Closer Examination

The darkFlash GD100 is a 95% form factor keyboard, meaning it has roughly 95% the number of keys that a full-size keyboard has. It is only available in the US ANSI layout and has 100 keys in total to where the keys you are missing here are Insert, Home, End, and Menu—not the end of the world. The rest are placed together in a single bank of keys which may feel slightly claustrophobic but ends up saving you a good amount of space compared to a traditional full-size keyboard, with the minimal bezels helping further. Some of the keycaps are shorter than usual as a result of the form factor and Page Up/Page Down/Delete being together might take some getting used to but otherwise everything is where you expect it to be. This is the "Brown Sugar" version of the GD100 although there is nothing which immediately shouts brown sugar to me, maybe the orange accent keycaps can be visualized as the brown sugar bubbles in the sea of black and gray around? Either way, we have a two-tone keycap set here with four accent keycaps and the legends are all placed in the middle of the keycaps. The lack of any backlighting here means darkFlash did not have to worry about how evenly backlit these legends would be—they are opaque anyway. The general secondary legends are placed above the primary ones and the keyboard-specific legends on the Fn key row are seen below the primary legends. The keycap legends are clean and large enough to not pose any challenge when using the keyboard.


Turning the keyboard around, we see more of the black ABS plastic case used here. There's the usual certification sticker in the middle which confirms the use of USB 2.0 for the wired connection protocol. There are four rubber pads at the corners to help add friction against the resting surface. darkFlash also provides two sets of keyboard feet at the top, each with rubber bottoms, for a total of three elevation steps to choose from.


The darkFlash GD100 features 2.4 GHz wireless connectivity too and this comes via a stealthily hidden low profile USB dongle placed underneath the keyboard feet on the left at the back. There is a magnet to help secure it there, thus making for an excellent storage place when you don't need it. A handy on/off switch is also available on the back as opposed to using keyboard shortcuts and then we see darkFlash has placed the indicator lights on the front of the keyboard below the space bar key where we also get a battery level and charging indicator. Wired connectivity comes via a USB Type-C connector on the back right facing away from the user. It is slightly inset but there is plenty of room if someone wants to use an aftermarket cable—unlikely given the target audience and the price point of this keyboard, but still nice to have the option. The provided cable is black in color, the usual 6' in length, and goes to an available USB Type-A port on your PC where USB 2.0 will suffice for power and data alike.


A look from the side shows the built-in elevation of the keyboard, which I would classify as medium-high profile and can maybe benefit from a wrist rest if you are not used to touch typing with hands hovering over the keys at all times. The side view also confirms the use of what looks to be an OEM keycap profile but with a spherical profile-style top surface which has the six rows sculpted and contoured accordingly, and they are non-floating in design courtesy the taller case design. The provided keycap puller helps with a better look at the keycaps wherein we see these are made of thick PBT plastic with doubleshot-injected legends for the primary and general secondary legends, but not the keyboard-specific legends on the Fn key row which appear laser etched. This means that these layered functions, which are easier to identify thanks to these keycap legends, would be best retained to memory sooner than later since those particular legends can wear out over time. The keycaps are entirely opaque too although it's not a big deal on this keyboard which does not have any LEDs for backlighting anyway.


One of the ways darkFlash keeps the cost low on this keyboard is by going with unbranded mechanical switches. There are two such switches to choose from which are simply titled "Blue" and "Yellow" with the former being a tactile/clicky switch and the latter being a linear switch. I have the Yellow switches on this review sample which looks to be an RGB switch given the clear top. The switches are installed in a typical north-facing configuration, meaning some lower profile aftermarket keycap sets may not work out as well as most others. The steel plate used here has been given a white powdercoated finish and the larger keycaps use plate mounted stabilizers which do not seem lubed whatsoever and feel somewhat scratchy and mushy when typed upon.


darkFlash promised hot-swappable switches on this budget keyboard and it delivers! The switch remover tool is handy to remove the switches off the PCB and to also provide a good look at the hot-swap socket with support for 3-pin Cherry MX-style switches to be used on the keyboard easily. There are no LEDs to be seen and we do not have support for 5-pin switches either in case that is a deal breaker for some. The Yellow switch used here is a 3-pin linear switch characterized by its yellow cross-point stem. It also has a transparent top housing to aid with backlighting—had the keyboard supported it—and an opaque white bottom housing.


Here is a look at the darkFlash GD100 with the replacement keycaps installed. These take the place of the orange accent keycaps and now we end up with an arguably cleaner but slightly boring two-tone color scheme—you can choose what you prefer more.