Closer Examination

As the name suggests, the Endorfy Thock TKL Wireless is a TKL form factor keyboard in that it's effectively losing out on the numberpad (more than 10 keys, but you get the point) section of a full-size keyboard. I have the US ANSI version here with its standard 87 keys placed as expected for anyone who's used this form factor or larger. The keyboard itself helps save on desk space by cutting down on the side bezels and the bottom bezel is further angled to minimize its footprint. This is a typical black-colored keyboard with lighter legends for contrast and is on the cleaner side with branding in the form of the Endorfy logo in black above the arrow keys. Here is also where we find the indicator LEDs to make good use of the available space. The keycaps use what the company calls its own exclusive Endorfy font for the legends although it looks quite similar to the seamed doubleshot injected legends I've seen on keyboards before. Indeed, I would have rather seen the newer seamless legends used. The keycap legends are placed in the top middle to take advantage of the north-facing LEDs underneath, including with the general secondary legends alongside. The keyboard-specific legends are located underneath and may not be backlit as well. There are also some front-facing legends of a few keycaps as seen above.


Turning the keyboard around shows Endorfy went with a business in the front, party in the back approach with lots of triangles and a generally more aggressive design on the ABS plastic panel. There's also the usual certification label in the middle, albeit placed as a trapezoid to match the design here. There are five rubber pads at the top and bottom to help add friction against the desk and Endorfy has two sets of keyboard feet at the top—both with their own rubber pads on the bottom—to allow for three elevation steps to choose from.


Also present on the back is the low profile USB dongle for 2.4 GHz connectivity, which is held in place magnetically for easy storage when not in use. We also get a plastic ring-style keycap puller here that makes for an extra accessory even if I personally prefer the metal wire-style pullers since they don't have the potential to scratch the sides of keycaps in use and are overall easier to use. There is a dedicated switch on the side by the right to allow the end user to choose between wireless and wired modes, and this also acts as an on/off switch for the keyboard to help preserve battery life. Wired connectivity is catered to via a highly inset USB Type-C port with a very specific housing around it to where only the stock cable will fit in and even here it takes some effort to properly align and then push it all the way in. This means there's no compatibility with aftermarket cables, although you do get three cable routing channels to help direct the 6' long black sleeved cable in the direction closest to your PC where USB 3.2 Gen 1 (USB 3.0) or better is recommended for power and data alike.


A look from the side shows the built-in elevation of the keyboard, which I would classify as low-medium profile in the absence of a top case panel. This also results in floating keycaps that are easy to remove to replace and/or clean, which is good because I don't like the plastic ring-style puller for reasons aforementioned. Endorfy is using the popular OEM keycap profile here making it easy to get used to the Thock TKL Wireless from other such mechanical keyboards. The keycaps themselves are composed of thick PBT plastic (average wall thickness 1.3 mm) with doubleshot-injected legends that should last the test of time while also being backlighting-compatible, although the front-facing legends appear to be pad printed on. It shouldn't matter for longevity since you won't be placing your fingers there anyway, but they are opaque as seen above.


There are two switch options for the Endorfy Thock TKL Wireless in the form of Kailh's BOX Red and Black linear switches. This means no tactile or clicky switches available here and these also happen to be the older BOX switches covered here as opposed to the newer BOX V2 switches, although I am not sure there's a BOX V2 Black just yet. It comes with Kailh branding on the top for confirmation and the larger keycaps get plate mounted stabilizers that are factory lubed to a decent standard, which should help cut down the potential mushy feedback on the space bar key in particular.


The provided switch remover tool allows for easier removal of the switches to take a closer look at both the Kailh BOX Black switch as well as the 5-pin switch socket that allows for customers to go with their own Cherry MX-style mechanical switches here should these not be to their desire. The Kailh BOX Black are 3-pin RGB switches with a translucent clear top and opaque white housing in addition to a black-colored stem to match the name as well as the black columns around the stem for added dust and spill resistance. Examining the hot-swap switch socket also reveals north-facing SMD RGB LEDs associated with each switch, which makes the choice of the keycap legends at the top more logical.