Replacement Keycap Set

The PBT replacement keycap set comes in either a white or black color scheme, with the white version sent my way along with the K68 RGB. Packaging is similar to the keyboard in that there is a plastic wrap, the cardboard has a black and yellow color scheme, and there is a useful illustration for the keycaps in the popular US ANSI layout in case you were not sure what keycap goes where. On the back are technical and marketing features, including a cutout showing the dual injection molding process used here to ensure a long-lasting product where the legends will wear out at the same rate as the keycap itself - very, very slowly.


No seals on the packaging, and instead, a large double flap in the center is used to keep the contents secure. Opening the box, we see that CORSAIR has packaged the keycaps very well by even including a foam sheet for a layer of protection from the top. A quick-start manual and warranty guide are accessories to this accessory, and the keycaps themselves are contained in foam sheets as well, with cutouts on either side to help remove them.


There are two separate sets of keycaps, and each keycap is held inside a shaped, cut foam compartment in a thick foam sheet, which is great to see. The first set contains the function-key row and alphanumeric section with modifiers, and the second set contains the arrow-key cluster column and Numpad section, along with other keycaps that are used for keyboards supporting other languages. This means the replacement set is a one size fits all universal solution for CORSAIR keyboards, which helps them and their retail channels keep track of fewer SKUs along the way. There is also a keycap puller included here should your keyboard not have come with one, case in point being this very K68 RGB we are reviewing right now. However, this is also my first complaint about the product - for a replacement keycap set for $50, this should have been a wire-style keycap puller instead of a color-coordinated plastic ring keycap puller that can potentially scratch the sides of the keycaps as you remove them.


The keycaps themselves are excellent in construction with thick PBT plastic (average wall thickness 1.41 mm) and doubleshot injection legends as mentioned before. The PBT plastic comes with its natural textured finish on top of each keycaps' surface, providing more grip and a different typing experience in addition to the thicker, heavier nature compared to the stock keycaps out of thin ABS plastic. Other changes include the positioning of secondary legends next to the primary legends even on 1u size keycaps, with both towards the top to take advantage of the LED located below that point for their keyboards. However, the font size for single legend keycaps has increased even more to where it looks bad to me. In particular, the single legend 1u keycaps are limited to three characters only, which means Home is now HME, for example. By not having legends printed below one another, Caps Lock is now just Caps, which is another case that is not to my liking. While a matter of preference, I wanted our readers to be aware of these differences.

At the same time, major credit must be given to CORSAIR for working on a mold that allows seamless doubleshot injection without the solid bars Ducky puts underneath. To the best of my knowledge, these are the only keycaps of their sort to date, and Corsair has just confirmed their novel development, which undoubtedly must have taken time and a lot of resources. Perhaps this new process had a limitation in terms of being able to print more than three characters on a 1u keycap, but regardless, this means no breaks in looped characters and more uniform backlighting as well.


Here is a look at the keycaps installed on the K68 RGB keyboard. It takes less than 10 minutes to swap over, and I truly believe it enhances the user experience for the better, especially if you are not the type to replace a keyboard every year or two. The white keycaps on the black plastic case are a nice contrast, and you can also mix and match with the stock keycaps to go with a monochrome color scheme if you so desire.