Closer Examination

The James Donkey RS2 is an interesting take on a compact full-size keyboard, with the norm being the 1800 or 96% form factors for those who still want a dedicated number pad. Instead, we get 99 keys here and the best way to describe it would be a modified 1800 form factor with extra keys above the arrow key cluster and going around over the number pad too. Compared to the standard 104 keys on the US ANSI layout adopted here, there are no Ins, Home, End, Pg Up, Pg Dn, and Menu keys and we get a bonus dedicated Calculator key to make for the missing net five-but-really-six keys here. The right side of the alphanumeric section is also truncated similar to typical such keyboard designs, so that will be something to note for aftermarket keycap compatibility. But really the two-tone sandstone retro color scheme going on here is a big factor in whether you will purchase it or not. Branding at least is fairly subtle with the logo on the front side facing you.

Bezels are slightly larger than average but uniform throughout, and there is also a volume wheel on the top right corner that gets an aluminium ring with a knurled finish. It weirdly is the more premium feeling thing on this keyboard, which is hilariously light for the footprint it occupies. Indicator LEDs are cleverly placed in the space above the arrow keys and there's enough going on here to already interest people wanting a slightly smaller full-size keyboard. I also appreciate that Del gets preserved here where you typically expect to see it too, but I would much rather have seen Home or End rather than Scroll Lock and the Calc button. The numpad has secondary legends underneath the primary ones, and the alphanumeric section instead goes with them alongside at the expense of a smaller font size. This does allow for keyboard-specific functions to be placed underneath, but overall there remains inconsistency with the legend design. Take the Shift keys, for example, where the symbol comes before the word as opposed to on the Tab and Enter modifiers where it is the other way round. There not being any backlighting means you will spend more time staring at these keycaps and notice the various tiny things to bug you.


Turning the keyboard around, we see the usual certification badge in the middle of the ABS/PC two-tone case. James Donkey is employing also a two-piece case design here; no aluminium frames going around with an FR4 composite used instead. There are five color-coordinated rubber pads at the top and bottom to prevent the keyboard from sliding around on your desk, and two sets of keyboard feet at the top provide for a total of three elevation options. These feet also come with rubber pads and work well in practice.


A cutout on the back also hosts the low profile USB dongle pre-paired with the keyboard for 2.4 GHz connectivity, and there are magnets inside the chassis to help keep it there. I/O controls are on the back side facing away from the user, including a dedicated switch to push in for wireless connections (Bluetooth or 2.4 GHz) and out for USB. It appears to be simply a switch that allows power from the internal battery, but does the job just fine that way. Alongside is the expected Type-C port for the wired connection, and the provided cable fits snugly. Note the right-angled housing here though—it makes for the cable to meld better with the keyboard but ends up also making the relatively shorter 5' cable even shorter in terms of how much room is left to go to the PC itself. The cable eventually goes to 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 shows the built-in elevation of the keyboard, which I would classify as a medium to high profile and can benefit from a wrist rest if you are not used to touch typing with hands hovering over the keys at all times. The side view also confirms the use of an OEM keycap profile with the six rows sculpted and contoured accordingly, and they are non-floating in design courtesy the two-piece case design. The provided keycap puller works well enough if you have nothing else around, but I highly recommend grabbing a metal wire keycap puller to allow for easy removal of multiple keycaps in a row and also to prevent scratching the sides of keycaps in use as this one can do. Removing some keycaps shows these are two-tone thick PBT plastic (average wall thickness 1.35 mm) with doubleshot injected legends throughout, which is good for longevity and won't develop a shine from finger oils over time. The seam-less loops in the legends here comes via the Ducky-style of doubleshot injection with the bars seen underneath, but that doesn't really impact backlighting here given the keycaps are opaque anyway. As such, the LEDs will mostly be for accent lighting only.


The pre-assembled version of the James Donkey RS2 comes in two switch options—Gateron Brown or Gateron Red in the newer G Pro versions. Both are the RGB versions with a clear housing, and I have the former here used in a north-facing configuration where it counts. Note also the symbols tied to each key printed on the PCB underneath the switch itself that is very handy for those using the kit version of the keyboard. The larger keycaps use plate mounted stabilizers which unfortunately feel quite cheap and do not come lubed either to make it feel worse.


The switch remover tool is handy to remove the hot-swappable switches off the PCB, such as the single Gateron G Pro Brown switch seen above. It also provides a good look at the hot-swap socket complete with the SMD LED here, allowing for 3/5-pin Cherry MX-style switches to be used on the keyboard easily. The Gateron G Pro Brown switch itself is characterized by the brown-colored cross-point stem, and is visually similar to the older style switch that came about when everyone was just aiming to clone the Cherry MX switches. These newer ones have updated molding and are pre-lubed at the factory, both of which should assist in the typing experience.