RK61 Reddit Verdict: Great Mod Base, Rough Stock Experience

Surprisingly pretty good. For ~35 you really cant beat it or find anything close with the same features. Build quality was all plastic but definitely up there, firm and rigid. Heavy (in a good way.)

if you're talking about the arrow keys, you need to hit fn + enter first to disable them. You need to do this everytime you want to use certain keys. Hope this helps!

I've had this exact board with blue switches for about a year now. It's surprisingly good. I did some free mods to the case to tone down the rattles and pinging sounds and this is has turned out to be a wonderful 60% keyboard. For anyone curious on the mods, I placed a few thin sheets of packing foam into the case for sound dampening and it worked out great.

For the price it's pretty decent. It's nice and compact. Wireless works fine and RGB looks great. I have blue switches and they also feel and work great. I just hate how it has no feet i guess you would call them. The keyboard lays almost flat for the most part. I use it as a spare keyboard now and not my main gaming one.

it's ok only if you get qmk/via version, older version with shit software is not good.

I've had this for a few months and I haven't noticed any noticeable delay. I play league and a few other things and it's never been an issue.

From what I've heard and read, Royal Kludge seems to be a good budget keyboard manufacturer. As for why people do not like 60 percent keyboards, that is just personal preference. You give up a lot of functionality and ease of use due to all the function layers, but of course, you gain a lot of desk space because of the small footprint.

I had a rk years ago and it was fine, until a key failed. I have a keychron now and love it. For the price it will probably work fine for a few years, but also probably good for someone who wanted to try 60% and see how they like it.

No, it's awful. The new wired-only QMK/VIA version can be made good but the key layout and bindings on the legacy model are terrible.

Rocking it for 6 months at home and work and like it a lot.

I have two RK keyboards and have never had an issue love them both!

The most updated version with blue backlighting seems pretty great with BT 5.0, 2.4ghz, and hotswap all for 50 bucks.

This is huge. RK firmware and driver is about the worst I've ever used outside a cheap macropad.

yeah, I hope it helps someone. I really like this kb for its price point, but the software is all over the place.

Not my main desktop keyboard anymore because of unhealthy purchasing habits, but I do use it often wirelessly. Bluetooth has been convenient just obviously not as good as 2.4 GHz, which it doesn't have because of the aluminum case — adequate if near the device connected to but noticeable latency at 10 ft or less without a clear path.

I really like this keyboard on the whole but I recently started trying to learn to code and it can be frustrating — some keys like backslash require non-obvious key combinations that aren't documented anywhere obvious.

still helpful in 2025 after i found one of these at a thrift store

Overall, yes the RK keyboards are worth the money. I have a Royal Kludge RK84, same keyboard with a slightly different button configuration. It was pretty solid stock and what I liked about it is that everything on it pretty much can be swapped. I ended up putting dampening inside the keyboard and replacing the switches — mostly because I was bored and felt like it.

Never had an issue with mine. Had it about 3 months. The thing I had to get used to was using the FN key A LOT. But it becomes second nature. Build quality is top notch, feels great to use and the RGB is solid, no dim spots whatsoever. I paid £40 for mine and id definitely recommend it to anyone for that price or lower.

Ive had it for a few months now unmoded and the keyboard is pretty good in my opinion but it would be better if you modded it, its a really good budget keyboard if you want a mechanical keyboard for a little less.

I grabbed the wired version at an Amazon return store for $20 in box... It's pretty good for a 60% keyboard, very solid hotswappable red switches and good internal RGB customization. I generally like this as my designated travel keyboard.

I have two of these but the RGB models. They have been incredible for gaming and for my work. If there is ever a problem, I reset them and they work again. I replaced all the switches out with TTC Quicksilvers for gaming and it's been great! My W key died mid game and I switched it out in the match in less than a minute.

I've heard royal kludge facing a lot of QC issues as well as many warranty claims. Do try to connect with their support and checking their response before ordering.

Had an rk61 keeb and it was great tbh especially for a first mechanical keyboard. Build quality is great really sturdy and heavy, pretty similar to the anne pro 2. I heard there's a hotswappable version of it or the pro version. Only downside for me is the 60% form factor of it which was something I didn't like since I use the function keys and arrow keys a lot.

Bought it as my first mechanical keeb. Great modded with foam and got pudding keycaps. Sound great imo and build quality is also great.

It's a great great board. I own about 8 boards now of varying prices, two RK61s. I have a plastic version, and then the RK61 Pro which is the aluminum version. I highly recommend the aluminum version for the extra money as it's hefty and fantastic. They both sound great although I prefer the aluminum. They both operate the same, and come with Bluetooth capabilities which is a huge plus.

The RK keebs in general are a great value and good first time MK options. Just get ready for your wallet to hurt once you get hooked and start spending on the next keeb, and the next, and the next, etc.

I'm gonna say bad, I mean the keyboard feels great and maybe I just had two lemons in a row but my first died within a month and the replacement died in about the same span, maybe it was bad luck but it left a bad impression.

I'm not a huge mechanical keyboard nerd but I like the clickery clak from them so I have 3 for each of my computers, I have an RK Royal for work and it's my favorite, very satisfying action and noise.

You will need software to configure the RGB to your liking but they do have preset rgb modes. The transition to 60% will be drastic because you'll have to press FN+J, FN+M, FN+N for Home, End, and Del. Unless you rebind those keys to other keys you don't use.

I know this is late now, but just in case you are still on the fence, I do have the RK61. I actually love it, and I do like the switches.

I bought the keyboard, and it's really good. I don't regret buying it.

I have an RK98 and cannot complain much. The first one I got would not work well and they exchanged it for me free of charge for a new one after a month or so. Have had it for 3 years now and love it!

Its okay, the keycaps feel some cheap, and need use usb. Don't use bluetooth to play. But is good to price.

No sponsorship here — I paid for this keyboard with my own money and have no affiliation with Royal Kludge. The form factor is really compact but surprisingly comfortable. I love how the 60% layout frees up desk space.

Do you also have the issue where keys randomly change mapping, like my number keys change with the Fn keys or my jkl and others change with fn keys?

I clicked update on the software and now I can't use the keyboard because it needs firmware. The update process bricked my board temporarily.

it is an older keyboard with basic switches, rk R65 (with the R) is a much newer and better board.

I have grown to hate this keyboard.

I have the 68% version. Had no issues with it for the past few years. The only thing I had to do was to re-map some Mac specific keys using Karabiner.

short answer: yes

Thank you! Was pushing P for almost an hour trying to pair Bluetooth.

Thanks for the Bluetooth pairing guide! My wife thinks I'm a computer genius now. FN+Q did the trick.

I've had wireless issues with every RK brand keyboard I've bought, everything else about them is pretty nice.