We could all love Liberty Stroll’s F40 bodykit for the Autozam AZ-1, however the firm provides a equipment for the real article Ferrari F40 too — a equipment that Liberty Stroll has now determined to honor with a mechanical keyboard collab. I do know, that sounds absurd, nevertheless it’s really extra becoming than you would possibly suppose.
There’s a large crossover between automotive fans and keyboard fans. Positive, to many the concept of a “keyboard fanatic” sounds comical, however the identical could be mentioned for automotive of us within the higher world. All of us like intricate engineering initiatives 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 electronic mail for keyboard updates. “Konbini” comes from the Japanese comfort retailer, however transliterating the Unique Konbini identify into hiragana returns no outcomes. The Drive, nonetheless, 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 deliver the eagerness and delightful modifications of those machines to your area, an extension of affection for one of the vital iconic builds in current JDM historical past.”
As for the keyboard itself, its case is created from two milled blocks of aluminum that had been then coated in an off-white shade 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 change element supplied is that they’re tactile switches, which means they’ve a noticeable engagement level that you could really feel within the keystroke. Nevertheless, we do comprehend 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 seems nice, too, with its easy black-over-white principal keys, black area bar with “Slammed” on it, and the Japanese flag on the enter key.
That identify, Caleb Chandra, offers us a bit extra info to go on. Chandra can also be the founding father of modern 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 seems 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 change. This Liberty Stroll collab could find yourself feeling pretty much as good because it seems.
The worlds of vehicles and keyboards aren’t so totally 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.
