If not evident already, I am grasping at straws in the cons list above. The Mistel X-VIII is a relatively basic keyboard compared to the Mistel Barocco split keyboards, which is more a testament to the company's forte in making ergonomic, split keyboards. Those all cost more though, and the X-VIII is in fact their least expensive keyboard yet. So anyone wondering about the inverse relationship between keyboard size/form factor and cost, Mistel keyboards are an excellent dataset. I do understand why the company finally made a full-size keyboard—it is the best way to also show off the first-party keycaps Mistel has spent a lot of resources on. The X-VIII is a vehicle for these keycaps more than anything else, and expect to see more of those keycaps in future Mistel keyboards.

It's a good thing, too, since these keycaps are really nice. I like the chosen colors, and the injection quality and QA processes are very good. We get seamless doubleshot injection in bold, vivid colors and construction that reminds me of Signature Plastics keycap sets. The legends are also uniformly applied throughout with no smudges to be seen anywhere. Mistel says there are plans to make a lot of keycap sets to go with different themes, with two themes for the X-VIII in addition to the third, limited edition I wish I had here instead because it does look quite different from the norm. I only wish they supported backlighting, and perhaps Mistel can do it on keyboards with RGB lighting if user feedback says as much. Not that the X-VIII is losing on much without backlighting support on the keycaps, however, since the only LEDs here are indicator ones.

That actually brings me to the biggest gripe I have with this unit since the X-VIII wired model shares so much with the BT models, down to the case and PCB. For $10 on top, you get most of the design here, and I think it makes sense to pay the extra even if you are not going to carry this full-size unit around. This wired version does seem like the barely loved stepchild of sorts, although Mistel does throw in some goodies that make the whole experience nice. These come in the form of physical things, such as that grenade-shaped keychain, but also pre-programmed functions to enhance the user experience. The dip switches on the back add to this as well, and on-the-fly macro recording helps further. I would have liked to see more switch options, and perhaps the adoption of Kailh or Gateron switches instead of Cherry would have helped put the savings towards lowering the price further, but even at $109, the X-VIII is a really nice keyboard that will essentially last forever.