Mistel saw there was a market for custom keycaps and invested heavily in making its own molds for high-quality doubleshot PBT keycaps in different colors. These debuted with the X-VIII full-size keyboard, which starts at the same price point and offers additional Bluetooth connectivity for $10 more, and a full-size keyboard is also a safer option for the mainstream market. At least as long as you don't care about RGB since there was no lighting, which is also the case with the Q75 that in many ways addresses some of my issues with the X-VIII.

I wanted 2.4 GHz wireless connectivity over Bluetooth, especially since larger keyboards are not very portable and folks are just going to use it on a desk connected to a PC anyway, noise-dampening foam to address the pings and reverberations from typing in this particular combination of a high-profile ABS case and steel plate, and a wrist-rest support option for those who don't touch type with hands hovering over the keys, especially given the higher profile case. Mistel has addressed all three of these with the Q75, including with the bundled wrist rest that was a surprise, and the 75% form factor makes for a more space-efficient ergonomic solution that positively adds to the preprogrammed QWERTY, Dvorak, and Colemak layouts and various other configurations, layers, and even macro recording options.

It's a shame then that there are negatives, and for many of these, it's Mistel getting close but not executing it well enough. The routing channels for the keyboard cable are a great example as they are too close to the Type-C port, and the cable housing is so long it's impossible to take a sharp right turn either way to access them instead of going with an ugly loop as seen on page three. The lack of software drivers will also limit exactly how much customization the average end user will implement, although I do appreciate that everything is saved onboard the product. The stabilizers are lubed, but not uniformly, so enthusiasts will likely re-lube anyway. I would have also liked to see hot-swap switch sockets, but one thing at a time. I hope Mistel addresses the finish issues for the second batch, if only with a better cleaning job removing excess plastic on the keycaps and case. While I am at it, I still think Mistel would be better served adopting less-expensive, arguably better switches from the likes of Kailh and Gateron, with the Cherry name now only doing so much in this space. At $119, this is an acquired buy in its current state, but one that will certainly last the test of time owing to great build quality.