CONCLUSION

   First of all when we learned that HAVIT was sending the HV-KB366L keyboard we all expected (I don’t think anyone would expect anything else) a cheap plastic keyboard with a poor excuse for mechanical switches. Instead we got a solid aluminum keyboard with surprisingly good mechanical switches that also feature RGB LED illumination. Granted the Outemu blue switches need more power to press (HAVIT gives a required actuation force of 80G but I doubt it’s more than 60G) and are quite louder compared to Cherry MX (much like Gateron ones) but these two are not necessarily bad for a switch aimed towards people who like to type a lot. Now some of you may not “believe” the number of actuations (50 million) Outemu gives for their mechanical switches but even if they are good for half that they still offer a very good price/endurance ratio. Unfortunately the HV-KB366L lacks multimedia controls and individual RGB key illumination while the available colors and effects are nearly enough to compete with what we see from other manufacturers but I doubt most users looking to get an affordable keyboard will care much about those features.

   As I type these lines the HAVIT HV-KB366L RGB Backlit Mechanical Keyboard retails for USD70.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 63Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk) so it’s pretty much the lowest-cost model to ever reach our lab. Of course had HAVIT used plastic instead of aluminum cost would be even lower but as it stands the HV-KB366L lands between the really cheap mechanical gaming keyboards and the more expensive ones by known manufacturers so I don’t think it was a bad move. Overall if you’re not willing or just can’t climb more in price for a mechanical gaming keyboard the HV-KB366L seems like a valid choice and since it does much better than we had hoped and scores high in quality and features it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Very Good Build Quality (Aluminum Housing)
- RGB Key Illumination (4 Brightness Levels & 5 Modes/Effects)
- Outemu Blue Mechanical Switches (50M Actuations)
- N-Key/6-Key Rollover
- Plastic Edges
- Braided Cable / Gold Plated USB Plug
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- No USB Ports (For Some)
- No Individual Key Illumination (For Some)
- Few Available Colors And Effects (For Some)