CM Storm Quickfire TK Stealth Mechanical Keyboard Review

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Conclusion

The mechanical keyboard market is becoming increasing swamped with keyboards of varying colours and shapes, but with many of them lacking any new innovative features. CM Storm are never slow to react to the changing market and so at CES, they announced a Topre and Cherry Hybrid switch keyboard, which is the first of its kind in the mechanical keyboard world. What makes a great peripherals company, is one that listens to their customers, whether they are criticising their products or suggesting alternative ways to improve them – which was the case with the Quickfire Rapid. With the TK Stealth, they have followed a similar path, by taking an already popular product and altering it to make a sleeker and cheaper, so more appealing to the overall market.

I think it’s fair to ignore the switch choice for this particular model because as I said before it’s purely subjective and down to personal preference. Whilst I love Cherry MX brown switches, I know that they are not for everyone, which CM Storm also believe as they have made the TK Stealth available with Cherry MX red, blue and black switches, so people can take their pick. The reduced size and merging of certain areas of keys can be considered a good thing, as the smaller footprint does free up some space on the desk and is only 1″ bigger than a TKL keyboard, but still maintains full functionality. I often make use of the num pad and the home, end, delete keys, so being able to switch between them meant I could still do what I needed.

When I first started using the Quickfire TK Stealth, the Fn lock was activated and for the life of me I couldn’t find any instructions as to how to turn it off – there is no mention of it anywhere! It wasn’t until I actually spoke to the CM Storm rep, who then informed me I had to hold down the Fn key to toggle the Fn lock – a silly little thing that has been overlooked by CM Storm. They have also opted to cut back on the full coverage of LEDs, but reducing them to a mere six LEDs located on the Win lock, Fn lock and arrow keys, although there doesn’t seem to be a massive difference in price between the Quickfire TK and the Quickfire TK Stealth, although I think this could be down to the position of the legends, as if they were backlit, they would shine right in your face. Speaking of the legends, I actually quite like them, mainly because as they won’t wear off nowhere near as easily as top printed/lasered legends would and they are a lot more discrete.

Overall I think the CM Storm Quickfire TK Stealth is a great, no thrills keyboard that has the functionality of a full sized keyboard, squeezed into a smaller body almost 2″ shorter. There is no software to faff around with, so as soon as you have plugged it in you are good to go. I like the fact that CM Storm have opted to consolidate their position in the market instead of pushing out model after model of different sized keyboards. This approach of making an already decent keyboard better after listening to customer feedback, is a great way to show that they listen to and know the market well. If you’re looking for a keyboard that has more lighting modes than your local nightclub, or lots of extra keys for macros, then the Quickfire TK Stealth isn’t for you, however if you’re looking for a smallish, solid yet sleek looking keyboard which won’t break the bank, then look no further as the CM Storm Quickfire TK Stealth is the keyboard for you. So for all the reasons above, I’m pleased to provide CM Storm with yet another award: