CORSAIR Arctic White Keycaps

Alongside the K65 RGB MINI, CORSAIR released a new series of replacement PBT doubleshot keycap sets. CORSAIR sent me one of each set, but they arrived after the K65 RGB MINI embargo was up, meaning we had to wait until the review of the K70 TKL to see the first of these (Mint Green) covered there. I thought of doing another of the uncommon colors, but the black K60 RGB PRO keyboard with the white Cherry VIOLA switches made me go with the Arctic White set instead. Packaging is similar to the keyboard, with a plastic wrap, but then we see a predominantly black front that got me all excited until I turned things around and saw the same ugly yellow retained that I will not stop giving CORSAIR a hard time about. These keycaps are officially referred to as the PRO versions to distinguish these from the previous set, and we see a seal on the top and bottom, of which you need to remove at least one to access the contents inside.


Opening the box, we see the keycaps packed in separate plastic layers with paperwork on top. The paperwork is barely needed, with the standard warranty policy and a summary of the keycaps included, which can serve as a guide for what goes where.


More interesting is that the keycaps come in three plastic blister packs the stock keycaps may be put into for storage. This is a better solution than the vacuum-sealed plastic pouches that are single-use only. As seen above, CORSAIR also throws in a baggie of silicone O-rings. At this time, CORSAIR has the keycap sets in US ANSI and UK ISO layouts. I have the former here, with 104 keycaps—no extra novelty keycaps are included. What we do get bundled in, however, is a color-coordinated plastic ring-style keycap puller. While cute, I would much rather see a metal wire puller included instead, especially since the plastic pullers are thrown in with most CORSAIR mechanical keyboards anyway. We also get 104 silicone O-rings which can be added to the keycap slider for downstroke noise dampening. Note that O-rings will also cut down the travel distance. These look to be 40A thick with an average thickness of 2.5 mm, and are translucent to reduce blocking of light through the keycaps. The Arctic White set makes for a classic color scheme of white keycaps to add on keyboards, with the doubleshot injected legends looking fairly good, too. These are thick PBT keycaps with an average wall thickness of 1.45 mm and will hold up nicely over time while of course being backlighting compatible as expected.


Using the included keycap puller works fine in a pinch, but I definitely do not like the risk of scratching the sides of these keycaps purchased purely for aesthetics. I switched over to my metal wire puller almost immediately and quickly tested an O-ring on a keycap to ensure it works. I personally do not like the typing experience with O-rings, which usually results in mushier feedback, and would rather have quieter switches with well-lubed stabilizers and good keycaps. Either way, since I have the UK layout of the keyboard and US version of the replacement keycaps, I chose to go with a two-tone composition to have a black and white mix which also does double duty in comparing the two sets easily. A look from the side confirms these are taller in profile, not being cut-down in height as the stock ABS keycaps which are also thinner to begin with. The keycaps also use the same OEM profile, so the contoured rows are the same when it comes to going from one row to another.