Keychron C2 Full Size Wired Mechanical Keyboard

I've always wanted to get a hot swappable keyboard ever since Glorious put out their GMMK keyboard. The idea of swapping out the switches without doing any sort of soldering intrigued me as my soldering skills are garbage, and DIY keyboard kits were A) very expensive, B) very rarely full size, and C) required soldering. The GMMK solved those issues by being affordable, available in full size, and did not require soldering due to the hot swappable nature. However, I found the price to be a bit steep for a complete keyboard. At around $110 it was a tough ask. Here's where the Keychron C2 comes in. The keyboard was cheaper at $75, and came with perfectly serviceable Gateron Brown tactile switches. The Gateron Brown switch is itself a clone of Cherry's MX Brown, a tactile switch within the keyboard community is seen as "not really tactile" due to the very minute tactility that these switches provide. The Gaterons were no exception - they felt okay but the tactility is nonexistent, and I quickly replaced those with extremely tactile and clicky Kailh Box Jades, a switch that is renowned for its tactility and loudness. Much improved in my opinion. The C2 also can come with Gateron Blues (a clone of the clicky Cherry MX Blue) or Gateron Reds (a clone of the linear MX Red). I went with the browns as my old Das Keyboard had MX Blue switches, so I wanted to try something different, even if I was going to replace the switches anyway. Aesthetically, I much prefer the look of the C2 over the GMMK; it looks a lot more professional compared to the floating switch design that the GMMK sports, a look that is quickly becoming favored for gaming keyboards. By comparison, the C2 looks a lot more conventional. It has tall(er) sides, compared to the lack of sides on the GMMK, the keycaps do not have a stenciled "gamer" font like the GMMK, and there is no hokey "Glorious PC race" surrounding it like the GMMK, or the Hexgears Impulse which has too much RGB lighting even for me, and I like RGB lighting. I personally would not hesitate to use this board in an office environment (granted with quieter switches than the raucous Box Jades I currently am using). I did replace the keycaps on my C2 because I do like customizing my board, and I prefer the feel of grainier PBT keycaps over the stock ABS keycaps that the board comes with. That said, the keycaps the board comes with are perfectly fine. This keyboard is even great for Mac users, and in fact out of the box the board is set up for Mac use, with extra keycaps provided to switch to Windows use; a selector on the back of the keyboard switches the board from either Mac use or Windows use. In fact, I would say this board would be a better option than an Apple Magic Keyboard due to the cost of this board versus a Magic Keyboard, and the fact you can swap out the switches to your liking. I do wish though this keyboard was wireless, either through Bluetooth or through a USB dongle. It does come with a nice detachable USB cable, so you can get a custom cable if you want, but a wireless option would have been better; indeed, Keychron's other keyboards (such as their hot swappable K2 and K8 models are wireless so I would've expected that for this as well. My only major gripe is the lack of a scroll lock key. In order to modernize the standard keyboard layout a bit, Keychron ditched the Scroll Lock and Pause/Break keys, and removed the SysReq function from the Print Screen key. The Pause/Break key now controls the backlighting. This is a good thing as who the heck uses the Pause/Break key in everyday instances and means that there's no extra software to install for your computer which is a massive boost over the GMMK. The Scroll Lock key however is now a dedicated Cortana (Windows) or Siri (Mac) button depending on which mode the keyboard is in. I am sure there are people who use these services on their computers, but I find myself accidentally triggering Cortana when I do not want to, and others have done the same. I wish there was an easy way to disable that and either have the key as a scroll lock or just as an unbound dummy key that does not do anything. Luckily, the Print Screen key was left alone aside from the aforementioned removal of the System Request feature. Do I recommend this board? Absolutely. Cortana/Siri triggering issues aside, this is probably the best complete hot-swappable full size keyboard on the market. I know kits are available; Glorious sells one for $60 and Epomaker sells one for $90, but $75 gets you a complete keyboard with RGB backlighting ($65 for white backlighting). Its professional aesthetic looks great with anything, and the customization aspect is perfect. If you're looking for a hot-swappable board, look no further.