Closer Examination

Redragon has shifted tremendously from the design language of the K596 Vishnu with the K552 Kumara. Both are TKL keyboards using the US ANSI layout, but the former aimed to appeal to those wanting more. In contrast, the K552 cuts things down so much that we are left with a TKL keyboard that is barely bigger than some 65% keyboards. This means the K552 takes up less room in all three dimensions than the K596 and most TKL keyboards on the market. Much of this can be attributed to the case design of a single-piece plastic case and an inset metal frame/plate. Bezels might as well be non-existent thus, with only a small section rising up from the plate to allow the case to cover it on all sides. Gone are the indicator LEDs in their usual spot too, having instead been relegated to above the arrow keys.

There is a fairly large and red Redragon logo here too, which can be a bit obnoxious on this otherwise minimalist design that uses a black color scheme for the case, plate, and the keycaps with white legends that are mostly doubleshot injected in the "old-school" seamed manner. There are a few keyboard-specific secondary legends which end up laser-etched and underneath the primary ones. This means the general secondary legends are alongside the primary ones, and single-legend placement is in the top center of the keycaps. All of this points towards the adoption of the common north-facing LEDs, and the typeface comes off as somewhat gamery and is seamed doubleshot injected, so I would not say these are the cleanest-looking ever.


Flipping the keyboard around, we see the usual certification sticker in the middle. Two oval rubber pads on the bottom corners keep the keyboard from sliding around on the desk, as do the two feet at the top with a rubberized bottom and contact surface acting as two more rubber pads whether the feet are raised or not. Remind me to give mainstream keyboards a harder time when they try to get away with bare plastic feet in the future!


The cable is attached and black to match the rest of the keyboard. Don't expect any fancy sleeving or braiding. You get the basic insulation, and I expected nothing more either considering the whole point of the keyboard is to be a budget offering. It is the usual 6' long and goes to an available USB Type-A port on your computer, where USB 3.2 Gen 1 is recommended, although USB 2.0 will suffice. The connector is gold-plated for oxidation resistance, which is another neat touch many more expensive keyboards don't bother with.


The keycaps have an OEM profile, and the various rows are thus sculpted accordingly. They are not floating owing to the higher-profile plastic case, and the included keycap puller is among the worst to use. The arms on the puller just are not wide enough for many of the keycaps, and even when I was able to remove keycaps, it left a telltale sign since the puller touched the sides. I quickly switched to my metal wire puller instead, and we find out that the stock keycaps are fairly good, using thick PBT plastic (average wall thickness 1.32 mm) with doubleshot injected primary and secondary legends that are associated with the US ANSI layout. The PBT is quite textured—smooth is not an adjective I would use here. The doubleshot injected legends are backlighting compatible, although the keyboard-specific legends are laser-etched, which will have them wear out sooner than the rest of the keycap, and also opaque, which makes things worse.


The Redragon K552 only comes in a single switch option, the Outemu Red. These are Redragon-branded and have the name printed on them as seen above. These switches are identical to those we saw on the Redragon K596, with walls on the side that make these the "Dust-Proof Red" switches, which is marketed on the packaging and quite optimistic. The larger keycaps use a Cherry-style stabilizer, which does feels like a homage rather than the real deal, but still makes for the mushy typing experience associated with these. The stabilizers are not lubed either, so don't go in expecting great typing sound and feedback.


The Redragon K552 does not support hot-swappable switches despite what the Redragon shop product page currently states. These are soldered in place, one of the ways the company has saved on manufacturing costs compared to its K596 Vishnu keyboard. That one incidentally does have hot-swappable switches and comes with the same switch too, so seen above is the Outemu Red by itself. This is an RGB-compatible 3-pin mechanical switch with a transparent top and opaque bottom housing, with a cutout and small diffuser for SMD LEDs underneath to shine light through and upward.