Introduction

Vortexgear, or simply Vortex as more popularly referred to in the enthusiast keyboard community, is a brand we have covered before, and each time has been with a different form factor. Be it the 40% CORE,75% Race 3, or long 78% ViBE, the company has never failed to interest those who wanted something other than the norm of full-size or TKL form factor keyboards. However, Vortex is perhaps best known for their 60% Poker series of keyboards developed in collaboration with iKBC and taking on a form of its own with new versions shown off at Computex this year in the Pok3r Ultra Slim and Poker 4. The latter is still in development, but the former is ready for retail and has a new name, too! Thanks again to Vortex for sending along a review sample for us to examine.


The new POK3R V2 is, as the name suggests, a take on the existing POK3R (or Poker 3), which itself had already received an RGB variant update in between. Ultra Slim, its original name, would have arguably fit better in my opinion as it leaves no doubt over the main change here. With the adoption of the Cherry MX Low Profile Red switch and a complementing case and keycap design, it is meant to provide a small form factor in all three dimensions while keeping the high degree of onboard configuration support with the popular 60% form factor (among those who crave a smaller keyboard, anyway). There is RGB lighting onboard, and we will be sure to explore this keyboard in detail in this review by beginning with a look at the specifications below.

Specifications