Closer Examination

As the name suggests, the Fantech MAXFIT67 is a 67-key US ANSI layout keyboard that adopts the 65% form factor, which means it modifies the alphanumeric section of the keyboard—numbers, alphabet, and surrounding modifiers—to Esc instead of Tilde (~), shorter keys on the right, dedicated arrow keys, and an additional column on the right for three more keys from the Ins-Pg Dn cluster: Del, Pg Up, and Pg Dn. I would have rather seen Del, Home, and End, but pleasing everyone is impossible. Instead of the 68th key usually seen on such 65% keyboards, Fantech has gone with a rotary encoder knob tied to volume control. This knob is made out of aluminium and feels great, with smooth, infinite rotation in either direction and the ability to mute/unmute the system by pushing it down by default.

This black version of the MAXFIT67 keyboard has gray keycaps with black dye-sublimed legends for a two-tone color scheme by default. The case is made out of ABS plastic, which combines with the small form factor to keep things portable and very lightweight. It still feels absolutely fine in use, and I appreciate more thought having been put into the integrated case elevation than is usually the case. Bezels are uniform and averagely sized throughout, with no visible branding aside from the product name on the side facing away from the user. This makes the MAXFIT67 a clean keyboard design, which continues with the keycaps that have secondary legends above the primary ones. All legends are placed on the left and biased towards the top despite these being opaque, though. I would have rather seen larger, centrally placed legends throughout instead of just the modifiers.


Turning the keyboard around, the usual certification sticker is in the middle, as are five textured rubber pads on the top and bottom for friction against the resting surface and to prevent scratches to the case. The case has two sets of feet that can optionally be raised for a total of three elevation steps, which is a lot for a small form factor keyboard. I also like that these feet have rubber pads on the bottom to prevent them from collapsing easily.


Also on the bottom is a cutout for access to a slider switch to turn the keyboard on in wireless mode. This is good as it avoids random key combinations that can be confusing or the total absence of such a switching mechanism altogether, which can result in poor battery life. Simply turn the slider to off when using the keyboard in wired mode or on for Bluetooth 5.0 or 2.4 GHz wireless. This is where the provided USB mini dongle for 2.4 GHz connectivity comes in, and it is pre-paired to the keyboard, making it plug-and-play. The side facing away from the user has another cutout for the expected Type-C port, which is slightly inset, and the provided cable fits in snugly. The cable is the usual 6' in length, sleeved, and has durable connectors on either end. It takes 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 confirms the built-in elevation with the feet collapsed and shows the low-height, contoured Cherry profile keycaps in five rows. The case is high in profile, so the keycaps are not floating with the two-piece case construction here. The provided keycap puller works very well and allows for a closer look at the gray and light orange keycaps from before. These are composed of thick PBT plastic (average wall thickness 1.45 mm) with dye-sublimed black legends that are sharp and uniform. Note the mold marks on the bottom from manufacture. These are opaque keycaps, so any LEDs will only result in side or accent lighting.


There are two switch options with the MAXFIT67: Gateron Milky Yellow and Kailh BOX White. Both are previous-generation switches that have very recently been supplanted by newer versions in the form of the Gateron Pro Yellow 2.0 and Kailh White BOX 2.0. I have the Gateron Milky Yellow switches on this sample, which I have not experienced before, and these are predominantly installed on a south-facing PCB, which means the LEDs are on the bottom rather than the top, and placing the switches accordingly results in higher compatibility with low-profile keycaps, such as the stock Cherry profile keycaps. This is a feature keyboard enthusiasts will appreciate, just like the use of lubed plate-mounted stabilizers. That said, screw-in stabilizers would have been nice, and less pre-applied lube.


As pointed to in the keyboard name, we have hot-swap switch sockets with 5-pin switch compatibility. The included switch remover helps get a closer look at the socket, associated SMD RGB LED, and Gateron Milky Yellow switch. Note that the space bay key has a north-facing LED to make room for that slider switch on the back, but it does not affect keycap compatibility since spacing is large. The Gateron Milky Yellow is similar to the Gateron Yellow switch we saw before, including for the same yellow crosspoint stem seen from the outside. The milky part is the translucent housing given a milky exterior to further diffuse any LED lighting. This is a 3-pin switch, and you can freely swap to a any mechanical switches conforming to the Cherry MX style.


Here is a look at the three light orange keycaps installed on the keyboard for some accents to an otherwise muted colorway. Try them out to see which you prefer, and you can also replace the entire keycap set with your own if you wish to have backlighting or prefer a different design and keycap profile.