Keyboard Builders' Digest
Save 10% at AKKO EU! Code: KBDNEWS
Keyboard Builders' Digest / Review

Epomaker Alice 66 review

An affordable Alice style keyboard from Epomaker: Alice 66 – hotswap, QMK/Via, tri-mode wireless. Great switches but loud plastic case.

KBD.news
Published December 23, 2024
Creators! Feel free to tip me off about your keyboard related projects to bring them to 140K readers.

TLDR; I was a bit confused when testing the Epomaker Alice66. Its a decent and affordable Alice style wireless keyboard – hotswappable switches, QMK/Via support, tri-mode connectivity, and nice decoration lights. However, all these great features don't really match the plastic case – it definitely deserved an alu chassis! love the Flamingo switches, and while more ergonomic layouts exist, the split spacebar combined with VIA can work wonders. That said, this board is best suited for fans of loud clack – despite the gaskets and five layers of sound dampening.

Disclaimer

I received this batch of keyboards from Epomaker. As always, I'm not being paid to write about these products, but receiving a free sample can introduce various biases – both positive and negative, in my experience. Keep this in mind while reading this review!

Pic:

This is the first time I've been contacted by Epomaker, and they helped set this year's festive atmosphere with a generous offer to send me four keyboards. While I’m aware that opinions about some of the brand’s previous models have been controversial, my personal experience has been nothing but positive. Excellent communication, fast and professional shipping, and a wide selection of keyboards catering to a broad audience.

Unboxing

The Alice 66 is available in a single color: a white/beige colorway. Packaging-wise, it comes in a stylish black cardboard box reminiscent of the '80s, featuring a silky texture. The board is accompanied by a detailed manual in multiple languages, a braided cable, a combined keycap and switch puller, and a few extra switches. The wireless dongle is conveniently stored in its holder on the back of the keyboard.

Pic:

Pic:

First impressions

To begin with, this is only my second Alice style board, the other being the Weikav Record Alice. After an early foray into columnar ergonomic split keyboards, I’ve never felt the urge to explore the Alice layout further. That’s why I’m especially grateful to Epomaker for their Christmas batch of keyboards featuring non-trivial layouts.

The Alice 66 is a pre-built keyboard, it came fully assembled: stabilizers, switches, keycaps mounted. It's ready to rock right out of the box.

Pic:

The case is plastic. While aluminum keyboards are in a league of their own, especially when it comes to acoustic characteristics, there are some impressive plastic keyboards out there. Unfortunately, the Alice 66 case doesn’t quite make it into that category. Don’t get me wrong – it’s a great board with many strengths, but the loud, hollow-sounding case is probably its biggest weakness, at least for many enthusiasts.

Appearance

Distinctive Alice layout and retro-inspired keycaps in calm earth tones and a beige colorway, accented by dark red highlights. Additionally, decorative lighting elements play a key role in defining the keyboard’s overall appearance.

Pic:

Layout

It’s no surprise that Alice layouts have gained popularity in recent years. Unlike true split keyboards with columnar staggering, the semi-split unibody design is not only more approachable for users transitioning from standard layouts but also visually appealing. While hardcore ergonomic enthusiasts might argue that it’s not truly ergonomic—due to the remnants of horizontal staggering, particularly in the bottom row, which can be challenging to adjust to after using columnar staggered splits – the split spacebar alone offers an excellent opportunity to rethink your keymap and optimize your workflow.

Of course, if you are looking for an ergo board because of already developed discomfort or pain, other than visiting a specialist, I'd suggest to look into symmetric, columnar true splits – or even better: a custom board designed around your hands/fingers.

Pic:

That said, the layout is ANSI Alice. No luck for ISO dude(tte)s.

Dedicated arrow cluster, number row, but no function keys or numpad.

The rotary encoder in the top right corner is actually a four-stage rotary switch, not an encoder. It toggles between connection modes and is not programmable.

