Matias Secure Pro wireless keyboard review: A power tool for the paranoid

Matias Secure Pro wireless keyboard $170.00

This quiet, portable, wireless mechanical keyboard boasts an over-the-top security feature. Our reviewer didn't like the feel of its switches, though, and it's very expensive.

The wireless Matias Secure Pro keyboards number-one claim to fame is its 128-bit AES encryption. Ill get into that later. My favorite feature is that its quiet. Youd hardly know this was a mechanical keyboard from the sound it makes. Its close to the volume level of a typical membrane keyboard, if a little sharper or clickier at times. You could use this board in any office or in a bedroom without disturbing a soul.

Be that as it may, Im not a huge fan of typing on it.

Far from the ergonomic relief I expect from a mechanical keyboard, the Matias switches inside the Secure Pro made my fingers exhausted. And thats saying something, considering I type on Cherry Blues on a daily basis. Those switches are known for their abnormally high resistance.

Activating a key on the Secure Pro reminds me of a rubber-dome keyboard. Significant resistance at the top begins to yield as you push past that initial hurdlealmost exactly like a membrane keyboard.

As a result, the Secure Pro scuttles most of the benefits of a mechanical keyboard. Its too easy to bottom-out its keys, which is bad for your fingers and wrists. This keyboard isnt pleasant to type on unless you prefer extremely high resistance. Even then, youd probably be better served by a buckling-spring switch, which spreads resistance out over the path of the entire keystroke.

The Matias Secure Pro has two USB ports. You can use one to store its USB receiver while traveling, and the other can charge a USB device (but you'll need a supplemental power supply for the keyboard, which defeats its wireless feature).

I appreciated the muted click of the Secure Pros keys, as that provided a bit of tactile feedback, but this isnt the sort of keyboard Id pick up for my own day-to-day use. Keyboard preferences are a matter of highly individual taste, of course, so your perception could be very different.

More troubling is that I found myself constantly making typos with the Secure Pro. I dont know whether its because the activation point is so high or because theres so much resistance, but I dropped letters from my words semi-constantly. The space bar was particularly temperamental.

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Matias Secure Pro wireless keyboard review: A power tool for the paranoid