Leopold vs. Filco

M

Mr. Wolf

Supreme [H]ardness
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Oct 8, 2006
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Just got my Filco tenkeyless from Amazon. I'll be posting some pics and comments for comparison with my Leopold a little later this afternoon. Right now, however, I can declare that those who've noted a "mushy" feeling with the Leopold's keys... were right. I thought those complaints were a load of B.S. I was wrong. The Filco's keys feel sharp and crisp compared to Leo's. I know which board I'm keeping.

The Filco weighs about the same as the Leo, absent a formal weigh-in on a scale. I prefer the Leo's LEDs in the Caps/Scroll Lock keys, but like the Filco's more neutral matte black color better. The Filco's keys are a bit more recessed into its frame. I think it improves the board's appearance compared to the Leo, where you can see the bottom of the keys in its front and F key rows. I think both boards are built very well, though I'm not about to start prying off keys to look more closely at the internals.

For me, the sharper, crisper keypress of the $139 Filco makes it the better board. Is it $40 better than the $99 Leo? That's an individual decision. Keep in mind before buying a Leo -- EliteKeyboards does not accept returns for refund. Amazon does, making it much easier to buy and try a Filco. I'm keeping the Filco and giving the Leo to my sister-in-law. If she doesn't like it, I'll try to sell it here on [H] or eBay.

PICS! Apologies in advance for lousy cell phone camera quality

Filco Brown

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Leopold Brown

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Side-by-side (Leo on left, Filco on right)

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Leo top-left, Filco bottom-right

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LOL, how many keyboards have you gone through? ;)

I'm glad you made this thread. :)
 
Q-BZ said:
LOL, how many keyboards have you gone through? ;)

I'm glad you made this thread. :)
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Pretty sure hes keeping the one he likes most and giving the other to a family member. Excited to see the results as i'm a proud MX black filco owner.

edit: Filco pride.

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I never get the hype of a filco tbh

went from a majestouch to a bwu, I don't think the quality hype really affected me if there's any...
 
Nice work Mr Wolf. I had the brown Leo and now have a brown Filco, I would concur that the stabilizers are much more uniform but I still hold that it's not the deal breaker that many make it out to be. It sucks that EK raised their prices btw.

When I got this Filco brown board the chassis was off such that the feet did not make even contact with my desk(s). Needless to say I was not impressed and very upset as Amazon had since sold out of tenkeyless browns. Last night i flexed the body a bit (you can hear the body creak and snap in/out of place as you do this) and it seems to be more stable now. Some of my keycaps had minor imperfections in them as well. Not that the Leopold is perfect but I think it's a little unfair what some are saying; I recall one on GH complaining of physical discomfort resulting from using the Leo stabilizers?!
 
MrSneis said:
Nice work Mr Wolf. I had the brown Leo and now have a brown Filco, I would concur that the stabilizers are much more uniform but I still hold that it's not the deal breaker that many make it out to be. It sucks that EK raised their prices btw.

When I got this Filco brown board the chassis was off such that the feet did not make even contact with my desk(s). Needless to say I was not impressed and very upset as Amazon had since sold out of tenkeyless browns. Last night i flexed the body a bit (you can hear the body creak and snap in/out of place as you do this) and it seems to be more stable now. Some of my keycaps had minor imperfections in them as well. Not that the Leopold is perfect but I think it's a little unfair what some are saying; I recall one on GH complaining of physical discomfort resulting from using the Leo stabilizers?!
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Thanks! I agree that some of the complaints about the Leo (physical discomfort, squeaky spacebar) border on the absurd. The mushy keys were enough to chase me away, though. Sucks about the problems with your Filco. Has it been 30 days since your order? I'd try to return and exchange for a new one.
 
Both my Ducky 9008 and my Filco tenkeyless needed a tweak to straighten up and sit flat. Apparently it's normal.
 
Mr. Wolf said:
Thanks! I agree that some of the complaints about the Leo (physical discomfort, squeaky spacebar) border on the absurd. The mushy keys were enough to chase me away, though. Sucks about the problems with your Filco. Has it been 30 days since your order? I'd try to return and exchange for a new one.
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It's been like 3 days since I received it. The problem is, and if you lookup my thread in GH, Amazon has no replenishment stock so if I were to return it I wouldn't have something to replace it with! Had OnTrac not sucked so much assholes then I could have ordered another Filco brown but they missed the delivery date (prior to stock running out) and screwed me royally.
 
MrSneis said:
It's been like 3 days since I received it. The problem is, and if you lookup my thread in GH, Amazon has no replenishment stock so if I were to return it I wouldn't have something to replace it with! Had OnTrac not sucked so much assholes then I could have ordered another Filco brown but they missed the delivery date (prior to stock running out) and screwed me royally.
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Damn, I'd be pissed, too.
 
