Living with A4Tech FBK11

Lately I’ve been feeling empty, lonely, and a little cold, so I started spending money on stuff. Nothing fancy—just junk.

A while back I bought a really good-looking mechanical keyboard, but for some reason I suddenly felt unsatisfied. It was too heavy. And then a question hit me:

Why do I have to buy a mechanical keyboard? Isn’t a membrane one good enough?

Somewhere along the way, mechanical keyboards became the so-called optimal solution for people who write for a living—even though membrane keyboards were invented to solve the problems mechanical keyboards had. So I turned my attention to “finding a cheap, easy-to-use membrane keyboard that feels good and is lightweight.”

I can’t find the old BenQ Sea Shell anymore, and eventually the “A4Tech FBK11” caught my eye.

The moment I saw “FBK” in the name, I ordered it before I’d even finished reading the description.

The full name is “A4Tech FBK11.” It’s dirt cheap—under 100 yuan, shipping included. It comes in black and white; I recommend black, since there’s no backlight, black is probably a bit easier to make out.

This keyboard actually supports 2.4G and Bluetooth with three-device switching, and the Bluetooth is the latest 5.1. At least in half a month of use I haven’t felt any disconnects. Oh right, the 2.4G receiver has no storage slot either. Shame.

The keyboard also has different device layouts, like the classic Mac and Win, also switched with FN keys—way more intuitive than Nuphy.

The size is the same as before, so it sits stably on the laptop’s keyboard area, and the four feet don’t have to worry about accidental presses.

The keyboard runs on two AAA batteries—swap them when they die, and the battery life beats the usual rechargeable setups.

The feel is the typical membrane feel, but the rebound is really strong. A4Tech’s years of polishing aren’t for nothing; I even get a bit of a red-switch sensation.

I have to say this keyboard is just too good to use: nice feel, lightweight, stable connection, multi-device switching, direct battery swaps, long battery life, and most, most importantly, it’s cheap—only 90-something yuan. Everyone says the problem with membranes is durability.

But goddamn, at 90-something yuan, you could replace it every year for years!

This keyboard even made me doubt myself: are those 500-plus, even nearly 700 yuan mechanical keyboards really worth it? Compared to this cheap, easy-to-use FBK11, their only advantages are looking pretty and going clickety-clack.

And for people who don’t care much, that isn’t even an advantage.

I increasingly feel that the very concept of the “mechanical keyboard” is a hyped-up scam. For most writers who just want to type seriously, A4Tech’s FBK11 is actually enough.

If all you need is a portable, easy-to-type-on wireless keyboard, you probably don’t need to spend so much on those fancy-pants models. The sexy FBK is a good choice.