Kickstarter started with a bang, the Epomaker Mini Cat 64 had to be a delightful choice more of meme decor (the legendary Bongo Cat DOMINA) than functionality. And instead it is here ready to amaze, even with VIA / QMK support!
Epomaker Mini Cat 64: presentation
One of the things I love about Epomaker is the packaging, the keyboard cover blueprint is simply the most useful thing ever, and above all it makes the box almost a collectible. inside you will unfortunately only find the Epomaker Mini Cat 64 keyboard and a coated USB C cable, no key and switch extractor at this round pity, on the other hand you will find a very nice sticker.
Assuming everyone already has an extractor, but that’s far from pretty. Epomaker has opted for a unique design this time around, the mythical Bongo Cat, the official mascot of the builder community, and ubiquitous in redditor memes and sometimes even present in small displays in some boutique keyboards.
The puff acrylic case is just perfect, for some simple factors:
- 1 is transparent and functional with the backlit pcb
- 2 is functional for disassembly of an embarrassing simplicity
Yes, because Epomaker Mini Cat 64 was born as a DIY kit, and therefore designed for modding. Modding that I must say starts exactly from scratch. This is because the switches are already factory lubricated, but not excessively, and therefore leave room for a further and uniform pass, and then counterintuitively for beginners, the stabilizers ARE NOT LUBRICATED!
This might turn up their noses at mechanical keyboards who still don’t chew enough, but it’s exactly a pro move. Initially, as also for the TH66 or the legendary TH80, the stabilizers came out lubricated from the factory, creating many problems for expert modders. Unfortunately, factory lubrication is never the best, and to change it you have to go through a difficult path.
Clean the stabilizers before applying the correct lubricant again. No serious company factory lubricates stabilizers, and this Epomaker seems to have understood it. Epomaker Mini Cat 64 comes standard with two switch choices: Tactile Budgerigar And Linear flamingo both 5-pin. Intelligent choices such as the highly flexible polycarbonate plate buffered by the foam, a gasket-like support system, but also a little less intelligent, such as the obstinacy in mounting stabilizers on the plate instead of screw.
If you choose the DIY Kit version you will not receive the KITTY key setin PBT XDA profile, which I strongly discourage, being the set one of the prettiest things ever seen, and above all because the XDA profile, will give a consistency to the sound and an unparalleled softness to the touch.
Epomaker Mini Cat 64 is USB only, and for a reason that we will examine later, of extreme importance.
Epomaker Mini Cat 64: Info and tests
Few chat about the specs of this keyboard, it is a profile 64 with the directional keys, and only USB. Those in the industry know that USB-only keyboards hide the greatest of treasures, and that’s right, Epomaker Mini Cat 64 supports VIA / QMK! This is not only absurdly good news, but extremely useful.
VIA / QMK software (downloadable from the website Epomaker or from Github) allow the total customization of the key functions, and when I say TOTAL, I mean any macro you can think of, plus the total programming of the RGB lights button by button. Basically a paradise for gamers and production professionals. And yes it is also compatible with MAC!
Epomaker’s gasket-like system works much better than many others, it is not absurdly bouncy, but it has a remarkable and pleasant flexibility, above all it does not risk the bottom out of the pcb, avoiding unpleasant consequences.
The choice between the tactile budgerigar and the linear flamingo is a bit narrow yes, especially because someone would have preferred the silent ones, or the linear ones in POM, in short, you cannot limit the choice when in the store you sell everything and more, it is a a bit strange as a choice, and it’s not really clear to me why.
Surely the choice of the XDA profile of the keys was very clever, like that of the north-oriented PCB, which in the case of keyboards like the Epomaker Mini Cat 64, focused on lighting effects, seems a more than reasoned move, since if you I wanted to opt for a change of backlit keys, the orientation to the south would conflict with doubleshots notoriously all oriented to the north. Let’s face it, this keyboard isn’t made for the double hit cherry profile.
The ultra-compact 64 profile, however, is not always the best, due to the uncomfortable positioning of the directional arrows, but considering VIA, you could change its function, and opt for the WASD + FN for the arrows, nothing can prevent you, and this is great.
The sound profile is full, on the THOCK, the 1.5mm thick PBT keys make their dirty figure. No echo sound from the case so I do not recommend the tempest mod, but here it will be better to lubricate the stabilizers first, otherwise you will have to put up with their constant and annoying rattle. Then take it as an experience, the more you train the more you will achieve better results over time.
You can find Epomaker Mini Cat 64 on the official website.
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