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Forbes
09-05-2025
- Forbes
Wobkey Rainy 75 Is A Heavyweight Player In The Mechanical Keyboard Market
The Rainy 75 keyboard is a 75% and 81-key mechanical keyboard available with a range of specs and ... More finishes. If ever there were to be a prize awarded for the world's heaviest computer keyboard, I think the new Wobkey Rainy 75 would have a strong chance of picking up an award. Despite being made from an aluminum alloy case, this 75% mechanical keyboard with 81 keys is built like the proverbial tank, weighing in at an impressive 2kg. The outer shell of the Rainy 75 is made from CNC-machined aluminum alloy with an oxidized surface and glass-steel decoration. There is a variety of colors and designs available with the price of the Rainy 75 increasing with the fancier finishes and specs. For those people who enjoy customizing their keyboard, the Rainy 75 is available in nine colors including White, Purple, Blue, Pink Luna, Yellow and Redvel Yellow. There is also a choice of plates to alter the keyboard's layout with up to 16 options and 5 accessories to give each keyboard a more individual finish. The 75% layout of the Wobkey Rainy75 offers a full row of function keys, separate cursor cluster and ... More navigation keys in a compact form factor. With the Rainy 75, Wobkey buyers get the option of choosing between factory-lubricated linear HMX Violet switches or Kailh Cocoa switches, depending on the model ordered. A five-layer foam and flex gasket structure increases comfort when typing and helps to reduce fatigue. The PBT double-shot keycaps used on the Rainy 75 offer a smoother typing experience and the material stays clean for longer, resisting the buildup of oil and grime. There is the option of connecting with the host device using a 2.4GHz wireless dongle, Bluetooth and USB. The USB option has a latency of 2ms, while the 2.4GHz wireless dongle manages an impressive 3ms with Bluetooth bringing up the rear with a 7ms latency. The built-in battery comes in sizes ranging from 3500mAh to 7000mAh depending on the model ordered. The stability of this new keyboard and its heft is partly down to the use of enhanced foams and a pro-structural design with a key sound that Wobkey describes as 'like raindrops.' There is a Poron foam layer with an 8x foaming density, while PET foam and EPMD bottom foam are insulated with a PET sheet to dampen the sound still further. The Rainy75 from Wobkey is available in a wide range of finishes with a choice of switches and ... More lighting. The keyboard also uses an FR4 plate with flex cuts but users can specify a different kind of plate for various layouts and acoustic properties. There is no doubt that the Rain 75 is designed to be one of the most tactile mechanical keyboards and promotes typing accuracy. To customize the Rainy 75, Wobkey has used QMK firmware so the keyboard can be programmed and customized with VIA software or the VIA website where keys can be modified and macros added along with other advanced features. The Rainy 75 can adapt to macOS or Windows layouts although there are no macOS modifier keys supplied. That said, with a standard MX keycap fit, users can always choose and fit their own keycaps to further customize the look of the keyboard. Pricing and Availability: The Wobkey Rainy 75 keyboard is available now and costs from $99 depending on the specification and model chosen. Orders can be placed at Tech Specs:
WIRED
23-04-2025
- WIRED
WobKey's Rainy 75 Mechanical Keyboard Punches Above Its Weight
The Rainy 75 is a common sight on the r/MechanicalKeyboards subreddit, a community that nerds out about the thock of a keyboard and, naturally, fun keycaps. It seems like every week or so, someone posts about their new purchase from WobKey, and every time, the consensus revolves around how good of a budget option it is. That's because, for under $150, the Rainy 75 has every feature you could want in a mechanical keyboard today. There are a few strange design choices, but I finally got my hands on one, and I'm impressed by this keyboard. The Rainy 75 is available in three flavors: Lite, Standard, and Pro. The Lite retails for $129 and includes HMX Violet linear switches, a polypropylene plate, and a 3,500-mAh battery. The Pro—the model I tested—includes Kailh Cocoa linear switches, an FR4 plate, RGB lighting, and two batteries totaling 7,000 mAh for $159. The Standard is in between and costs $139. Poppy, Crisp, and Smooth Photograph: Henri Robbins Typing on the Rainy 75 feels and sounds fantastic. It has that poppy, crisp typing sound you see in videos online, and typing feels every bit as energetic and enjoyable. I assume the 'Rainy 75' name comes from the typing sound, since its softer and rounded sound profile sounds like rain falling. The linear 'Cocoa' switches are manufactured by Kailh for the Rainy 75. These switches have a relatively light operating force of 45 grams, which is comparable to a Cherry MX Red, and use a polyoxymethylene stem (POM) and Nylon housing, which helps to create a marbly typing sound and a smooth typing feel. The switches are responsive, popping back up quickly after being pressed, and have hardly any scratch, even when pressed down slowly. The stems of these switches have little wobble from side to side or front to back, making keypresses feel sturdy. The stabilizers on this keyboard come pre-lubed and, despite being plate-mounted instead of printed-circuit-board–mounted, they feel fantastic. While I could talk about how smooth and quiet they are, it's easier to say that I didn't even notice they were there when typing. These stabilizers are tuned perfectly and don't require any work out of the box. That said, I imagine that, like most plate-mounted stabilizers, they will require a reapplication of lube after a while. Photograph: Henri Robbins The gasket-mount system holding the keyboard together is really impressive. It feels bouncy and soft without seeming too muted or mushy. The dampening from the gaskets is consistent across all of the keys, only becoming somewhat stiffer around the edges. Finicky Functionality This keyboard has some quirks that, while not huge, can be annoying. Sometimes, when pressing Alt+Tab on this keyboard, or any other key combinations involving the Tab key, I have to press the combination twice for it to work. I've resolved these oddities by turning the keyboard off and on. Typically, one of my favorite features on a mechanical keyboard is support for QMK and VIA. QMK, short for Quantum Mechanical Keyboard, is an open source firmware that allows for almost limitless customization of a keyboard's layout. VIA is a system for customizing specific QMK-compatible keyboards using an in-browser interface. These allow for simple and efficient customization of mechanical keyboards, meaning a QMK-enabled keyboard will have long-term support without reliance on proprietary software that may stop being updated after a few years.
