Introduction

Mistel Keyboard (or Mistel as shall be referred to henceforth in this review) is an interesting little company. There is not much to go on in the western half of the globe, with references primarily from keyboard enthusiasts. I first heard of them in a similar manner after looking at split keyboards as part of my due diligence for the ErgoDox EZ review from earlier this year, with the Mistel Barocco series looking to offer a split keyboard based off the 60% form factor (as well as a 65% form factor teased at Computex) with a rarely seen split along the staggered key arrangement we see in most keyboards. They share some common interests with iKBC, who in turn are affiliated with Vortexgear, both of whose products we have covered separately before. Adding to the product line was their Freeboard MD200 standalone NumPad, and thus, there was a lack of the more popular form factors from the brand - TKL (tenkeyless) and full size. Today, we get to see Mistel's take on the TKL form factor with the MD870, part of their new SLEEKER series of keyboards. Thanks to Mistel for providing a review sample for TechPowerUp.


The model name follows the others in that it ends up being a multiple of 10 of the layout, or as close as can be anyway. The 87-key TKL form factor thus gets the MD870 name, and the SLEEKER series differs from Mistel's other offerings by ditching plastic and using thick, brushed aluminum for the case. Mistel is aiming for the macOS end user here with the color scheme, as well as a couple of other tricks down the sleeve, but do not let this mislead you - it supports Windows as well. Predictably, the SLEEKER series is being touted as a high-end keyboard range with prices that should be on the higher side as well. The image above also hints at onboard lighting, although it appears that the keycaps are not translucent themselves. We will take a look at these in more detail, and more, and begin the review with the specifications below.

Specifications