The Ducky x DOOM One 3 SF keyboard is certainly a strange beast. Some love it, some hate it. In fact, it became a minor debate in our team's Slack chat when we first covered it as a news story, but I was definitely on the side of "it looks really nice". And I heard great things about Ducky keyboards, so I wanted to desperately review it.
This limited-edition keyboard is only available in 666 pieces for the ANSI and 666 pieces for the ISO layouts, with the plaque on the underside giving me the lovely number of 545/666 in the ISO. Nevertheless, this keyboard is just a design in the One 3 SF line, which you can purchase in a variety of other styles.
So, how good is the Ducky x DOOM One 3 SF? In all honesty, it is absolutely terrific.
The keyboard arrived in a box plastered with iconography and runes that would make even an Atheist start praying (a bit exaggerated, but a funny thought), and upon opening it up, you'll find a lightly-packaged Ducky keyboard with the Doomslayer ripping and tearing demons in the iconic photo plastered over the keycaps.
After plugging it in, the backlight shines in rainbow RGB. I'm not a huge fan of this, but fortunately, Ducky offers a massive amount of customisation without having to download another piece of software onto your PC. Simply using the function key (Fn) and a different assortment of shortcuts quickly changes the lighting, as well as a bunch of other features that will be too long to go over here. But the downloadable manual goes into great lengths about what the Fn key alone is capable of.
I messed around with the keyboard, and used it as my main typing and gaming peripheral solidly for the past week. And let me tell you, I've been absolutely delighted. I opted for the Cherry MX Brown switches, which are quiet, yet feel absolutely great. They have a lovely feedback when typing and gaming, but they still provide a nice click sound when using that is still satisfying to hear. And certainly not deafening like some other Cherry MX switches.
It's worth noting that, if you're used to having a full-sized keyboard with the numpad and F1-9 keys, you might take some time getting used to a smaller keyboard. I didn't realise how often I used F5 or typed in numbers using the numpad, and found myself often drifting my fingers unknowingly to a part of a keyboard that isn't there. Don't be a fool like me.
The PBT keycaps feel great and durable, with the engraved legend sitting on the front of each key. It definitely takes some getting used to, as I didn't realise how often I'd look down to see where each key resides, but it looks stunning and actually adds quite a unique design to the already DOOM-plastered keycaps.
When it comes to the entire board itself, it has a great weight to it that makes it feel premium, and great to type on. I'm not concerned that it'll break in intensive gaming sessions or when I'm writing out a 1000+ word review or article, and it feels like it could last years. Obviously, I don't have years to wait for this review, but I'd have no surprise if it can be my daily keeb for thousands of hours to come.
As for adjustments, there's the ability to switch the feet of into three different angles for however you'd prefer (personally, mine is on the highest angle), and of course, the keyboard is hot-swappable, so you can personalise it. I'm not sure why you would, given that the DOOM design is continuous over the keys, But the option is there for any of you looking to customise it.
There's two things to make a major note of. The first one is the fact that the keyboard is wired. Of course, this may not matter to some users, but for those who love the "less wires is better" approach, you may want to look on the best wireless keyboards list for another option.
The other thing to note is that, the Ducky x DOOM One 3 SF is notably expensive. It costs roughly £220 in the UK via Overclockers. It's a cheaper $149 in the United States, which seems like the perfect price for this excellent peripheral, but £220 is a bit on the steeper side. However, it's undoubtedly a great gift or purchase if you're a fan of the DOOM series.
Overall, I'm extremely impressed with the design and the feeling of the Ducky x DOOM One 3 SF. As my first experience with a Ducky keyboard, I can certainly see why people consistently put the brands' products on their best mechanical keyboards lists. However, the design is only great if you're a DOOM fan, and the high price (at least for UK customers) may dissuade you unless you absolutely adore the long-running franchise.
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