Wooting 80HE review: Near-flawless Hall-effect gaming keyboard
Wooting recently released the Wooting 80HE with its new, redesigned Lekker V2 Hall-effect switches. Aside from the unorthodox 80% layout, Wooting claims the new keyboard has some impressive improvements in-store for everyone from gamers to keyboard nerds. The question remains, does Wooting's $202 gaming keyboard measure up when it comes to build quality, gaming features, and the all-important sound and typing feel?
First impressions and accessories
It's clear to see that Wooting put a lot of thought into the packaging. Everything is eco-friendly and recyclable or compostable, or at least partially recycled, from the fairly plain corrugated cardboard box with the clever monochrome print texture to the little bags containing the accessories. This is a theme we see throughout the design of the Wooting 80HE, not just when it comes to the packaging. Aside from the Wooting 80HE keyboard, front-and-center under a disposable dust cover, Wooting includes a keycap and key switch puller combo unit, a thick braided USB Type-C to Type-C cable, a transparent USB Type-C to Type-A adaptor, a handful of extra navigation keycaps and an extra Super keycap with a Wooting logo, three sets of snap-on rubber feet for height adjustment, and three extra Wooting Lekker L60 V2 switches, along with a lighter Lekker L45 V2 for extra measure.
The keycap-and-switch puller is made of plastic, but it's sturdy, and the switch puller is designed so that it can also be used to take the Lekker V2 switches apart. The additional rubber feet allow the keyboard to rest at 2.8, 6, and 10 degrees, and they attach fairly firmly to the bottom of the case. That said, they are prone to falling off if the keyboard is thrown into a backpack a little too carelessly.
Case, keycaps, and build quality
There's no sugar-coating that the Wooting 80HE's case is constructed entirely of ABS plastic, although there are some benefits to this. For starters, it's 65% post-consumer-recycled (PCR) plastic, again demonstrating a degree of thoughtfulness in the design. Another benefit - or drawback, depending on your taste - of the plastic case material is that it allows for a transparent case design, giving the 80HE a bit of a retro Game Boy aesthetic.
The translucent PCR case is available in a dark PCR Ghost and a lighter PCR Frost color ways. If you're in the camp that thinks the transparent plastic case looks cheap or tacky, there is a solid black plastic option that can be selected in the Wooting configurator at no extra charge. There is also a Zinc alloy case available with black anodising or a raw finish (only available with the slightly cheaper 80HE module for DIY customization and assembly) for an additional $92, which also includes a travel case.
Our review sample did not include the zinc alloy case or the travel case accessory, so we cannot comment on the durability, aesthetics, quality, or finish of the zinc alloy case. That said, there are reports in the Wooting Discord server of 80HE owners easily scratching the surface finish of the zinc alloy case, so that might be worth considering before opting for the zinc case.
Our review took place over the course of three weeks. During that time, the Wooting 80HE sat on desks and took several rides in backpacks, along with metal tablet stands, keys, and stainless steel water bottles, and it is still in immaculate condition, attesting to the durability of the matte finish on the ABS case. While the plastic case's finish is plenty durable and quite resistant to flexing during normal use, twisting it does evoke some creaks and a concerning amount of deflection - this is hardly an issue, though, since you're unlikely to twist it this way in normal use.
The Wooting 80HE features per-key RGB illumination from north-facing LEDs paired with shine-through, double-shot PBT keycaps. The bright RGB backlighting gives the 80HE a glowing gamer aesthetic that spills out onto the surface next to the keyboard, thanks to the translucent case. The case itself diffuses the RGB illumination into a soft glow across the keyboard deck. Turning down the RGB to around 20-30% brightness tones down the glow significantly without sacrificing legibility of the key legend in a dark or dimly lit room.
As for the keycaps themselves, they feel solid, with a subtle texture on the surface, and the lettering is centred, while the lighting is consistent across all the keys, including the modifiers. The font used on the keycaps is also not of the edgy gamer variety, lending the keyboard a somewhat clean, almost professional look, especially with the RGBs set to white or turned off.