I tried both Leopolds and Filcos, and they both have strong and weak points. But they are both the cream of the crop for the price IMHO. I don't really notice any ''mushy'' stabilizers with the Leos, but I know some people are more picky then me. :)

I have 2 Leos Browns and Blues right now and will keep them. I'm really happy with those. I type with the Blues, and game with the Browns. :)

IMHO, both are great keyboards. Just buy the one that is easier for you to find or buy.
 
fwiw most of the cherry MX plate-mount keyboards i've tried have been about the same (filco blue, filco brown, various kinesis models)

if you're in the market now, consider a KBC poker; preorders at geekhack. it's basically a cheaper cherry MX happy hacker. also, board-mount, which most people prefer.
 
fartq said:
fwiw most of the cherry MX plate-mount keyboards i've tried have been about the same (filco blue, filco brown, various kinesis models)

if you're in the market now, consider a KBC poker; preorders at geekhack. it's basically a cheaper cherry MX happy hacker. also, board-mount, which most people prefer.
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I thought the switches where just soldered on the pcb?
 
yep, that's what's meant by board-mount. the leopold and filco use sockets and a steel plate
 
fartq said:
fwiw most of the cherry MX plate-mount keyboards i've tried have been about the same (filco blue, filco brown, various kinesis models)

if you're in the market now, consider a KBC poker; preorders at geekhack. it's basically a cheaper cherry MX happy hacker. also, board-mount, which most people prefer.
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I would wait a bit on getting a poker until we get some real reviews of the production units, they are available on ebay right now so we should be seeing these shortly. From the few people who have gotten their hands on a poker they have all said the build quality isnt upto most mechanical keyboard standards (I am not saying its a bad keyboard but it just isnt built as sturdy as a filco, leopold, topre) although this may change with the production models and not to mention that it has pcb mounted switches so its very easy to swap in different switches so its kind of a wildcard right now among mech boards.

As for Filco Vs. Leo, I think Mr. Wolf knows my thoughts on this and nobody has complained about the spacebar stabilizers it was the backspace and shift keys that were the problem(almost every Leo review on Geekhack talks about the squeaky cherry stabilizers). But at the end of the day the Leo is $109 and the Filco is $139(Last I checked) and both are very good buys imo. Personally I will be sticking with filco and topre for the longrun (3 Filcos and 1 Topre 86U) as they just ooze quality. Although I may checkout the super overpriced Typenow Solid full alluminum body mechanical if I hit the lottery.
 
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In all honesty I can't figure out how the hell the GH group buys work. I'm too stupid :(
 
MrSneis said:
In all honesty I can't figure out how the hell the GH group buys work. I'm too stupid :(
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Yeah, me too. So don't feel guilty here. :( I send PM, e-mails, and never get any answers. They really need to do something easier to understand.

I would really like those Starcraft Windows keys. But no answer. No clue how to order some. :(

So I got tired of waiting and bought some from Keyboardco and ArmyGroup.

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MrSneis said:
In all honesty I can't figure out how the hell the GH group buys work. I'm too stupid :(
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You stand around on the forums fapping and making meme's and cracking jokes for about 6 months, and then products ship.
 
I would wait a bit on getting a poker until we get some real reviews of the production units, they are available on ebay right now so we should be seeing these shortly. From the few people who have gotten their hands on a poker they have all said the build quality isnt upto most mechanical keyboard standards (I am not saying its a bad keyboard but it just isnt built as sturdy as a filco, leopold, topre)
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ah, i hadn't seen the early reviews; i tend to avoid geekhack these days as i have an oversupply of keyboards and undersupply of money at the moment.

that said, in my head the only acceptable kbc poker is the aluminum chassis one, which should be quite a bit more solid, or at least harder to screw up. hopefully the chassis won't cost too much...

You stand around on the forums fapping and making meme's and cracking jokes for about 6 months, and then products ship.
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this. i was onboard for round 2 in november of last year, but by the time there was any hope of it shipping last month i was too poor and too tired of waiting to bother.
 
Thumbs down to EK for no returns and asininely bumping up the price on leopold
 
Originally Posted by MrSneis View Post
In all honesty I can't figure out how the hell the GH group buys work. I'm too stupid
Neither do the people that run these group buys normally. The shit that goes on in their classifieds wouldn't fly here.
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they just talk sht and troll their classies
 
your only option is the GH and Deskthority classifieds, I have one but not selling atm.
 
I've read that the Red Cherry Switches are not that great for gaming or typing.
 
SonDa5 said:
I've read that the Red Cherry Switches are not that great for gaming or typing.
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Personal taste really. I absolutely dispise the way the blacks feel. But alot of the red hubbub is its rarity. :/
 
I love Blacks. Reds are great for gaming and OK typing. It's all based on taste and that's how I feel, and I use black, blue, brown and red.
 
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