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Review: Keysme Lunar 01 mechanical keyboard with fidget spinner rockets

Submitted by Teoh Yi Chie on

Review unit provided by KeysMe

The KeysMe Lunar 01 is a wireless 87-key mechanical keyboard with fidget spinner rockets by the side.

This keyboard was originally launched through Kickstarter back in late 2022 and it's now available for sale to the public. I agreed to review this keyboard because it looks interesting.

Bottom line is the design looks beautiful. Typing experience is great. The fidget spinner rockets are kinda gimmicky to me and my fingers would occasionally hit them by the sides while typing or using my mouse. The moving lights above the function keys that respond to sound is definitely gimmicky. There's no where on the keyboard to store the USB-A receiver. And lastly it's quite pricy with price starting from USD 200.

Specs

  • Layout: US TKL (87 keys)
  • Compatibility: Mac, Windows, Android
  • Hot-swappable: Yes
  • 5-pin MX switches: Yes
  • Stabilizer: Gateron screw-in PCB stabilizer
  • N-key rollover: Yes
  • Backlight: South facing RGB LED
  • Connection: USB-C, 2.4Ghz, Bluetooth 5.1
  • Driver: Windows
  • Dimensions: 368.5mm x 152mm x 47.5mm
  • Weight: 1.32kg

Things included


The packaging is quite flashy.


The schematics of the keyboard is also included.

  • Keyboard
  • USB-A receiver
  • USB-A to USB-C charging cable
  • Pry tool
  • Switch and keycap puller
  • 2x fidget spinner rockets
  • User manual

Design

Shown below are the various designs available.


This is the Lunar White EDM design and it's USD 200 (usual price $250).


This is the Lunar White KDA design and it's USD 240 (usual price $290).


Hole Black. USD 200 (usual price $250).


Crystal Blue. USD 230 (usual price $270).


Caramel Latte. USD 266 (usual price $280).


Ghost Ship. USD 230 (usual price $300).

Lunar White KDA and Ghost Ship look the best to me. Yes, these keyboards are quite pricy. The selling point is obviously the unique design.


These are the two fidget spinner rockets. Design looks cool. Build quality is solid enough even though it's made with plastic.


There are ball bearings inside the bottom for spinning. The Kickstarter showed off lights coming from the bottom but mine's the version without the lights. It seems like the retail version do not come with lights. It says on the website that you can contact the company if you want the battery powered lighted versions. If mean if you want to go with rockets by the side of the keyboard, why not go all the way and give them lights too.


The rockets attach to the side of the keyboard with strong magnets. You can even light the keyboard up by holding the two rockets although I don't really recommend that as magnets can still dislodge.

While using the keyboard, sometimes my left pinkie finger will touch the left rocket even though it's quite rare. My right hand thumb would touch the right rocket more often since I'm using a mouse on the right side.


Here's how the keyboard looks without the rockets by the side.

Build quality is solid. The keyboard weighs 1.32kg.

The keyboard is gasket mounted and hot-swappable with 5-pin MX switches. The switches available currently are G Pro Silver 3.0 (linear) and Baby Kangeroo 2.0 (tactile). Listed on the website is another KeysMe Red Switches (Linear) but not available for order.

The keycaps are made with PBT with dye-sublimated legends for more durability. Dye-sub involves printing the legends onto the keycap. Double-shot uses injection molding to insert the legend.


My keyboard came with the Baby Kangeroo 2.0 switches and the typing experience is great. Operation force is 59+-8g. Total travel is 3.4mm. The switches are pre-lubed and smooth. Typing sound is dampened but slightly sharper compared to other dampened keyboards I've used because of the tactile switches. Typing noise is not that loud and hence still suitable for use in an office environment.


The key profile is KDA which is a mix of Cherry profile with the height and SA profile with the concave. Typing is comfortable and very easy and quick to get used to.


Here's a closer look at the designs on the keys.

See that little yellow light at the top left? That's a light bar that can react to sound or music. You can long press the knob to enable or disable to effect. And you can choose how the light reacts or dance using the driver.


The design is definitely very attention grabbing.


For some reason, the Esc, Spacebar and Enter keys sound more hollow or empty.


According to the manual, it is possible to adjust the typing feel by removing the back and adjusting the silicone gasket. There are 14 holes that you have to pry to open the back. I did not open the back to check though since I don't really tinker with keyboards.


The horizontal black bar at the top has LED lights beneath that will respond to noise. Mine stopped working under an hour and now it's just a black bar.


The horizontal black bar and everything beneath can be removed to turn that area into a dock for phones or tablets. You'll have to find somewhere to store those removed parts though.


I tried putting an 11-inch tablet horizontally in the dock and the tablet would fall out because the dock is not deep enough. Having a dock is actually really useful. The dancing lights aren't as useful as a proper dock for your phone or tablet.


There are two switches behind the top right of the keyboard. One's for switching between Windows and Mac keyboard layout, the other's for switching between cable, 2.4Ghz or Bluetooth (up to three devices can be connected).

Above the USB-C port is the dial for adjusting volume.

To pair the keyboard wirelessly, you can press and hold Fn + ~, 1, 2 or 3 for connecting to 2.4Hz or Bluetooth. To switch between the connections, just quick press and the same keyboard shortcuts. All the keyboard shortcuts available are listed in the printed manual and online manual (PDF).


The RGB lights are south facing. There are many lighting effects to choose from (I didn't count) and you can use keyboard shortcuts to switch between the lighting effects, adjust the speed and brightness.

One missing keyboard shortcut is the ability to check battery life. You have to rely on the battery status light (green, yellow, red) to get an idea of battery level.

The battery capacity for this keyboard is 4000 mAh which is typical of mechanical keyboards. According to the company, the keyboard can last 800 hours of typing. Anyway, the keyboard can still be used while charging.

Driver

First thing to do with the driver is click the bottom left settings button to change the language from Chinese to English.


The driver can be used to create custom keyboard shortcuts and macros. You can also choose the lighting effects.

Conclusion

This keyboard definitely looks really stylish and is an instant icebreaker for conversations. Typing experience is good. It is quite pricey though so you can decide whether it's worth the money.

Pros and cons at a glance
+ Beautiful design
+ Solid build quality
+ Wonderful typing experience
+ Top of the keyboard can be used to dock a phone
+ Two adjustable height
+ Gasket mount foam dampens typing sound well
+ Beautiful RGB keyboard lighting
+ Numerous lighting options to choose from
+ Has Bluetooth, cable, 2.4Ghz connection
+ Bluetooth pairing to three devices
+ Windows and Mac compatibility
- No keyboard shortcut to check battery life
- Lights that react to sound is gimmicky
- No space on keyboard to store the USB-A receiver
- No Mac driver

Availability

Here are direct links to the product pages for the various models:
Lunar White | Caramel Latte | Hole Black | Crystal Blue | Ghost Ship

Keysme websites

Website: https://www.keysme.com
Discord: https://discord.gg/85KAGddNXb
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keysme_zone/

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