Redesigned Hall-effect switches and an ABS case with a smooth typing feel
Early Hall-effect keyboard switches, especially Wooting's Lekker switches - earned a reputation for being somewhat scratchy and wobbly as a consequence of their construction. For the Wooting 80HE, Wooting reworked its Lekker switches, launching the Lekker L60 V2 and L45 V2 alongside the new keyboard. The default Lekker L60 V2 switch has a starting actuation force of 40 gf, and it bottoms out at 60 gf, hence the name. Overall, the L60 V2 can be somewhat fatiguing to type on initially, especially if you're used to lighter switches, but you get used to it quickly enough. The slightly higher resistance is useful when gaming and you need some resistance for accurate control of the analog input.
Wooting says that it has put "as much lube in the switches as we possibly can, without affecting performance," and this certainly seems to be the case, since the Lekker L60 V2 switches in our test sample performed consistently throughout the duration of our testing. If our test unit is anything to go by, the Lekker L60 V2 switches are smooth and consistent. If you're really looking for it and hold the keyboard up to your ear in a dead-quiet room, you will hear a slight scratchiness, but it will take a very sensitive hand to notice it during typing and daily use.
Straight out of the box, Lekker L60 V2 switches were smooth, although they felt a little stiff - and not just because of the 60 grams-force required to depress the keys. After about a week of heavy use, though, the switches seemed to have broken in somewhat, allowing the copious amounts of lube to settle, resulting in a very consistent feel across all the keys, with no stickiness or unwelcome sensations.
Curiously, Wooting's new switch lubrication policy seems to have resulted in some lube ending up on the switch plate in our test unit, whether it's escaping the switch housing or just managed to make its way out during production is unclear, though.
The Wooting 80HE uses a silicone gasket mount, meaning the keyboard's switch plate and main PCB are essentially suspended in the case via a silicone pad. While it's not as soft and cushioned a typing experience as you might expect from a fully custom mechanical keyboard, the gasket strikes a good balance between the soft feel you want for typing and the stiff, responsive chassis you want for a gaming keyboard. The white silicone gasket is visible through the clear sides of the PCR Ghost and PCR Frost cases, which could be seen as an aesthetic nightmare or a neat callout to the keyboard's design.
Typing sound
The typing sound of a keyboard is entirely subjective, with some preferring a deeper thock and others gravitating towards a poppy sound. More or less conforming with current keyboard trends, the Wooting 80HE features a polycarbonate switch plate, case foam under the PCB, screw-in stabilizers, and a silicone sheet between the plate and PCB to dampen the typing sound and feel. The Wooting 80HE's sound signature is somewhere between a clacky and a poppy sound, although its linear switches and full case make it fairly quiet in general.
The biggest problem with the Wooting 80HE's typing experience, especially compared to the muted, somewhat poppy sound of the rest of the keys, is the space bar. While the stabilizers do their job well enough, the space bar returns from key presses with both a loud, echoey ping and a fair bit of stabilizer rattle. Bottoming out the space bar isn't a problem, although there is a slight echo present, but the return and top-out is incredibly jarring. Listen below for a short sample of the Wooting 80HE's sound profile and the loud spacebar.
This being a premium mechanical keyboard, there are plenty of suggestions for fixing the Wooting 80HE's rattly, pingy space bar, with the preferred solutions seeming to be lubing the stabilizers and filling the space bar with something like a sheet of foam or weather sealing to both temper the sound and reduce the echo. While the Wooting 80HE is primarily a gaming keyboard, it's not unreasonable to expect a keyboard that costs close to or more than $200 to sound good when typing - especially in 2024, with all the options that we have available. That said, users of premium keyboards generally like to modify their keyboards to their own liking anyway, and the space bar is widely regarded as the most difficult key on a keyboard to get right.
Wooting doesn't have an official modification recommendation for the intrusive space bar, but it has heard plenty of feedback about the space bar and promises that it is committed to using feedback in future product launches.
Gaming features
One of the biggest selling points for Hall-effect gaming keyboards is their various gaming features, and, being something of a pioneer in the Hall-effect keyboard space, Wooting has just about everything you'd expect from an HE gaming keyboard. For starters, the 80HE is wired-only for low latency, and it features both 8,000 Hz polling and 8,000 Hz scan rate, which should make it super responsive in games. It should be noted that neither the 8,000 Hz scan rate nor the 8,000 Hz polling rate are enabled by default, and both can be toggled in Wooting's Wootility v5 web customization app. The high scan rate is called Tachyon Mode and is available on the Wootility start page - although this limits the epic gamer RGB lighting to 70% to prioritize input latency. Meanwhile, 8 kHz polling is enabled in the Wootility v5 settings menu.
