Update | Messy Work Louder Nomad [E] $350 mechanical keyboard launch highlights Kickstarter pitfalls

October 14, 2024 update: Work Louder's CEO, Michael Di Genova replied to Notebookcheck's request for comment shortly after publication of the original article. While the original response it too long to amend to the article in its entirety, it boils down to five key points: 

• Work Louder has calculated that "less than 15%" of the first 1,000 production units of the Nomad [E] were defective.
• Only two production units reached customers with broken or defective LCDs. Both customers with broken LCDs have been taken care of and sent replacement keyboards.
• Work Louder stands behind the two solutions offered for customers with rotary knob issues, and it always tries to deliver the best products possible and communicate the ups and downs with consumers.
• When the Nomad [E]'s factory defects were detected, Work Louder immediately halted production to correct the design and molds, so that future units wouldn't suffer from the same problems.
• Short battery life is to be expected when running the keyboard's 75 RGB lights at full brightness — a consequence of the small 2,100 mAh battery used to accommodate the keyboard's low profile.

Di Genova also mentioned in his response that Work Louder is a company comprised of three people, asking media and consumers for patience when handling these issues. He did not respond to the customer complaints about refusal to issue refunds to pre-order buyers, although that is a fairly common practice when it comes to keyboard group buys and pre-orders. Di Genova stresses that a small company doesn't benefit from the same economy of scale as the Logitechs of the world, and therefore cannot be held to the same standard when it comes to quality control, stating that problems are bound to arise in small production runs from small companies. He goes on to state that consumers who are concerned about quality control issues should avoid projects that launch with group buys, Kickstarters, or pre-orders. 

While Work Louder does seem to be making a commendable effort to make things right with customers in this latest product shipment, according to previous buyers online, this isn't the first time these sorts of complaints have surfaced, and the company's handling of previous complaints hasn't inspired confidence. Whether these justifications for the messy start to the production of the Nomad [E] are sufficient is up to each prospective buyer. Notebookcheck will update this story as needed, and as more information surfaces. 

Original article continues below.

Work Louder is a PC peripheral start-up that designs and makes niche mechanical keyboards and consoles specifically designed for productivity and certain workflows or creative apps. Despite charging premium prices for its products, Work Louder has recently come under fire in online communities and its own Discord server over issues relating to the purchasing, production timelines, and overall build quality of its latest Kickstarter-funded board, the Nomad [E]. 

For starters, and likely one of the more subjective complaints, users of the r/olkb subreddit who ordered Work Louder's latest project, the Nomad [E] mechanical keyboard, have expressed their disappointment with the cheap plastics and underwhelming build quality of the $350 peripheral. While the Work Louder Nomad [E] uses a CNC aluminium bottom case, the top case is made of polycarbonate, which allegedly feels cheaper than it should, according to comments on both Reddit and the Work Louder community Discord. Even more positive reviews of the Work Louder Nomad [E] criticise it for using inadequate materials. Others in the comments of Reddit posts also criticised the keycaps of the $350 keyboard for feeling average at best, with the dials also taking some flak for feeling poorly made, and one Redditor even claimed the Nomad [E] was "maybe the most disappointing board at this price point I've ever used," going on to strongly recommend potential buyers to stay away. 

Another redditor claims that they were disappointed at reviews from early adopters of the Nomad [E], but upon reaching out to customer service to request a refund, they were outright denied. According to the Work Louder site, the company will also only issue refunds of the keyboard if it is defective, however that has been far from a worry-free experience, either. 

"You will be charged for this item upon checkout. There are no refunds or cancellations on pre-sale orders.

Shipping will commence when manufacturing/assembly has been completed. Any extra stock allocation past this date can be ordered until exhaustion. As with all group buys, delivery dates may change due to delays and setbacks."  —Work Louder pre-order policy

Likely a larger issue than both of the aforementioned, however, is that production units of the Work Louder Nomad [E] seem to be riddled with defects, with reports ranging from broken LCDs and scratchy and sticky rotary knobs to complete battery drain of the 2,100 mAh cell in the keyboard in as little as six hours. For reference, keyboards like the NuPhy Air60 v2 have similar battery capacities and advertise upwards of 30 hours with RGB backlighting enabled. While these are early production, small production run keyboards pre-ordered via a group buy, meaning issues are more or less par for the course, most people that pay $350 for a keyboard likely expect a working sample on arrival. Worse still, those that do complain about quality control in the brand's Discord server are met with a message from the CEO advising them to file a support ticket and wait for replacement parts to be shipped — a commendable effort to make things right, if everything goes smoothly. 

Thank you for patiently waiting while we answer all the tickets.

People who have an issue, open a ticket we will get to you. I would appreciate a bit more grace on the response time due to the number of tickets - we will answer you and get your issue resolved, I promise.

Dial issues will get either a free accessory kit, or replacement unit.

Ruler issues will get a new ruler most likely since we will likely need to redo the part to truly resolve the issue. Please understand that we are a small team dealing with a lot right now. That being said no one is going to be left out to dry, we just need time to organize a solution with each person that needs help.

According to the project's Kickstarter page, the primary QC issues relating to the faulty rotary encoder knobs and magnetic stand/ruler have been solved, and anyone submitting a ticket should have their replacement request fulfilled "by the end of October." However, given the nature of group buys and Kickstarters, it wouldn't be a surprise if existing customers had to wait longer for those replacement parts. That said, the team at Work Louder seems to be committed to replacing or repairing defective keyboards. For reference, the Work Louder Nomad [E] completed its 30-day Kickstarter funding run on June 24, 2023, and early buyers are only now receiving their first production units. Some of this wait time can undoubtedly be attributed to product development, prototyping, and production setup, but it has also earned Work Louder a reputation for poor time management. 

As for solutions, Work Louder is offering owners of defective Nomad [E] keyboards two options for the broken rotary dials — one involving a DIY kit that owners can install themselves and the other requiring owners to return the defective keyboard in exchange for a replacement board. As for the magnetic foot/ruler component, whose attachment magnets are prone to falling out, owners can submit a ticket and will get a rubber strip in the mail to hold the magnets in place. 

While Work Louder has its fair share of upset Nomad [E] buyers, there are also a handful of people who simply accept that this is the norm when it comes to Kickstarter projects, regardless of the $350 purchase price. Those that opted to support the project shelled out $350 for what is objectively a unique keyboard, however, the execution is where it falls apart. In terms of both design and functionality, the Nomad [E] stands out, thanks to its low-profile design, custom layout and keycaps, semi-custom key switches, and the abundance of rotary dials adorning its top case, making it very versatile for productivity-oriented setups. 

If you're into low-profile mechanical keyboards, check out the Keychron K3 Pro wireless low-profile keyboard with Gateron low-profile switches (curr. $119.99 on Amazon).