EpicGear DeFiant Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Review

Introduction

EpicGear has been steadily growing in popularity over the last few years, and we’re very happy to see the DeFiant Mechanical Gaming Keyboard in the eTeknix office today, marking our first EpicGear peripheral review! With that in mind, I’m not really sure what to expect from his keyboard, but a quick look at the specifications tells us it should be pretty damn interesting.

Equipped with per-key LED backlighting, swappable mechanical switches, “extreme anti-ghosting” which I’m guessing is full key anti-ghosting with a PR spin on it, gaming mode, volume control wheel and as you’ll see in a little while, a lot of extra bits and bobs come with it too!

One thing that is cool, is the swappable switches, the keyboard comes with one type of switch, in this case MMS Purple, which are said to be fast like MX Red but with the tactile click of an MX Blue. However, you can buy packs of switches and literally pull the switch out and plug in another one, giving you a rather interesting level of keyboard customisation.

Specifications

• LED backlit with on-the-fly programmable per-key-lighting
• EG MMS™ – Modular-matrix Structure mechanical keyswitches
• 1000Hz extreme-polling, adjustable 125/250/500/1000Hz
• Fully programmable keys
• Extreme anti-ghosting
• N-key rollover: 10-key
• System audio volume control wheel with one-touch mute
• Dedicated GUI software with 4 customizable gaming profiles
• Gaming mode option, Windows key deactivation
• Gaming grade braided cables
• Approx. dimension: 455 x167x26 mm
• Approx. weight: 1000g
• 2 year manufacture warranty

EG MMS™ Switch types:

• EG Grey – linear
• EG Orange – tactile
• EG Purple – tactile & audible click

EG MMS™ Switches Specifications:

• EG MMS™ – Modular-matrix Structure mechanical switches
• Actuation Force: 50g
• Actuation Point: 1.5±0.2mm
• Bottom Travel: 4mm
• Life Span: 70-million keystrokes
• High-strength alloy contact plates
• Double-blade contact points, patented
• Dual-cross contacting area, patented
• 30μ gold plated contacting area

Packaging & Accessories

The box for the Defiant comes in two variants, a standard boxed version, and this rather awesome flight case. The case houses all the components, the keyboard, cables and more, with protective foam that should make it extremely friendly for the travelling competitive gamer.

The case has a flexible material design, but it’s still pretty tough and will do a fantastic job of absorbing knocks and bumps.

Under the keyboard, there’s a large recess, where you’ll find the extra accessories, and there are a lot of them!

There’s a setup guide, key cap/switch pulling tool, stickers, side bars, wrist rest, rear control back and colour bars.