There are enough gaming-specific features on the Wooting 80HE to write an entire article on its own, but the basics are thus:
- Adjustable actuation point means that switches can respond to keypresses the moment you press them, theoretically making inputs more sensitive and responsive.
- Rapid Trigger allows you to actuate a key before completely releasing your previous keypress. Compared to normal mechanical switches that have a set reset point, this proves handy for executing small, accurate movements.
- Rappy Snappy and Snappy Tappy (SOCD) go hand-in-hand, and monitor two predetermined keys that are pressed simultaneously (usually strafe keybinds), activating the last-pressed key or activating one the moment another starts to be released. This can be handy for fast-paced FPS games, but will get you kicked from certain games - Counter-Strike 2, in particular.
- Analogue input and controller remapping allows you to essentially set up the keyboard as a controller.
Most of the gaming-centric features could give you a legitimate competitive edge if you're a highly competent gamer, but they all take some setup and getting used to. Controller remapping, in particular, can be very fiddly, as game support is not guaranteed.
Wootility v5: Impressive customization with frustrating limitation
Aside from remapping regular characters, Wooting allows you to remap each layer to an extensive library of F13+ characters, system functions, and even mouse clicks, offering a lot of customization depth. The biggest disappointment when it comes to customizing and remapping the Wooting 80HE is the limited alphanumeric character set and non-existent macro functionality. At the time of writing, Wooting has no way to assign macros or special characters, like en and em dashes, alternative language symbols (like delta, for example), or the degrees (°) symbol. Adding these symbols, and ideally the full Unicode library, and basic macro functionality would make up for a lot of Windows's keyboard input shortcomings and arguably bring the Wootility up to basically the same level as the likes of QMK/VIA.
Aside from the aforementioned, Mod Tap is exceptionally useful for remapping keys without losing their original functionality. Mod Tap basically registers one keypress when you tap a key and an alternative keypress when you hold the key.
There is a somewhat hacky workaround for the missing macro functionality and limited remapping via the layering functionality and Dynamic Key Stroke functionality. Effectively, you tap into the built-in operating system symbol entry functionality and use one keystroke to send four different key presses to the operating system while holding down another key. On Windows, for example, you could enter the degree symbol by pressing and holding "Alt" followed by numerals 2, 4, and 8.
In practice, this would mean assigning the keys in the correct order to the desired shortcut key and then pressing holding Fn+Alt and then pressing the assigned shortcut key. While this is usable, and conveniently saved on the keyboard, so there is no need for software and profiles to different systems, those who hop between different operating systems might have some trouble with this, because macOS, Windows, and Linux all handle special characters very differently.
In our conversations with Wooting's Partnership Lead, Max Janssen, he more or less confirmed our suspicions that part of the reason, aside from technical complications, Wooting avoided on-board macros is because, first and foremost, the Wooting 80HE is a gaming keyboard, and Wooting didn't want to encourage cheating via macros. This is likely a good choice, since HE keyboards have already received enough flak from both gamers and competitive gaming leagues for their unique capabilities, which have been called "basically cheating."
Hall-effect switches and the customization rabbit hole
The Hall-effect Lekker L60 switches are something of a customization superpower for the Wooting 80HE. Not only do they enable features like analogue input, Rapid Trigger, Mod Tap, Dynamic Key Stroke, and Simultaneous Opposing Cardinal Directions (SOCD), they also allow for per-key actuation point customization. This isn't only useful for gamers. Typists and productivity nerds can use the actuation point options to help reduce accidental key presses and set things up so that keys pressed with weaker fingers need less travel before registering a keystroke. As an example, if you're prone to accidentally tapping Enter when trying to add a quotation or apostrophe, you can set the Enter key to require a full 4 mm travel distance before registering a key press.
