Closer Examination

The Ultimate Hacking Keyboard (UHK) is fairly customizable at the time of purchase, and the version I went with for the review sample has a navy blue plastic case. The other options are black, white, dark red, and orange, and the navy blue looks really nice in my opinion. For those who somehow missed it until now, the UHK is a split keyboard employing a 60% form factor and comes with the two halves connected out of the box. Indeed, you do not have to use it as a split keyboard at all if you so desire, with pin connectors providing power and data from the right to the left half.

There are minimal bezels on the sides, except for the angular top on the left half which houses a display to indicate which layer is active. The right half has a symmetrical case design where even though it may seem as form over function, it is also the housing for the bridge cable connector. The keyboard is available in the ANSI or ISO layout, but both adopt the same Enter key design on purpose. There are obviously fewer discrete keys on this 60% form factor keyboard, with the obvious emission being the Fn row, the arrow key cluster, and the numpad compared to a full-size keyboard. Secondary legends on the keycaps are placed above the primary ones, and there are more layered functions as applicable, which are placed on the front of the keycaps as seen above. Two switches at the bottom, near the middle, are akin to mice switches and programmed for functions we will get to in due time.


Flipping the keyboard around, we see the magnets in the middle that help align the pieces when not using the two halves separately. There are also labels with more information, including a reminder about the excellent interactive user guide on the UHK website. Small rubber pieces along the edge help protect the underside from scratches and add friction against the resting surface, as well as access to the reset switch, which also comes marked. There are sets of sized holes, which is where the provided feet sets come into play and thread into place when in use. Depending on how you want the keyboard to be (tilted, raised, positive or negative tenting, etc.), align the holes in the case with the holes in the base of the feet and screw them in. The feet then simply get pushed into the holes until they click in place, which is not the most elegant solution, but works fine. You do need a precision Phillips screwdriver for this, however.


For those who opt to get the palm rest accessory, they get screwed into place similarly on the back. The steel plate on each of the palm rests also has the same hole positions to allow for the feet to be installed with these, and this is the ideal way to type on the UHK.


Each keyboard half has connectors for the bridge cable jacks along the front, at the top bezel, and the right half also has an inset mini USB port with built-in cable-routing options for the short 90° turnaround. The route further away from the port fits the provided cable better, with the closer one being narrower for an aftermarket cable that is smaller in diameter. The cables connected allow for the UHK to be used as a split keyboard, with the coiled bridge cable also allowing for some options in terms of how far you want the two halves to be for better ergonomics. The USB cable goes to an available USB Type A port on your computer, and USB 2.0 will suffice for power and data. Indeed, you can even use the right half by itself if you so desire, but the left half depends on the right half for functionality.


The UHK uses the tried and tested OEM profile with the keycaps. It consists of the usual slanted rows and concave surfaces on top, but the keycaps themselves are not traditional in size owing to the split and 60% form factor. The stock keycaps are average at best, with thin ABS construction and laser etched legends. UHK says they would like to offer PBT keycaps, which will not be easy given the 2-3 sets of legends to be printed on to the keycaps. There is no backlighting on the keyboard, so the keycaps are not translucent, either. For those wanting to find replacement keycaps, there is a handy size layout chart here.


UHK clearly preferred Kailh as a first option for switches, offering their take of the Red, Brown, Blue, and Black switches over Cherry owing to a lower cost and ease of a working relationship as a smaller entity when it comes to available stock of switch inventory. In addition to these four switches, you can get the Cherry MX Clear or Green switches for those wanting stiffer tactile or tactile and clicky switches respectively. Kailh now has versions analogous to those, but the Cherry MX Clear remains one of my favorite switches to type on, and it is what I chose for the review sample as well. There are not many large keycaps here, but those larger than 1.5u adopt a Cherry style stabilizer as seen above.