Review on Razer PBT Keycap + Coiled Cable Upgrade Set: Durable Doubleshot PBT - Universal Compatibility - Keycap Removal Tool & Stabilizers - Tactically Coiled & Designed - Braided Fiber Cable - Classic Black by Tony Suggs

I bought a Razer Hunstman Elite with their Purple optical clicky keys to replace an aging Filco Majestouch TKL with Cherry Brown switches. Let me be clear I am not a gamer whatsoever – I write with my keyboard and a solid, fast, durable, tactile typing experience is all I am looking for.This PBT set is a replacement for any ABS set. But is it really an "upgrade”, as the product title says?To me that is debatable.Sure, the ABS keys that come on the Huntsman Elite may wear over time, and they may take on oils and shine that PBT would resist.The PBT caps were heavier, yes, but that’s not really an advantage for fast typing. I felt like the PBT caps (which are around 50% heavier in mass – I weighed them on a sensitive low-mass scale) threw off the whole feel of the keys. These Razer Purples are lightly-weighted keys (the Red are even lighter), and the heavier caps ruined that nimble feel. I actually think the ABS caps feel a lot better dynamically – faster since the keys are properly weighted.Then there is the shine-through, which is far poorer than the stock keys, in both color and brightness. The color the keys themselves were fine – a nice dark charcoal compared to the flat black of the original ABS keys. But the color of the light shining through them was not the same. White light took on a distinctly pinkish cast through the PBT keys. There were many dark spots, and keys with uneven illumination. Others have complained that the PBT key light is dimmer – less of it shines through. That’s true, too, but I didn’t see mention of the color tint, which is a much worse issue since it can’t really be compensated for. The dimmer shine-through, by contrast, is easily compensated for by turning up the brightness.There was not a lot of difference in the sound, but what change there was wasn’t really much of an improvement. The spacebar got much louder and had a hollow clack to it I could not get used to. The key itself seemed to be bottoming-out on the deck whereas the stock one does not.Despite the time and effort already invested, and the additional time involved to replace them all again, I ended up going back to the stock ABS keys. They just suit the keyboard better. I suspect this could even be a reason why it does not come stock with the PBT keys (though the similar TKL Tournament Edition does come stock with the PBT). With the stock keys the sharp lighting and the natural-feeling springiness is back. Perhaps I am not alone, judging the number of returned articles available.I will also mention that the finish of the PBT keys left something to be desired. I often had to trim the mold flashing at the bottom of the keys to clean them up. A minor thing, but not on a $200 keyboard (board + keycaps). That added considerably to the install time.