The Hall-effect switches allow you to set the actuation point from 0.1 mm to 4 mm, in increments of 0.1 mm, so there is plenty of room to play around with. If you use your keyboard for extended periods of time, it's worth spending some time testing and figuring out which depth works well for you. Setting a shallower actuation might help with fatigue, while more pre-travel is particularly useful for clumsier typists. While other Hall-effect keyboards claim greater sensitivity, with some even offering up to 0.01 mm granularity in the keystroke adjustments, Wooting says it chose to stick with 0.1 mm for reliability purposes.
After thoroughly testing the 0.1 mm adjustment increments, it's difficult to argue with Wooting's logic. Even at 0.1 mm, it takes some serious control and finger recalibration to accurately press a key to a certain depth. Aside from this, while it isn't an issue in day-to-day use, some keys - especially the stabilized keys (Enter, Space bar, Shift, and Backspace) - stop just shy of their full 4 mm travel distance if they're pressed on a corner. While the Wooting 80HE might still register a 4 mm keystroke at 3.99 mm in a situation like that, a keyboard with 0.01 mm increments certainly won't.
A quirky RGB light bar with untapped potential
One of the unique features on the Wooting 80HE is the LED bar - Wooting calls it the LED indicator in the Wootility web app. It can be used to display a range of different effects, however, most of them are somewhat gimmicky in nature. You can use the Wooting 80HE's LED bar as a sort of keypress travel meter and Rapid Trigger indicator, which might be a useful way to learn to use those features, but by far the most useful features of the LED indicator are the system volume indicator and the RAM usage indicator. These both require background utilities running on the system, which Wooting haven't released just yet.
When the Wooting 80HE needs a firmware update, the LED light bar acts as a progress bar, filling up from left to right as the firmware update is flashing.
Bonus round: Easter eggs and a long warranty
Something you only really notice as you use the Wooting 80HE, unless you take it apart and thoroughly inspect it before use, are the Easter eggs scattered throughout the board. From the little doodles on the PCB to the Wooting team signatures on the inside of the bottom case, it's clear that Wooting put a lot of care into the Wooting 80HE. The company is standing behind its product, too, providing a four-year manufacturer warranty and a two-year warranty on the LEDs.
Pros
+ bright RGB backlighting
+ sturdy build quality and long warranty support
+ excellent software support and high degree of customisability
+ support for macOS, Windows, and Linux
+ extensive gaming features
+ respectable, crisp key cap legend and overall good typing sound and feel
Cons
- limited on-keyboard macros
- divisive case material
- limited character set available for remapping
- loud, rattly space bar
- heavy linear key switches take getting used to
- silicone feet fall off easily
Verdict
At $202, the Wooting 80HE is an expensive gaming keyboard, even amongst its Hall-effect contemporaries, but its solid build quality and customization options, along with a comprehensive feature set, eco-conscious design, and a long warranty somewhat justify this cost. The overall software experience, which is easy to understand and provides tooltips for explanations on how to use each feature also makes up for its customization shortcomings and was a highly positive experience. We had gripes with the space bar's sound profile, but that's an easy enough problem to solve with minor, non-destructive modifications.
While the Wooting 80HE is not a perfect keyboard, it strikes a good balance between size and flexibility, and it offers plenty of features for gamers, typists, and even keyboard enthusiasts.
While we believe the Wooting 80HE justifies its price, there are cheaper options out there, like the NuPhy Air60 HE, which starts at just $119.95, although they almost all offer less customization options, shorter warranty support, and a worse software experience than the Wooting 80HE.
It should also be noted that there are better keyboards for non-gaming enthusiasts, which offer better customization, thanks to QMK/VIA support, and can even be found at lower prices.
Price and availability
The Wooting 80HE is currently only available on the Wooting store, starting at $202.00 for the complete build with a PCR case and $294 with the zinc alloy case. Meanwhile, the DIY module comes in at $170.25 without keycaps or switches. Note that the Wooting 80HE is still in early production, so orders may take some time to fulfill - orders placed at the time of writing will be fulfilled in mid-December.
Transparency
The selection of devices to be reviewed is made by our editorial team. The test sample was given to the author by the manufacturer free of charge for the purposes of review. There was no third-party influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review. We never accept compensation or payment in return for our reviews. As an independent media company, Notebookcheck is not subjected to the authority of manufacturers, retailers or publishers.
