When Mechkeys first reached out about the James Donkey R2, I was initially hesitant since it looked to be quite similar to the RS2 from the same brand we saw before. As it turns out, the newer R2 is best seen as a premium take on the RS2 with quite a few changes inside and out. In fact, James Donkey even tries to market this keyboard under its new Alpha LV sub-brand, almost as if it wants people to consider the R2 as well as the newer R2 Pro (integrated display, an analogous premium version of the RS2 3.0) to be their own products, without any baggage from the James Donkey brand and its keyboards that haven't all been impressive lately. There is only Alpha LV branding on the keyboard, albeit very subtle, and even the software drivers use this name. No matter what you think, the bottom line is the R2 is a really good keyboard which should make many people happy. I also know there have been a lot of smaller form factor keyboards covered here recently, so this should also be a welcome change for those who want a dedicated number pad onboard.

The primary takeaway I had from this keyboard is that it simply makes typing on it pleasant. In a market dominated by overly dampened keyboards these days, the James Donkey R2 uses its all aluminium chassis, soft gaskets, two sheets of foam, and even a tape mod to make for a crisp and responsive typing experience which also sounds great to my ears. Some of this can also be attributed to the custom-made switches which are among the best stock switches I have tried, although it would have been nice to have more switch options. You could also purchase this as a kit and supply your own switches and keycaps but, given the price difference is just $10 between the kit and the pre-assembled version, I suggest going for the full keyboard since the switches are nice and the keycaps match the case quite well. There are at least three colors I can see, including a pink Sakura version and a tamer white/blue offering, so I imagine those who don't want the flashier purple I have here will find something more suitable to their tastes. Having a color coordinated cable is a nice surprise too, especially since it's done tastefully with just the metal housings on either end.

Functionally the James Donkey R2 has all the bells and whistles I see in a lot of $100-120 keyboards today, which is to say it has many features. Hybrid wireless connectivity, hot-swap switches, dampened keystrokes, a gasket mount, dedicated volume wheel, onboard and software customization, among other things. It does things well enough to easily justify the $160 price tag when you realize all those keyboards use a thin ABS plastic chassis which affects the typing sound signature differently. The use of thick CNC machined aluminium alloy is not just for bragging rights thus, although clearly the price increase is for the more expensive materials and processing required. Something like this would have cost twice as much from larger mainstream brands and is even more expensive from boutique brands that rely on the group buy model. It's not for everyone, but with the R2 I am glad to see James Donkey approach the more premium keyboard space.