feel great, but also generates noise (the snap back isn’t mitigated by the dampeners) and it doesn’t have any sort of key lighting.
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Amazon Italy has new in stock Novatouch keyboards for sale. I bought one for myself just over a week ago. They are in Italy ISO format contrary to what the product description says. It’s not particularly cheap and the price has gone up in the past week, but it’s new.
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A keyboard you enjoy using should encourage you to get better at using it the most.
For me it is Logitech G910’s angular keycaps that make me want to type more accurately.
Topre is pretty decent for gaming I believe. It as the short actuation distance that people want from regular mechanical keyboards. At least it is good enough for CoolerMaster to want to make one.
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I just bought a novatouch from Amazon Italy (https://www.amazon.it/Cooler-Master-Storm-Novatouch-Tastiera/dp/B00MY3S288/). Had it shipped to UK and used forward2me.com to foward to the US. It is advertised as US layout, but when it arrived it was ISO layout w/ Italian keyset. Of course, reviewing the product page I see a number of people already mention this in the Q&A section.
The new price has gone up quite a bit (it was ~115 euro when I ordered), however there are a couple Amazon warehouse deals, as well.
FYI, Amazon France has a couple novatouch keyboards available from french retailers. They are listed as qwerty/US-layout, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they were actually AZERTY/ISO.
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<strong>Cooler Master Novatouch TKL</strong>
This keyboard is amazing if you don’t need a full sized keyboard it has topre switches which are amazing and it looks great too.
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Right now, the Novatouch is $166 on Amazon, with an additional $16 mail-in rebate. If you’re in the US, it’s a decent price. I actually just got mine this week. It’s been an interesting week.
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Topre forever!
I have tried a lot of keyboards over the years — and my current one of choice is the CM Storm NovaTouch TKL. It is expensive but IMHO, worth it.
It uses Topre switches (which converted me from cherry browns) but with the added bonus of being having MX compatible stems so you can use any MX based replacement keys.
It is an 80% layout — because while you won’t need those arrows/home/end/page-up/page-down for vim, there are many other apps you will need them in / for. 80% keyboards are a nice middle ground — no incredibly useless keys so you get to keep the keyboard in a sane place without pushing the mouse into another timezone.
It comes with dampeners (2mm) in the box (not installed) that makes its volume work appropriate (even shared office), far from silent but your co-workers won’t want to cause you physical harm as they would with many other mechanicals.
Downsides are price, and an aggressive spring-back which makes typing very fast feel great, but also generates noise (the snap back isn’t mitigated by the dampeners) and it doesn’t have any sort of key lighting.
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Amazon has it with keycaps for 20 dollars more.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MY3S288/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_m29JwbVV9DXTD
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I just checked out how much it’s selling for on Amazon… currently selling for $259-$310… good lord… 🙁
In comparison, Leopold FC660c are selling for $210 on mechanicalkeyboards.com
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I would generally not say a Corsair board is worth getting, if only because of the nonstandard bottom row. Keycaps are really nice and the customization you lose due to that is incredible. I’d also say this makes Cherry MX switches the best for a first keyboard IMO. Topre keycaps are hard to find, but if you want a Topre, go with the Novatouch by CM. It has Cherry MX sliders meaning you can put Cherry MX compatible keycaps on it but it has genuine Topre switches. If you want to get a TKL, the best boards are probably the KUL ES-87 or a Filco MJ2 TKL (provided you can find one for a reasonable price). Neither are backlit, but for most of us that’s alright. If you want backlit, maybe see if you can find a Shine 3 TKL. If you are looking at full size boards, the Filco MJ2 comes in full size and is still very well built (but again hard to find). If you want backlighting or not to have to deal with difficulty in buying, then the Ducky Shine series is great. The Shine 4 looks really nice and also comes in Grey and White. As Mookzs said, the Pok3r is available in the US through various retailers such as Amazon, MK.com, or through Corus who also sells through Amazon. In addition the backlit variant will apparently be released in a few months.
Switches are another story.
> I want to start with lower force switches (are these better to start with?)
In my opinion, they’re not necessarily easier to start with. If you’re heavy handed then a heavier switch is probably better, and if not then go for a lighter switch. I wouldn’t say one is easier for everyone, but different people will be more accustomed to different switches. I like heavier switches like clears and whites, while many like browns or reds. All switches have their merits, so pick what’s best for you. If you have any questions I’d be happy to answer them!
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CM Storm Novatouch TKL sold no amazon at 90 EUR, not by amazon, scam?
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you may be interested that it is on sale on amazon italy: https://www.amazon.it/Cooler-Master-Storm-Novatouch-Tastiera/dp/B00MY3S288/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1476040973&sr=8-1&keywords=novatouch+tkl
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I’m confused. I thought the CM Novatouch was discontinued but Amazon is still selling them…is this legit??
