Mr Suit TKL
One of the most beautiful board I’ve come across
The Keyboard
Mr Suit has an amazing internal design, the best I’ve seen really, the likes of which is only appreciated by keyboard purists because it literally serves no aesthetic purpose since it cannot be seen after being built. Its beauty can only be appreciated by its builder. To my knowledge, Mr Suit is also one of the first boards that used silicone socks in place of gasket foams, which were much tougher to install than the latter. Its PCB also contained cutouts, which were rare for its time, and a new thing that people wanted to play with. Externally, Mr Suit is basically flawless, no visible blemishes from what I can tell. The PVD backweight is also stunning. The keyboard is reminiscent of brands like TGR and Keycult with a Toblerone inspired front and a seemingly sandwiched mid plate. In terms of price, the base configuration will set you back a little under $400, which is that of a mid-tier board. In all honesty, this is a steal since similar boards easily cost around $500 given the timely circumstances around it.
Did I mention it sounded fantastic and pleasant to type on? But all these are just the surface. Beauty is not only skin deep with Mr Suit.
The History
You know what the Jelly Epoch is and what it’s famous for. I’ve written a piece about it previously. But do you know that the same people at Owlab, who designed the Epoch, also designed Mr Suit? The Epoch is a revolutionary piece that forever changed the keyboard scene by making almost every keyboard marbly, regardless of what combination of switches, plates and keycaps you throw at it. With its introduction of the PE foam into its standard kit, many keyboards followed suit. *pun absolutely intended*
Naturally, many eyeballs were on Owlab, given the success behind the Epoch. These guys also went on to design the QK65 and QK80, which are also amazing budget tier keyboards.
Hot on the heels off of Epoch’s success, Mr. Suit was also released at the peak of COVID hype and unlike other boutique keyboard makers, it was made available in-stock with keyboards shipping within weeks. If you ask me, it was smart and very capable of Owlab to ship out boards fast because this allowed them to build trust with the community and in turn generated more demand, especially during COVID. One key factor for their quick production rates, which I am purely speculating here, is that since Owlab is ultimately a Chinese brand, they have the home court advantage in manufacturing keyboards, whether or not people in Owlab have the expertise.
Deliver on your promises
It’s as simple as that. People in the community aren’t too hard to please. Just stick to what you promised and deliver a fine commercial product. No visible flaws, great finishing and great materials, timely delivery and you can command a mid to high tier pricing. They didn’t over nor under promise. They literally delivered what they promised. A simple recipe for success yet so difficult to attain.