Overall Comfort
Initially, seeing as the ARCTIC K381 has low-profile keys and was built with office-usage in mind, I suspected that the keyboard’s keys were going to be very quiet, similar to those on some Logitech and Microsoft keyboards (example: Microsoft Wireless Keyboard 6000). Nevertheless, they were much noisier than I expected. The noise that it made was quite pleasing, still. It was just loud enough to let you know whether or not the key was properly pushed. I would not recommend using this keyboard in a quiet environment, though, as it can become quite distracting.
Asides from that, I was surprised by how much forced was needed to push the keys down. As of late, I have been using the Microsoft Wireless Keyboard 6000 during my studies. This keyboard has very soft keys that some people might criticize as being squishy. Personally, I find them quite comfortable because very little force is needed to push the keys down. This allows for prolong typing without fatigue.
The ARCTIC K381 has square keys with corners that are unpleasant to fingers
Unlike the Microsoft Wireless Keyboard 6000, in order to type on the ARCTIC K381, I found myself aggressively striking the keys rather than lightly pushing them down. This had the major downside of tiring my fingers after prolong usage. Nevertheless, given the keys strong positive feedback, this allowed me to type much faster because I knew when I hit the keys properly. I would say that this is a trade-off (overall comfort for typing speed). It would be good for you to know what you like from a keyboard: strong keys or soft keys.
During the first week of testing, I actually struggled with the ARCTIC K381 because it was too much for my fingers to handle. I would periodically switch back to the Microsoft Wireless Keyboard 6000 whenever I got too tired. After the first week and onto the second week, however, I began to enjoy typing on the ARCTIC K381. The clear pressure point on the keys was very pleasing. Also, when I was quickly typing away, I grew fond of the satisfying clunking noise that the keys make.
Keys and Layout
In terms of keys, the ARCTIC K381 lacks many multimedia keys. It only has three volume control keys, which are conveniently positioned on the right-hand side. Keys dedicated to Play, Stop and Pause should have been available. The keys could have been placed on the left side as a new column of keys. This would only add a few centimetres of width to the keyboard. Shortcut keys to the default mail client, media player and messaging client would have been welcomed too.
The keys themselves are very easy to read.
As for the keyboard layout, it took me some time to get used to it. Adapting to the new alignment of the Insert and its neighbouring keys was a difficult one. I still believe that ARCTIC should have placed the light indicators for the toggle keys to just above the cursor keys.
One thing that I would not forgive ARCTIC for is not splitting the function keys into groups of four. I usually use F2 and F5 amongst others, and with all function keys being grouped together it is really difficult to quickly press on the right function key without looking. No doubt, some time would be needed for me to adapt to this new layout. Nevertheless, ARCTIC could have easily split the function keys into three groups.
The ARCTIC K381 does not have an adjustable tilt
All in all, I do like the overall slim-design of the ARCTIC K381. As a student, I usually have a textbook right in front of me on the desk. With very little desk space, my textbooks would usually hang over the front of the desk. The ARCTIC K381 is space-efficient and it allows me to clutter my desk with a few more textbooks!
As for ergonomics, the ARCTIC K381 does not feature a curved keyboard. Microsoft, as far as I know, have been featuring the comfort curve design on almost all of their newer keyboards. I have used a few of such keyboards and I found them quite comfortable. I would not say that such a design is deal-breaker, though. A regular keyboard layout like the one on the ARCTIC K381 is still very good and comfortable.
