Razer announced their new TKL gaming keyboard a few days ago and this time it has a competitive edge as it is faster and cheaper than before. Razer has made a lot of improvements like 8K HyperPolling, PBT Keycaps, and acoustic foam for a better sound.
Design and Features
The design of the Huntsman V2 is very simple with no wrapped around RGB on the keyboard or the palm rest; RGB is only present under the main keys. The TKL does not come with any dedicated media keys, but they are rather integrated within the function row. Razer to achieve this simple look also removed the USB passthrough for connecting peripherals which has led to a slimmer cable (The TKL has a detachable USB-C cable, whereas the Full-Size has a non-detachable cable).
The all-black aluminum design allows Razer to pull off a sleek and minimal design, which is pretty weird for Razer who has always been into loud designs. The V2 also comes with a new palm rest similar to the Blackwidow V3 Pro which is soft with a perfect height making the typing experience a real treat.
The only caveat that I could find is that the palm rest does not attach to the keyboard through magnets or any other mechanism which might be troublesome for some people. Also, the softness of the palm rest might wear out if typed on enough, but Razer does sell it separately so that could be resolved.
Opto-Mechanical Switches
Razer Huntsman V2 TKL has optical-mechanical switches under the hood or as Razer likes to call them Opto-mechanical switches which they introduced back in 2018. The Huntsman mini comes with two switch options i.e., Red Linear or Purple Clicky. In this review, I am testing the red linear switches, though I am not a huge fan of linear switches, on the Huntsman V2 TKL the linear switches are fun to use due to the smoothness of the keys.
The optical switches are marketed as being the fasted mechanical key switches. But that cannot be measured without professional equipment. But the smoothness of the keyboard is on another level. The key switches are also quieter than traditional mechanical keyboards, this is thanks to the layer of sound-dampening foam that Razer added inside the keyboard.
Due to the optomechanical nature of the keyboard, it consumes more power and cannot be used wirelessly. The stock keycaps are double-shot PBT due to which most people won't upgrade them, but if they want to most of the keys can be upgraded easily; except the longer keys with stabilizers as they are very different from the Cherry-based boards.
Gaming
Gaming with the Huntsman V2 TKL is fun mainly due to its TKL form factor which provides more mouse space for a more accurate aim during FPS gaming. Form Factor is one thing but there are other factors as well like a comfortable wrist rest and smooth switches.
Razer claims the keyboard has a pulling rate of 8000, but I did not see any difference from the regular 1000hz.
Conclusion
The Huntsman V2 TKL is a minimal well made keyboard with all the essentials for PC gaming. Even though it isn't wireless which is understandable due to the higher power consumption of the optical switches. The addition of the dampening foam makes the keyboard sound leagues better than the Tournament Edition or even the previous generation Huntsman keyboard.
If you are in the market for a TKL keyboard and have $150 to pay for it. I would definitely recommend the Huntsman V2 TKL as it is currently the best off-the-shelf keyboard in my opinion.