The Lemokey L5 HE is a hefty piece of hardware. Its dense machined aluminum frame tips the scales at 4.2 pounds, making it one of the heavier keyboards we’ve tested—significantly weightier than the similarly sized Alienware Pro Wireless Keyboard—though that dense frame makes for stable typing. The 75% layout means it loses the keypad found on full-size models. The keyboard measures 1.7 by 12.9 by 5.9 inches (HWD) and fits well in a bag, but the weight still makes it a pain to carry around. (Not that this is the kind of keyboard you’d want to bring to a friend’s house or a tournament. For that, you’re better off with an even smaller 60% board.)
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
The L5 HE comes in three different color schemes. The Cyber option, featured in pictures throughout this review, has metallic green accents and a few keycaps with a cyborg aesthetic. The black version, Dark Master, features metallic red accents, while the cream-colored Down Master option gives you gold. All color variants have the same internal PCB and are available for the same price regardless of their paint jobs.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
As for connectivity, the L5 HE doesn’t offer Bluetooth or 2.4GHz wireless, but many gaming enthusiasts may prefer wired-only. A physical connection (in this case, a removable braided USB-C cable) is more reliable than Bluetooth or 2.4GHz, and wired connections typically deliver higher polling rates, like the L5 HE’s maximum of 8,000Hz. Still, while rates this high are a neat feature, they aren’t particularly rare anymore, and most casual gamers won’t notice them. The less-expensive BlackWidow V4 can also reach an 8,000Hz polling rate right out of the box. Even the Corsair K70 RGB Pro Mini can do 8,000Hz out of the box while plugged in (but not with a wireless connection).
The alphanumeric keys on the Cyber variant are solid black with shine-through lettering. The transparent keycaps, meanwhile, look very nice and feature a typeface that’s evocative of the Cyber moniker. They’re a bit tough to see with the backlighting on, though, and if all the keys were transparent, L5 HE would probably be too bright to use without hurting your eyes. (At maximum brightness, anyway. You can adjust the level of brightness using the control utility.)
Other illumination includes a small red LED underneath the space bar that helps you locate a factory reset switch and a red LED on the Caps Lock key that lights up when the key is engaged.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
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