Introduction

Fantech is a gaming peripherals brand founded in 2009. It primarily operates out of South East and East Asia. I had coincidentally come across its Taiwan-office when I was in the country most of 2020, but had not really paid much attention to it, as with most people no doubt reading this review. Turns out Fantech decided it was time to take on all other brands globally in 2022, so it reached out to us for a keyboard. A look through its portfolio reveals a mix of aggressive and minimalist designs, as well as both optical and mechanical switch keyboards. The keyboard Fantech recommended is one of its newest, if not the newest, and reminded me of the GMMK PRO enough to agree. Thanks to Fantech for providing TechPowerUp a review sample!


The teaser image from Fantech above should tell you why I thought of the GMMK PRO given the Fantech MAXFIT67—also referred to as the MK858 in some regions—is a 65% form factor keyboard with a dedicated volume knob in the top-right corner. This is a highly popular design in the custom keyboard market with several iterations from various manufacturers. The MAXFIT67 comes in two color options, and I have the black version. Even there do we see different colorways for the keycaps. Fantech is describing this keyboard as its value-oriented offering that does not compromise on features, with hybrid wireless connectivity on top of the usual RGB lighting and hot-swappable switches. Let's dig deeper into the MAXFIT67 in our review which begins with a look at the product specifications in the table below.

Specifications

Packaging and Accessories

Fantech has a relatively large box for this 65% keyboard, which was made all the more obvious next to the smaller packaging for a 75% keyboard that had arrived alongside. This is otherwise a box designed for retail purchases owing to all the Fantech stores in Asia, with the company logo, product name, and render of the lit up keyboard on front. Salient marketing features are found, too, as is the exact switch on this sample, and this continues on the back. There is a very subtle logo on the sides, but of more interest is the double flap that keeps the contents in place during transit. Opening the box, we see the keyboard inside a plastic wrap that keeps it free of dust, as well as cardboard packaging all around for further protection.


A lot of accessories are packed in, including some paperwork under the keyboard, with the rest in a separate compartment at the top, including a welcome note from the Fantech founder and CEO Fandy P., warranty card, and multi-language user manual (online copy here) that is worth going through for the various pre-programmed functions. It also acts as an actual guide and walks you through removing and swapping keycaps and switches, as well as using the keyboard in either wireless connection mode. Fantech also includes the 2.4 GHz USB dongle and handy two-in-one metal wire-style keycap puller and switch remover.


Rounding off the accessories is a detachable black USB Type-A to Type-C cable to match the keyboard, as well as two sets of replacement keycaps. The first is a macOS set for the bottom row in the same gray color scheme as the stock keycaps, and the second set a light orange color for the space bar, Esc, and Enter keys. These are PBT plastic keycaps with dye-sublimed legends, and we will examine them further later on in this review.