Now onto the actual keyboard, it's a strong performer and offers a great deal of features, however there are some areas which we would've liked to have seen done differently.
The half height Return Key is the biggest issue with this keyboard. We can't see why Cougar have decided to go with a smaller Return key, to place another key above; a key which you would usually find underneath, and slightly to the left. I found myself pressing the # key after every sentence while typing, because of the placement of the button.
Another big issue we had was the lack of a wrist support; these are pretty standard with any premium keyboard, whether they're detachable or not, especially a keyboard upwards of £100, but a complete lack of any inclusion strikes us as very odd, and makes the keyboard much less comfortable to use. As previously mentioned, there does appear to be a means of attaching a wrist support, but we've been unable to find any way of purchasing this extra.
The switches themselves feel brilliant, featuring a great actuation while being reasonably quiet for a Mechanical key. The keys feel rugged, with very little lateral movement under the finger. The key spacing is about right, finding a very short bedding in period.
With the "gaming keys" being enlarged (Control, Shift, Alt etc.) we found this keyboard to be very easy to use in FPS games. There was also absolutely no noticeable lag, at all.
Due largely to the aluminium and plastic construction, the keyboard feels sturdy with no noticeable flex, even with the stand off legs in use.
The FN keys felt well thought out, grouped up intuitively allowing a very short learning period. Dedicated media keys would've been preferred, but they've done a good job despite their absence.
The half height Return Key is the biggest issue with this keyboard. We can't see why Cougar have decided to go with a smaller Return key, to place another key above; a key which you would usually find underneath, and slightly to the left. I found myself pressing the # key after every sentence while typing, because of the placement of the button.
Another big issue we had was the lack of a wrist support; these are pretty standard with any premium keyboard, whether they're detachable or not, especially a keyboard upwards of £100, but a complete lack of any inclusion strikes us as very odd, and makes the keyboard much less comfortable to use. As previously mentioned, there does appear to be a means of attaching a wrist support, but we've been unable to find any way of purchasing this extra.
The switches themselves feel brilliant, featuring a great actuation while being reasonably quiet for a Mechanical key. The keys feel rugged, with very little lateral movement under the finger. The key spacing is about right, finding a very short bedding in period.
With the "gaming keys" being enlarged (Control, Shift, Alt etc.) we found this keyboard to be very easy to use in FPS games. There was also absolutely no noticeable lag, at all.
Due largely to the aluminium and plastic construction, the keyboard feels sturdy with no noticeable flex, even with the stand off legs in use.
The FN keys felt well thought out, grouped up intuitively allowing a very short learning period. Dedicated media keys would've been preferred, but they've done a good job despite their absence.
