Hi quality, low cost PBT keycap set PSA

Learning and discussion Keycaps
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I thought this was worthy of a mention to any PBT lovers out there. Drop.com recently sold through a limited batch of PBT keycaps called Artifact Bloom Series Keycap Set: Vintage.

I received a set a few days ago and I have to say they WAY exceeded my expectations, which were admittedly low. Most notably:

  • Crisp dye sub legends
  • Smooth(ish) texture (a positive IMO)
  • Space bars are straight as an arrow, even the 7u
  • Good, neutral color-way
  • $45 price tag!

Here’s a link. If these go back on sale I will definitely pick up another set.

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I was hoping to see a review on these at some point. The muted colorway is quite versatile. I was worried about space bar shrinkage. So they work on your stabilizers without issues? Also, hows the stem fit? Tight? Loose?

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So far no issues with stabilizers. The stem fit is a little tight but nothing crazy.

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Would love to try a set of PBT, but that set doesn’t have the compatibility, that I need… only 1 1u ctrl and no 1u win keys. :slightly_frowning_face:

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Yes that’s definitely a weak point. Also no 1800 layout options and nothing for the way I use my right column on 65%.

Maybe if they sell well, Drop try to get updates to the kit.

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Oh, man. I had been ignoring these as I was already familiar with / had many of the colourways.

But yeah, the Vintage one could become a cheap Muted. I already have the Muted accents from the KPRepublic set, so maybe I could have combined them.

I’ve “Requested” the Drop, so maybe it will come around again soon.

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Would be nice, but I get the feeling, that Drop only focuses on compatibility for their in house boards, while ignoring the rest of the community.

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I think that “Artifact Bloom” may be a catch-all name for various Chinese brands, and that these keycaps are not all made by the same manufacturer.

For example, the “Macha Mango” set offered by “Artifact Bloom” looks a lot like “Hami Melon” that was offered by Idobao, I think. Does this mean “Artifact Bloom” is Idobao? Hard to tell, because the accent keys currently on sale remind me of some that used to be on sale at KBDFans.

The legends of their 9009-copy set are said to be not as good as EnjoyPBT, so it’s not EPBT making them, at least not under that brand/price-point.

I guess what I’m saying is, “Artifact Bloom” could be a collection of sets from various manufacturers. So it might be safest to only purchase the ones you already have information about. I’d buy the “Vintage” if it came around again, so that I could put my own accents on it.

[They should offer a CMYK kit for their vintage and 9009 sets].

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True, but they do have the Drop Shift keyboard which is an 1800 layout. So there’s a glimmer of hope.

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I’ve been wondering about these - I sure could use some flat PBT spacebars…

What is this - a see-saw for ants?!

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I posted a comment on Drop asking who the manufacturer is. I’m not expecting a response but if I get one I’ll post it here.

I’m wondering if this set is for sale on other websites under a different name.

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@macclack curious about this too bc I tried searching for it on the usual suspect places and while you can find 9009, vintage (grayscale) and Hami Melon like someone mentioned up thread, the Artifact Bloom versions of the rainbow, sunset gradient and the BoW have slightly different legends than what is currently out (like the NPKC sets that Drop ran a while back.) I found a BoW set I’ve been wanting to pick up on Ali but it comes with these odd yellow/orange accents that I’m not really sure I want to pick up.

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Is it this one? If so, I am in the same boat. I could use a decent, cheap PBT BoW set of keycaps, I just wish I didn’t have to order them to find out.

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That’s the one. Preliminary pics and reviews look promising. YMDK has it around $37+tax+ship and with Paypal that brings it to near the Drop/Artifact Bloom price.

Also @4thebirds have you seen this one reminiscent of NK BoW? Just wish the picture showed the mods better.

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Oooh! I hadn’t, thanks so much for the link! Just impulse bought them. I’ll give an update on their quality when they get to me in approx. 800 years.

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RIP GL haha ye come back when you get em. Did you go with NK clone or yellow arrows?

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NK Clones. Their low-res, wide-shot images spoke to my soul and I had no choice in the matter.

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Looks like the vintage set is back.

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@macclack @4thebirds hope you get what you need; i put in for a BoW and Vintage set with yellow arrows. someone on r/mk posted a epbt gok bow + artifact bloom yellow arrows that looked heavy-industryish and i want to try the same.

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Good call on the yellow arrows. I went with blue and aqua accents, as I missed on those when something like that was on KBDFans.

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