Overview of the Varmilo Pink Keyboard VA87MR Sakura
Key Features of the Varmilo Pink Keyboard
- Cherry MX Red linear switches for smooth, silent typing
- PBT keycaps with sublimated legends to prevent fading
- Custom Sakura pink backlighting enhancing the keyboard aesthetics
- Tenkeyless design for ergonomic desk space optimization
- Sturdy build with minimal flex and premium stabilizers
Pros and Cons
Pros: Premium build quality, beautiful sakura pink design, long-lasting PBT keycaps, smooth Cherry MX Red switches.
Cons: Initial shipment errors (no backlighting, standard switches), slight metallic hum from the plate, stabilizer squeak over time.
Conclusion
To summarize the review, the keyboard was very good for its time and was ahead of competitors from mass market brands such as HyperX, Razer, Steelseries, Logitech and others, providing much better quality for the same money than the above-mentioned manufacturers offered. If you look at our days, the quality of keyboards has improved, and other players from China have entered the market, who began to provide better quality for the same money and now, for 160 euros you can buy something from dark project or ducky, which are even sold in local stores in Latvia, with more interesting switches, which, for example, will be lubricated from the factory, as well as with backlighting, stronger noise insulation and all this also with the ability to wirelessly connect via radio and Bluetooth. After years, we can say that good and high-quality mechanical keyboards have become noticeably cheaper than they were 5 years ago.
How I Got My Varmilo VA87MR Sakura
How much love and pain in this one name...
It's worth starting a little from afar, how I even acquired this keyboard. It's 2020, watching YouTube, I saw a review of a pink, yes, you heard that right, pink keyboard in a sakura design!
In the video, it looked very beautiful and stylish! And the pink backlight gave it a certain coziness and complemented the entire design of the keyboard. In addition to all this, the tenderness and coziness of the keyboard was complemented by its switches, cherry mx red silent, a quiet version of the linear switches cherry mx red, which are noticeably quieter and after listening to the typing of this keyboard on YouTube, I was clearly convinced of this.
The review was very positive, and an intermediary was also given with whom you can contact and who can order the keyboard directly from the Chinese factory to his address and then send it to me.
Since this Varmilo brand is almost impossible to find for sale in our local Latvian stores, I decided to contact this intermediary and order the same one for myself. On November 29, 2020, I ordered a keyboard through an intermediary, the cost of which cost me 14,400 rubles, but with all the transfer fees to Russia, the real price came out to me almost 165 euros! I chose a varmilo in a pink sakura design, with cherry mx red silent switches and backlighting.
On March 19, 2021, I received it at my post office, while I was promised delivery in about a month, but it took almost four times longer, because the intermediary delayed the shipment for 3 weeks and kept the keyboard with him.
After unpacking the goods, I discovered that cherry mx red switches were installed, and not their silent red version, as well as no backlighting.
Fortunately, I later contacted the intermediary, and he returned me the 10-euro difference in price, since silent switches were more expensive than regular ones.
That's it, the introduction is over, I started using it completely disappointed in this keyboard.
That, thank God, is where all the disappointments end.
So, Varmilo va87mr is a keyboard in TKL format, i.e. without a numpad. The switches used in my version are cherry mx red, the stabilizers are also cherry type. The keypack profile is also cherry type.
In use, this is a very pleasant keyboard, with top-end cherry mx red switches, with good lubricated stabilizers, a beautiful design and thick and durable pbt keycaps, the symbols on which are applied using the sublimation method, due to which there will be no situation where the lettering on the keyboard can be erased.
The disadvantages include the lack of noise insulation between the plate and the keyboard body, because of this, the metal plate resonates a little when typing and a small metallic hum is heard.
And also the lube on the stabilizers, especially on the space bar, dried out, and now the stabilizer has an unpleasant noise of the bracket (as if it was not lubricated)
At that time, all keyboards from popular brands Logitech, HyperX, Razer had unlubricated stabilizers, because of which the bracket in the stabilizer rattled from the beginning, while in the varmilo va87mr it began to rattle after several years of use.
The keyboard is completely functional to this day and everything is fine with it.