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These Cute Frogs Taught Me That Mechanical Keyboards Don’t Have to Be Terrifying

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The Ducky x MK Strawberry Frog One 3 keyboard, shown with some themed keycaps and keypuller around it.
Photo: Marki Williams
Ivy Liscomb

By Ivy Liscomb

Ivy Liscomb is a writer for the PC and networking team. She has tested and reviewed many tech accessories, from laptop sleeves to cute keyboards.

Mechanical keyboards are intimidating, especially if you just want a device that can make letters and numbers show up on your screen at your command. People who are into mechanical keyboards are very into them, but the nuances of switch types and keycap materials can be daunting. (If you’re not one of those people, we have a guide to help you buy the best mechanical keyboard, no thought required.)

I decided that I wanted a mechanical keyboard because I fell head over heels for a colorful keyboard with a strawberries-and-frogs motif. I knew that I couldn’t just buy it for the sake of cuteness—I assess my own purchases just as obsessively as I investigate products for Wirecutter—so I started researching how to shop for one. The Ducky x MK Strawberry Frog One 3 keyboard is not the best mechanical keyboard you can buy, but it made me want to learn more, and it showed me that choosing switches could be fascinating and fun. (Now there’s a sentence I never thought I’d write.)

The light green, strawberry and frog themed Ducky x MK Strawberry Frog One 3 keyboard.
Photo: Marki Williams

I almost talked myself out of buying this cute keyboard. After all, are aesthetics a good enough reason to splurge on a gadget? But I was already dreaming of the little pink frogs on their lily pads and the strawberry accent keys click-clacking away on my desk. I just needed to decide on a few key components, starting with the click-clack itself. And that’s how I fell down the rabbit hole of mechanical keyboard designs—and how you might, too.

This easy-to-use keyboard lacks a number pad, and some of our other recommendations are cheaper, but it offers a fun way to explore the world of mechanical keyboards.

Strawberry Frog themed keycaps and a key puller.
Photo: Marki Williams

The click-clack in question comes from a mechanical keyboard’s switches, the little spring mechanisms under the keycaps that determine how the keys sound and feel when you press them. The switches in a mechanical keyboard’s keys differ from what lies beneath your typical laptop keyboard in a few ways, but the biggest difference is probably the key travel: With a mechanical keyboard, the small stems under each key allow you to press much farther down before hitting the deck of the keyboard, giving you more cushioning for a more comfortable typing experience. The ThereminGoat beginner’s guide to switches was a good deep-dive read that helped me understand the mechanism of a switch, as well as why it matters which one you get.

Close-up of the Ducky x MK Strawberry Frog One 3 keyboard, showing the RGB backlighting.
Photo: Marki Williams

You can find a huge variety of switches, all with different sensations and sounds, and researching them was the most time-consuming part of my buying decision. After asking my tech-enthusiast co-workers for recommendations and spending at least an hour listening to different keycap and switch sound combinations on YouTube, I landed on the all-purpose, beginner-friendly Cherry MX Brown tactile switches, which are perfect for working, writing, gaming, and other general tasks. Tactile switches are the middle child between quiet-and-speedy linear switches and clicky switches, which are extra loud and great for people who like typing to be an ASMR contact sport.

I didn’t think that I’d want a lot of noise while I was typing all day, but I did like the quiet clacking sound that the Cherry MX Brown switches made. This keyboard has the benefit of being hot-swappable as well, which means I can remove and exchange the switches without having to learn to desolder and solder. Going with a safe first option meant that I could change my mind about my switches later.

View of the colorful strawberries-and-frogs motif on the back of the Strawberry Frog One 3 keyboard.
Photo: Marki Williams

Next I had to pick the right size for me. Mechanical keyboards come in lots of possible configurations and dimensions, starting at 100%, or “full-size,” and working their way down. Full-size keyboards have a complete layout of keys—including function keys, a number pad, and everything else you may expect to find on a keyboard—and I was hoping to find my colorful, froggy keyboard in that size. Alas, the Strawberry Frog keyboard comes only in two less-than-full sizes: a tenkeyless version and a 60% version.

A tenkeyless, or TKL, keyboard lacks a number pad, which gives it around 80% of the footprint of a full-size keyboard. A 60% keyboard cuts out the navigation arrows and the function-key row at the top of the keyboard as well, so it’s even smaller.

I knew that I’d want as much functionality as I could get for work, and I have plenty of space on my desk, so I settled for the tenkeyless option.

Close-up of the strawberries-and-frogs motif of the Ducky x MK Strawberry Frog One 3 keyboard.
Photo: Marki Williams

When my new keyboard arrived, it was just as adorable as I had hoped. The keycaps are soft and matte with rounded edges. Even the font on the keycaps is cute, with the tails of the Q and R keys ending in a jaunty curl. The level of polish is impressive, from the fully illustrated bottom panel on the keyboard to the little yellow cord-organizer elastic with ducky-shaped cutouts.

I’ve been using the keyboard for more than a year, and I can confidently say that it has made typing for long periods easier. It also brightens my day every time I sit down to get some work done. Wirecutter’s mechanical keyboard recommendations are exhaustively tested and researched, so if you need help choosing the best one, we’ve got you covered. But sometimes an item that isn’t the “best” can spark joy, and my keyboard adventure taught me that it’s okay to embrace that. A cute or unserious version of something can be the best entry point into an intimidating new field—my gateway was colorful frogs and strawberries.

One of the best things about mechanical keyboards is their customizability, so even if you don’t immediately find a keyboard in a design you love, we have plenty of shopping advice to help you choose the best keyboard for you. From there, you can swap in new parts to achieve your ideal aesthetic. If you’re feeling really ambitious, you can even sand some plain keycaps down and paint them yourself.

I’m already looking into which switches I want to try next, and I’ll probably buy at least one more novelty mechanical keyboard—you have to have options, right? Until then, you can find me pondering the differences between a “thocky” keyboard sound and a “creamy” one.

This article was edited by Signe Brewster and Arthur Gies.

Meet your guide

Ivy Liscomb

Ivy Liscomb is an updates writer for the PC team at Wirecutter. She has a great weakness for chili crisp, the smell of old books, and defunct technologies like VHS and reel-to-reel audio. You can usually find her reading, sewing, or extolling the virtues of ’80s movies with the utmost sincerity.

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