Closer Examination

The kit shipping with the keycaps separately makes this a bit weird, as it has me add the keycaps later. But in the meantime, the NINJA87BT being an 87-key ANSI layout keyboard with standard key spacing all around is indeed obvious. I have the Gateron Yellow switches on my sample, 87 of them at that. The keyboard is using a two-piece ABS plastic case with lid sections cordoning off the various segments of the keyboard, including the Fn key row at the top. Bezels are about average in size, and we see two indicator LEDs above the Ins-Pg Dn keys for Caps Lock and Scroll Lock. There is no visible branding either, so the basis for a very clean-looking keyboard once the keycaps have been put on is present.


Flipping the keyboard around, we see the usual certification sticker in the middle. Four long rubber pads on the corners keep the keyboard from sliding around on the desk, and there are two sets of feet at the top that can be raised for optional elevation steps beyond the one provided by the case itself. These feet also have rubber pads on the bottom, which will help further with not having them slip back down under pressure.


There is no internal battery, which explains the relatively low weight. Instead, Monstargear has a slot for two AA batteries with a cover on top. Batteries are not provided; thus, it is up to the end user to provide them. I recommend using rechargeable batteries, and battery life is as such contingent on which batteries you use, with the company rating battery life at up to 300 hours with some. There is a slider switch to toggle Bluetooth mode on, and we have an inset USB Type-C port with three cable-routing channels for wired connectivity as seen above. You will need a spare USB Type-A port on your PC, and USB 2.0 will suffice for power and data alike.


Three switch options are currently available with the NINJA87BT, and all three are quite uncommon as they are the Gateron Yellow and Cherry MX Black for linear feedback and Gateron Brown for tactile feedback. I have the Gateron Yellow switches onboard, which I chose based on my positive experience with them before. Of note are also the south-facing switches. That's right, the NINJA87BT has south-facing switch sockets with the LED at the bottom. This allows for full compatibility with all keycap profiles, including thick PBT Cherry profile ones, but does mean that backlit keycaps designed with legends at the top for north-facing LEDs may not be uniformly lit. The larger keycaps use a Cherry-style plate-mount stabilizer, which does feel like a homage rather than the real deal, but still makes for that mushy typing experience associated with these. The stabilizers are generally lubed fairly well, although Enter and R.Shift stabilizers have more than needed, or appropriate. The lubrication combined with the thicker PBT keycaps should help mitigate some of that mushiness, but go ahead and wipe off some of that excess lube and see if that improves things.


As mentioned before, the Monstargear NINJA87BT supports hot-swappable switches, and the included switch puller nicely removed one for a closer look, as well as the 5-pin switch socket along with the SMD RGB LED for backlighting. This means the keyboard is compatible with both 3-pin and 5-pin Cherry MX-style mechanical switches, making for an extremely customizable keyboard. Seen above are one each of the provided example TTC and Durock switches installed, but note that the Durock Sunflower has slots for switch-mounted LEDs. The Gateron yellow is characterized by its yellow cross-point stem, making it compatible with the vast majority of aftermarket keycaps as well. It is a 3-pin mechanical switch, has a translucent top with a hole to accommodate backlighting, and an opaque base housing the actuation mechanism.


Here we are then with the keycaps installed, and I have to say that this black-on-white keycap set on the NINJA87BT makes it one of the best-looking keyboards in my opinion—all thanks to minimalism. White keycaps often get paired with white case keyboards, and the NINJA87BT has a nice balance of contrast and quality. The quality comes in the form of the thick PBT plastic with dye-sublimed legends, which make for long-lasting keycaps as well. The legends are biased towards the top left, with secondary legends above the primary ones and modifiers spelled out as much as possible even with the symbols that are employed. This particular set came with CODE instead of Windows, and Fn instead of Menu (or R. Windows, depending on how you go about it). The included keycap puller also works nicely for changing them around, especially if you want to try out different typing layouts. These are not backlit, so the LEDs aboard will only make for accent lighting.


From the side, we see that this particular keycap set also uses the Cherry profile, which differentiates it from the other PBT doubleshot set in gray with the OEM profile. These are thus lower in height and not sculpted as much either. It's not my favorite profile to type on, but does help keep overall keyboard height lower as well. Also seen alongside is the plastic dust cover now that the actual keycaps are installed.