The Trigger carries on from the solid, robust foundations and build quality the CM Storm range have shown in previous examples. From the outset, the overall feel of the rubberised, textured plastic emphasised the great craftsmanship of this peripheral which is sure to take pride of place on anyone's desk. It looks divine whether it is illuminated or not. Personally, I like the breath feature of the LED's which makes the keyboard look like it's alive and is really eye catching in a darkened room. As you may have noticed from some of our other Cooler Master reviews, we are, for the most part, big fans of the CM Storm aesthetics and I am pleased to report that the CM Storm Trigger is no different.

In use, the CM Storm Trigger is perfectly usable if somewhat overkill for an everyday keyboard. The Cherry blacks can become a little tiresome for writing long prose and someone who is not used to the mechanical feedback of these types of switches will mean it will take a little getting used to. If however you persevere, you will certainly become accustomed to it and before long will wonder how you ever worked without one. There are however better switches for general use such as the MX Browns or red's which are less stiff and perhaps better key switches for typing with. Thankfully, CM offer the Trigger in all four popular key switches so the keyboard can be customised to your preference.

The sample we reviewed today had the very popular Cherry MX Black switches which, for all intents and purposes have one use in mind: Gaming and gaming is what the keyboard excels at. From the MX Blacks to the near perfect back-lighting and macro capability, the Trigger has to be one of the best pro gaming mechanical keyboards we have tested to date.

There is little to fault with the keyboard. If I were picky then I would have preferred there not to be a cut-out on the wrist rest. I can see why it's there but this puts aesthetics over function which is a shame. There is also the dual functionality of the F keys which means should you not press the Storm key (which replaces the windows key) to operate one of the media controls or back-lighting then you could close a program or wipe text from a document. Granted the F keys can be disabled but this defeats the object, especially when a few extra keys or a scroll wheel would be infinitely more user friendly. This same criticism could be aimed at any number of mechanical keyboards though so CM Storm are not on their own with this issue.



The keyboard retails around the £95 mark which is very competitive, especially when you consider this keyboard is backlit, uses the popular cherry MX black and has the CM Storm styling. Our current champ is the QPAD MK-85 and in all honesty, the CM Storm almost offers just as much at a lower price point so it would be hard to recommend the QPAD over this example. The one advantage the QPAD does have over the Trigger is that it is more usable as an everyday keyboard but it is also £50 more expensive which will deter many. Add to this the fact that the Trigger is also available with the switchgear of your choice and the decision becomes even easier. So if gaming is your bag (and lets face it why else would you be considering this keyboard?), then I can thoroughly recommend the CM Storm Trigger as it is a fantastic piece of kit and worthy of anyone's desk space, novice or pro gamer alike.

Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net. Thanks to CM Storm for providing today’s review sample.