Packaging and Closer Examination

If you weren't sure, this is a pre-production sample, perhaps the packaging section combined with the closer examination page will confirm it. The Epomaker B21 review sample shipped in a box that was clearly made for another keyboard from another brand too, so I am not showing it here. It's a really good box, to be fair, and opening it, we see the keyboard right away inside a plastic wrap to keep it clean and free of dust out of the box. The only other accessory comes in the form of a gray USB Type-A to Type-C cable with durable connector housings on either end, which points towards the use of Type-C connectivity on the keyboard itself.


Epomaker states that the B21 is a compact retro keyboard, and the base colors definitely add to that claim. The case also employs glossy ABS plastic, which is one of the main reasons it feels like a cute toy in person just as much as it does in all the promo shots from the company. There are two rotary knobs at the corners with infinite travel, which get a shiny pink finish. The knob on the left does volume control, and surprisingly, the one of the right is dedicated to backlighting brightness control. There are several plastic buttons between these for media playback and Bluetooth client selection, as well as a macOS/Windows toggle buttons since the keyboard supports both operating systems. This top section thus adds functionality based on what Epomaker believes are things most end users would like to have on a wireless mechanical keyboard.

There is no branding in sight when using the keyboard, although the design itself is so unique it might as well be a huge ad in itself. Bezels are large and curved, and this curve is further reflected with the keycaps themselves. Look at the four keycaps on the corners of the keyboard which also get rounded corners to coincide with their individual placement. These keycaps adopt the SA keycap profile otherwise, which also has a larger, more contoured top surface to take this design scheme to eleven. The larger keycap legends on the alphabet keys are another piece of this puzzle, with the use of three colors on this sample being another part of what makes the B21 keyboard a love or hate affair, I imagine.

The actual keyboard form factor is not that unique in itself, although still uncommon compared to the average mechanical keyboard. The Epomaker B21 is a 65% keyboard in a modified US ANSI layout, taking the smaller 60% keyboard we have seen so often this year already and adding dedicated arrow keys as well as Del, End, Pg Up, and Pg Dn. The R. Shift key is shorter to fit these additional eight keys, and the bottom row also misses out on R. Win and Menu in favor of a single, shorter Fn key. Single legend placement is in the center on the top surface of the keycaps, with secondary legends underneath the primary ones as applicable. The modifier keycaps use a mixture of symbols as well as shortened names, and I would have rather seen this be more consistent. Likewise, these are all in small letters, which is a pet peeve of mine but no doubt a deliberate choice.


Flipping the keyboard around, we see a small cutout in the middle that will no doubt host the certification sticker on retail units. Four rubber pads at the corners add friction against the resting surface and prevent scratches to the glossy plastic case. There are no keyboard feet, and the top has a raised section similar to a cylindrical pill instead, which adds elevation to the keyboard. Epomaker says this combination adds the "best ergonomic angle for the best typing angle for the wrists," to which I say there is no such thing as the best angle, so there should have been options for end users to choose from, especially in the absence of a wrist rest on this high-profile case.


On the side facing away from the user is where we find a toggle slider for either wired (USB) or wireless (Bluetooth 5.0) connectivity with the Epomaker B21. There is a further inset Type-C port, which makes it hard to use the keyboard with some aftermarket cables, next to the slider. The provided cable works well enough and is the usual 6' long. It adopts the same gray color on the insulation, similar to the keycaps on the keyboard itself. The cable plugs into an available USB Type-A port on your computer, and USB 2.0 will suffice for power and data alike. Both connectors on the cable are gold-plated for added oxidation resistance.


It's not often that we get something other than the OEM keycap profile on keyboards. Some go with the Cherry profile, which is lower and more subtle with the contouring. Epomaker also favors its own GK1 profile for the PBT keycaps, which makes the SA (Spherical All) profile employed on the Epomaker B21 all the more surprising. Once we take a moment to ponder over it, the SA profile makes a lot of sense, however. The OEM profile, as with most others, has concave top surfaces. The SA profile replaces these with a rounded surfaces of gentle curves matching the curved case, knobs, and buttons up top. The profile also adds a natural segue for those who slide their fingers from key to key. Note, however, that it is one of the tallest in practice, with an aggressive drop on the bottom row. The stock keycaps are quite good, made out of thick PBT plastic (average wall thickness 1.38 mm) and dye-sublimed legends that will not wear out over time or be susceptible to finger oils. These are opaque keycaps across the board, meaning the integrated lighting on the keyboard will be more accentuation than backlighting. I did notice that the Esc keycap had some blemishes on my sample and would definitely want quality control to catch and reject these issues on retail units.


There are three switch options for the Epomaker B21, and all three happen to be Cherry switches in the form of the MX Red, Brown, or Blue switches. I have MX Blue switches on my sample, and these are of the older style with the blue stem between the black top and housing. There is a cutout for north-facing LEDs, which Epomaker has made use of by implementing white LEDs with each switch. The larger keycaps use Cherry-style stabilizers, and these have been lightly lubricated. The stock keycaps do help reduce that mushy feeling somewhat, but it's still a mushy space bar key no matter which way you hit it. Thankfully, the lubrication helps mitigate that rattly feeling with these stabilizers, which makes it better than average, too.