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Hi guys! I bought this keyboard from Amazon (still coming… shipping to Australia’s a bitch):
https://www.amazon.com/Storm-NovaTouch-TKL-Exclusive-Capacitive/dp/B00MY3S288
Meanwhile, this has come up on Massdrop and I love it:
https://www.massdrop.com/buy/hammer-lagoon-artisan-spacebar?&mode=guest_open
How do I know what size the space key is on the NovaTouch TKL? It’s a Topre switch but a Cherry mount which further complicates things.
I’ve never tried Topre before (nowhere in Australia had a demo unit) so there’s a risk I’ll hate this keyboard. Is there a common size that will work with a lot of other common /r/mk favourites as a backup if I need to jump ship to Cherry? Then I can sell whichever one I don’t need on mechmarket 🙂
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Getting ready to put together my first Topre build.
Will I have any issues getting the Varmilo keycaps to fit properly?? I’m assuming all flavors of PBT should fit?
Or would it be best to get the CM NovaTouch TKL (Topre but MX Cap compatible)?
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There are a couple on amazon, sorry not ebay. https://www.amazon.com/Storm-NovaTouch-TKL-Exclusive-Capacitive/dp/B00MY3S288/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1474734423&sr=8-1&keywords=cm+novatouch
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FYI… the novatouch is $199.99 + tax CAD
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Probably a good idea. I would suggest the CoolerMaster one if you can, that one has Topre on it, which is a very high quality rubber dome, so if you want a mech to feel as close to your G11 as possible, get a Topre board. Something like the Novatouch TKL is fairly inexpensive when it comes to Topre (most boards are over $200) and has an MX compatible stem so you can use any MX keycap set instead of just using Topre caps which are few and far between.
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Are you serious? They are literally 120€ (134$) here.
And here is an Amazon link for under 170$
Etc, there are even more of them.
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Netherlands cheapest here is ~130 euros on amazon they go for 160 dollars. About a 10 euro difference not that much. Tought they were more expensive in America.
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get something that isn’t wasting your money, if you don’t know what you want then there really isn’t a best.
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You may want to look at the cm nouvatouch tkl
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I got my Novatouch from Amazon.ca for $199
NCIX also carries them, but they are more expensive ($217).
They were on sale for less than $200 at both places earlier this year (Around May or June I think?), so if you can wait they will probably go on sale again later this year, or early 2016. I’m just speculating though.
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I am looking into getting a keyboard for work. I work in tech support so there is a lot of typing. I got into mechs when I found an old Model M in my grandfather’s basement and cleaned it up – but I brought it to work and it’s not really suitable for the office. It’s loud, so when I take calls it’s very annoying. I am trying to decide between two TKLs:
- KUL ES-87 with MX Clears
- CM Storm Novatouch TKL
I know that Topre and Cherry MX are very different, but I’m hoping you can help me figure out what I want. I have used the Model M buckling spring and while I love the tactile feedback, the springs are too heavy for me and I experience fatigue. I have tried Cherry MX Reds and I enjoy bottoming out on them, but the force is too light for me causing me to press keys erroneously, and I found it difficult to double-tap keys (when typing words like llama or oppressive). This may be a brave thing to say around /r/MechanicalKeyboards, but I also enjoy typing on my Dell XPS 13 chiclet keyboard, and find that I am marginally faster and most accurate on it.
Could somebody give me a suggestion on the type of switch I should use? Maybe MX Clear or Topre aren’t what I’m looking for?
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Here is the Novatouch and the TypeHeaven
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A $150 budget? If you can add a little more to it, you CAN get a Novatouch for $165 from Amazon. There’s also a mail-in rebate to bring it down to $150.
Aside from that, there are a number of options. There’s a Quickfire Stealth on Massdrop that’s going for $68 with MX Blues. This KUL-87 for $130. You can also jump on one of the many pre-orders for the Pok3r from Corus-KB, Mechanicalkeyboards.com or Massdrop.
There’s also the KBP v60 which you can get with either Red and Blue or Red and Green backlighting for $109
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Hey I had you same troubles, I could recommend a few
For a full size RGB Nighthawk
For Full Size Non RGB Nighthawk X8
For 80% RGB Blackbird RGB
For 80% Non RGB there is Blackbird Or CM Storm NovaTouch TKL
there is this RGB %80Corsair K65 if you can settle for Red MX
And if you want macros there is this Corsair K95
Or a Fullsize RGB Corsair K70
Or the standard Red LED version there is this Corsair K70
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This one is 45g and is not silenced. As for price points, one factor is ~~licensing. The FC660C and HHKB both use Topre switches where CM uses their own NovaTouch.~~ Another factor could be build quality, but I haven’t reviewed the HHKB or CM boards myself, so I can’t really be a judge.
However, the price difference isn’t that much. Here’s a FC660C brand new for $219. Compared to this NovaTouch for $163. Similarly, you can find the HHKB for around $220 if you shop around. Maybe it’s splitting hairs to some, but less than a $60 difference is much more approachable than $100+ to most people.
Edit: Guess it’s not a licensing thing. See reply.
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They are in stock on Amazon
