DashVibe

Conclusion

Unlike the vast majority of mechanical keyboards nowadays, the Ultimate Hacking Keyboard truly is a unique product - a wholly unique design that is being marketed almost exclusively towards IT professionals. The developer of the keyboard designed it to be reliable and easily customizable, without the extraneous bells and whistles that would be unnecessary for a professional.

As a keyboard targeted towards professionals, the UHK is based on a 60% layout in order to maximize productivity and reduce fatigue. However, this is going to actually work only with professionals who use a single keyboard every day and will tailor the UHK to their specific work needs. For everyone else, having to result to multi-key combinations for virtually anything else but basic input will probably have a negative impact.

The customizability of the UHK is its greatest selling point. Its Agent software initially seems simple but can be used to create very complex layouts and layers, making it a true weapon at the hands of an experienced professional. Users can also expand/customize their keyboards with additional modules that are available from the manufacturer for about $60 each, allowing the tailoring of the UHK to their specific needs.

The only real issue with the UHK is its unreasonably high price tag. It is currently retailing at $275 plus shipping, and this is without any of its accessories. The palm rest alone costs an additional $75, which is more than a whole mechanical keyboards using Kailh switches retails for nowadays. And the complete price tag for the UHK system can go higher still, as the future expansion modules will another $60.

Meanwhile, although the pricey keyboard is appropriately extravagant in some ways, it's also not very impressive in others; at it's core you're still looking at a keyboard built using Kailh switches, and lacks even basic backlighting. While we cannot deny the excellent quality and customizability of the UHK, it lacks enough features to fully justify such a price tag.

To summarize, we believe that the market potential of the UHK is significantly limited. It is, at the same time, both the smallest mechanical keyboard and the most expensive mechanical keyboard that we have ever reviewed. But its feature set, while impressive at times, just can't justify such a humongous price tag. The UHK is a product designed strictly for a small percentage of IT professionals and experts – it may be a real toolbox at the hands of an IT expert, but also is an unreasonably expensive choice for practically everyone else.

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