I know I have brought up Input Club twice already, but bear with me a third time. The Drop CTRL and Hexgears Gemini I've compared this to over the course of the review both are variants of the (Mass)Drop x Input Club K-Type that was an inspiration and a half to many keyboards adopting the design language with a low-profile aluminium frame/case that also has the plastic diffuser in the middle for side lighting accents. The Drop CTRL might as well be considered the direct replacement to the K-Type, with several quality of life improvements, including hot-swappable switches, 32 added LEDs for actual side lighting, and more switch/case/parts options, all while retaining availability of the Halo switches. At $200, it is similarly priced out of reach for many wallets, yet feels like it's not doing enough for more custom keyboard enthusiasts at the same time.

The Cherry MX premium aside, you can quite often get the Drop CTRL for $179. In fact, as I write this, there is a "Back to School" sale ongoing at Drop which has the keyboard available for $179. This certainly helps, as the Hexgears Gemini comparison again enters the picture here. That keyboard currently costs $160, has a very similar feature set and design, and is also available in two colors. Both of these are relatively old releases, yet somehow have managed to come out looking weak when it comes to their updated configurator support. Drop ends up doing most things better, however, including in terms of available options in their custom configurator and taking the open-source design further by retaining a parts inventory to make the Drop CTRL far more personal. For $20 more, I'd definitely take this over the Hexgears Gemini.

My issue is that these two alone don't exist in a vacuum anymore. Be it $179/$204 or $200/$225, the Drop CTRL is harder to justify in 2021 since a lot of the features are found elsewhere for less money spent. The first-party QMK support for it is lacking now and needs to be improved, or at least updated. There are very few users who will go the extra mile to use QMK/VIA and other open-source firmware solutions by themselves, instead relying on other options from the community or the company. The Drop CTRL does distinguish itself from the pack by doing most things better, and customers no doubt are also paying for the increased hardware support. It is the software and pricing that make it hard to wholly recommend despite there being a lot of things I like about the DROP CTRL. Sure, I would have also liked to see screw-in stabilizers and south-facing LEDs, but it's harder to complain about features not present in a design that was pretty much finalized three years ago. I suppose that the Drop CTRL is still in discussions today is a positive testament to its longevity, and it being in stock always certainly helps, too. Now, if you happen to see it for closer to $150, things would be much different. It competing in the ever-growing mechanical keyboard market will get progressively harder at MSRP, or even with the occasional discounts it gets.