CheckMag | 4 more top sub-$100 Black Friday mechanical keyboard deals that deliver premium features and build quality
We've already covered a slew of Black Friday mechanical keyboard deals, but since then, a number of other boards have gone on sale from some of the biggest budget mechanical keyboard makers around. The keyboards you'll find here, however, all feature substantial discounts that bring their prices down to under $100 — all without sacrificing build quality, features, or premium typing feel.
Ajazz AKS068 Alice VIA 60% mechanical keyboard - $55.99
The Ajazz AKS068 Alice, as the name might suggest, is a 68-key (60%) mechanical keyboard with an Alice layout that supports reprogramming with VIA and can be had in both wireless and wired flavours. For Black Friday, the AK068 Alice Wireless is discounted by 38% to $55.99 on WhatGeek, while a 20% coupon on Amazon reduces the price of the AK068 Wired to as little as $36.80.
Both the wired and wireless versions feature a gasket mount and sound-damping foam for a softer typing feel and sound, and they come with a CNC-machined aluminium knob, which can be customised to your liking with VIA. The polycarbonate plate material is also known to offer a degree of flex and a more muted sound profile.
While the wireless version is equipped with Ajazz's Sea Salt linear switches, which are a pre-lubed 45 gf linear switch, the wired version is available with a regular Cherry-clone type pre-lubed red linear switch, also with a 45 gf operating force. The PCB supports both 3- and 5-pin hot-swap switches, and the keyboard comes as a kit, which means assembling it yourself after it arrives.
The 60% Alice layout strikes a nice balance between the convenience, familiarity, and affordability of a pre-built mechanical keyboard and the improved ergonomics of a split ergo keyboard.
Keychron V1 75% custom translucent mechanical keyboard - $59.99
Keychron's Black Friday Cyber Monday 2024 sale has discounted nearly its entire Q Pro and K Pro line-up of mechanical keyboards by up to 25%, but the Keychron V1 beats even the official BFCM sale. Best Buy is offering a $40 discount on the wired custom mechanical keyboard, which normally retails at $99.99, bringing the price down to $59.99.
The Keychron V1 is a 75% mechanical keyboard — a form factor often favoured by pragmatists and gamers who want extra mouse room but don't want to sacrifice the function row or the navigation and arrow keys. Aesthetically, the V1 could fit in just as well in either a gaming setup or a more minimalist office environment, thanks to Keychron's black and grey keycaps with optional red Escape and Enter accent keys.
The Keychron V1's translucent smokey grey ABS case keeps things fairly subtle while adding some additional visual flair. The south-facing per-key RGB backlighting should also result in the same sort of RGB spill-over as the Wooting 80HE we recently reviewed. The Keychron V1 ships with Keychron's own K Pro Red pre-lubed linear switches.
EPOMAKER CIDOO ABM066 Alice mechanical keyboard - $53.99 with Prime
Yet another Alice layout board, the Epomaker x Cidoo ABM066 offers a different take on the ergonomic form factor, with its cream colourway, programmable knob, included screen, and playful dye-sublimated PBT keycaps. For Amazon Black Friday, the Epomaker X Cidoo ABM066 is discounted by a whopping 40% from the original MSRP of $89.99, down to $53.99, although this deal is exclusive Amazon Prime subscribers and includes free Prime shipping.
The ABM066 has all the trappings of a premium mechanical keyboard, including both wired and wireless connectivity — with a 3,000 mAh battery backing that up – a 3- and 5-pin compatible hot-swap PCB, a poron foam gasket-mount design with a polycarbonate plate, and plenty of sound damping materials. The version available on Amazon only comes with the Cidoo Silent Blue switch, which is a 35 gf factory-lubed linear switch with a POM stem and nylon top and bottom housings.
As for the keyboard itself, that's made of ABS plastic — which isn't necessarily a bad thing, as shown by our recent Epomaker TH40 review — meanwhile the keycaps are made of PBT and feature a charming blue and white cat-meets-space-adventurer legend. Undoubtedly, these keycaps are not the best for legibility, but they definitely have a unique look. The MOA profile of the keycaps and the Alice layout should at least make it comfortable to type on.
Nuphy Air60 v2 low profile portable mechanical keyboard - from $87.20
For anyone after a portable low-profile mechanical keyboard, the Nuphy Air60 v2 is an excellent choice. The 60% layout is just small enough to be portable without sacrificing much in the way of functionality, aside from the obvious missing function row.
For Black Friday, Nuphy has a store-wide 20% discount code (NF20), making the Nuphy Air60 v2 just $87.20. For being a low-profile keyboard, Nuphy has put a lot of effort into making the Air60 v2 sound and feel good to type on. The Air60 v2 features everything from poron plate foam and an IXPE switch pad to silicone case padding to prevent echoes while typing. It's also gasket mount to soften the typing feel slightly. The Air60 v2 also offers two typing angles, thanks to dual-stage flip-out feet on the bottom of the keyboard.
Nuphy offers the Air60 v2 in a variety of colourways:
- Iconic White - white aluminium frame; translucent white bottom case; white and light gray keycaps with orange, green, and yellow accent keys
- Basalt Black - black anodised aluminium frame; translucent smokey bottom case; black and dark gray keycaps with orange, green, and yellow accent keys
- Lunar Gray - gray anodised frame; dark gray translucent base; white and darker gray keycaps with orange, green, and yellow accent keys
Like the rest of Nuphy's v2 keyboards, the Air60 v2 comes with QMK/VIA support for virtually infinite remapping and customisation. On the hardware front, Nuphy offers various moderately priced add-ons and accessories for the Air60 v2, like a folio case and shine-through keycaps for the north-facing RGB LEDs.
The Air60 v2 is also available with a variety of low-profile switches, with the standard Gateron Red, Blue, and Brown options being the cheapest. Meanwhile Nuphy's Aloe (linear, 37 gf), Cowberry (linear, 45 gf), Moss (tactile, 60 gf), and Wisteria (tactile, 60 gf) switches will cost an extra $8 with the Black Friday deal, and those might be the better buy, especially for tactile switch lovers, because Gateron's low-profile switches are pretty middle-of-the-road at best.
