In a recent post, I had a mostly positive overview of the Razer Huntsman Mini. However, after some further research, I pronounce the Razer Huntsman Mini a disappointment. The main reason is other comparable keyboards. But first, let's look at the positives.
By far the biggest positive of the Razer Huntsman Mini is simply to bring attention to smaller keyboards. Almost all people, especially gamers, don't need the numpad, and most can even go down to a 65% board. And although the 60% layout was more widely known following the release of the Ducky One 2 Mini, the big-name manufacturers had mostly stuck to their bread and butter: full-size, RGB behemoths. With arguably the most influential gaming company in the world creating and promoting a 60% keyboard, hopefully people will start to see the benefits of them. Additionally, there are many quality-of-life benefits, such as the non-proprietary USB-C cable, that improve on previous Razer keyboards.
General Issues
First of all, even with similar keyboards not considered, there are definitely things that irk me about this keyboard. For $120, you are expecting a premium keyboard - otherwise you'd just buy a Redragon. However, even Razer's premiere 60% keyboard still doesn't have good stabilizers. They are rattly, and not even a normal plate or PCB mount style, which means they are very hard to replace.
Secondly, I don't see why Razer's optical switches are better. It is almost impossible to tell the difference in reaction time between the optical and mechanical switch. Razer's optical switches also have problems of their own. They are not very smooth, contrary to what you would expect with a switch that literally needs no contact points. Gateron optical switches are some of the smoothest stock switches on the market because of this. Additionally, they are quite wobbly, even with each switch having its own stabilizer. The stabilizers also create rattly noise if the key is pressed off-center or the keyboard is shaken.
Comparable Keyboards
Lastly, there are so many keyboards at similar or smaller pricepoints that beat the Huntsman Mini. Even the GMMK, which I flamed in an earlier post, is better than the Huntsman Mini because you can mod the stabilizers or change the switches to any weight or type you want, whereas the Hunstman is locked with either a light-linear or a medium clicky.
For an all-around higher quality keyboard, you should look no further than the Ducky One 2 SF, which has the popular arrow keys as well as higher quality parts in every department. Stabilizers, case, and more. For an aluminum case keyboard at $120, what about the Ducky Mecha Mini?
You can even get an excellent wireless mechanical keyboard for that price: the Keychron K6, which is also hot-swap and aluminum.
Overall
Although this is a step in the right direction, and will hopefully bring more attention to smaller form-factor keyboards, there are a number of better options out there. However, the most important thing is that people are exposed to smaller keyboards, and for that I thank Razer.
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