CM Storm QuickFire TK
There is a huge number of Storm QuickFire models and one of the cheapest and oldest is the QuickFire TK, a steel-reinforced, fully backlit mechanical gaming keyboard that was released three years ago.
The QuickFire TK features similar dimensions to a compact tenkeyless keyboard at 377.5mm long, 138mm deep and 33mm thick while also weighing just 800 grams and yet includes a full numpad.
In order to achieve this Cooler Master has removed the arrow keys along with the print screen, scroll lock, pause break and other office related keys that really have no business on a gaming focused keyboard. That said these keys still exist as secondary options on the numpad which makes a lot of sense to us.
Design-wise the QuickFire TK isn't that dissimilar to the Tt eSports Poseidon Z apart from the fact that it's more compact. The QuickFire TK also features nicer looking keycaps that are easier to read thanks to a larger bolder font.
That said, like the Poseidon Z the QuickFire TK is fairly bland when it comes to features and aesthetics.
At around $85 the QuickFire TK is roughly $10 more than the Poseidon Z, though keep in mind Cooler Master went for the genuine Cherry MX switches while Thermaltake opted for the cheaper Kailh switches.
Cooler Master is offering the QuickFire TK with either red, blue or brown Cherry MX switches and depending on which you choose the backlighting color and steel plate color will be different. The red model that we have comes with a red steel plate and lighting, while the blue switch model gets blue steel and lighting and the brown model gets white lights and a brown steel plate.
There are three lighting models and five brightness levels, though controlling both isn't done using dedicated keys but rather secondary options on the F1, F2, F3 and F4 keys which can be a little confusing. Likewise all the multi-media keys are found as secondary functions for the F5 through to F12 keys.
Unfortunately like the Poseidon Z there isn't an optional wrist rest included with the QuickFire TK and as I have said previously this is a must have feature in my opinion. If you can make do without a wrist rest or just prefer not to use one then simply ignore my complaints regarding the lack of a wrist rest.
Although there are few features to speak of, flipping the QuickFire TK does reveal the unique ability to detach the USB cable and replace it with a shorter or longer cable. The mini-USB 2.0 cable that comes with the QuickFire TK is braided and measures 1.8m long.
Other than the detachable cable there are a few cable management options under the QuickFire TK along with two extension legs and four rubberized pads for grip. A keycap puller is included in the package is though the QuickFire TK doesn't come with any additional keycaps.
For those of you who like the QuickFire TK and would happily invest in a full size board with multi-color per-key backlighting, then check out the new QuickFire XTi at $150.