Pic:

Pic:

If you're new to this layout, here are some key features that define this specific Alice model (since there are many derivatives):

  • 66 keys
  • partially angled halves
  • split spacebar (2.25u and 2.75u)
  • TKL & FRL (no numpad or function row)
  • 2-key button cluster in the upper right corner (default: Home + Del)
  • arrow cluster
  • B keys on both sides

Specs

  • Monoblock split Alice layout, 65% ANSI US
  • 66 keys, MX, hotswap
  • Gasket mounted structure
  • Typing angle: about 6 degrees + two-stage feet
  • Per-key RGB LEDs (south facing)
  • ABS plastic chassis
  • 5 layer sound dampening
  • PC plate
  • Tri-mode wireless connectivity
  • Dimensions: 322 x 114 x 45 mm
  • Weight: 950 g

Keycaps

This is a decent dye-sub PBT Cherry profile set, designed in the style of the recently popular classic retro consoles (think 8BitDo and others). I really like the muted colorway, which is possibly inspired by the Nintendo Famicom. However, I’m not a fan of the fonts used on the modifiers, especially the Enter key.

Pic:

If you decide to replace the keycaps, be sure to check compatibility: not all keycap sets are designed with Alice-style layouts in mind. Some may lack caps for the split spacebar or the second B key.

Switches

Either Epomaker Wisteria or Flamingo linears. Mine came with the Flamingos, which are probably the most beautiful switches I've ever used. These are very affordable but decent linear switches ($13/35pcs), however, they can't reach their full acoustic potential in this plastic case.

Pic:

Pic:

Other than the look, the two switch options are pretty similar: both light linears (45 vs 47gF actuation). The Wisteria V2 has a light diffuser.

Stabilizers

Plate-mounted stabilizers. The product page claims that the PCB doesn’t support screw-in stabs, but it definitely has the holes. Perhaps the overall sandwich structure doesn’t support them.

Pic:

Structure

As with many prebuilt keyboards, the Alice 66 doesn’t appear to be designed with modding in mind. The top and bottom cases are held together by four screws (are these really self-tapping ones screwed directly into the plastic?), but the parts are also snapped together, making it relatively difficult to separate them.

Pic:

Gasket mounting

Nice gaskets provide a cushioned typing feel even without flex cuts.

Pic:

Pic:

Plate

Frosted PC plate, plate-mount stabilizers.

Per-key LED

Per-key RGB LEDs (south facing) are a must-have for those who enjoy this feature. It's not critical feature for me, but I have to admint that the Alice 66 has great potential in this regard. Maybe not with the stock caps, but the Flamingo switches work very well with the LEDs.

Pic:

Decoration lights & badge

Decoration lights deserve a dedicated section simply because there are not less than three of them.

A short strip in the top left corner. This is pretty common but nice anyway.

Pic:

Than a glowing Epomaker logo above the arrow cluster, with a generously sized diffuser.

Pic:

And now let's take a look at the bottom.

Pic:

Pic:

I didn’t want to believe that this badge is metal, but its back appears brushed, and it actually looks and feels like metal. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting this from a board with an ABS plastic case.

Pic:

The badge is held in place by a magnet. On the PCB, a cluster of 14 downward-facing LEDs illuminate the area around the badge the badge, creating smooth lighting effects. Very well done. Too bad I don't often flip my keyboards over to inspect the bottom.

Pic:

PCB

Very nice PCB, with classy copper layer pattern. Honestly, another feature I wasn't expecting in the plastic case. Most of you won't get this far, sandwiched between foam layers, so here are some photos of it:

Pic:

Hotswap sockets, per-key RGB, USB daughterboard, etc.:

Pic:

Sound

The Alice 66 has 5 layers of sound dampening: IXPE switch pad, two layers of poron foam, bottom hotswap foam, bottom silicone filling.

Despite all this effort, the board can be very loud depending on the circumstances – due to the hollowish sounding plastic case. I'd say a decent deskmat is a must if you're not into the loud clack.

Pic:

Pic:

All this with otherwise nice Flamingo switches, which are more on the silent side of the non-silent linear switch spectrum. I'm going to try some real silent linears, like the Silent Sakuras I received from ElecFox, though I don’t have high hopes that they will significantly alter the sound profile. Actually, the BSUN Silent Sakuras turned this Alice into a whole different board: some caps may hit the switches, but other than that, it's silent now. (I'll also have to try some really loud switches – just to max out the feeling.)

Wireless

Triple-mode wireless connectivity, 4000mAh battery.

Polling rate: 1000Hz (USB, 2.4Ghz), 125Hz (Bluetooth 5.0)

Firmware

QMK/VIA support. Yay! However, I have to note at this point that Epomaker is not fully compliant with the QMK licence.

The board works out of the box, the accompanying manual contains the default functions available via using the FN layer, but let's assume you want more control:

Pic:

Let's head to usevia.app! You'll have to download and use the Epomaker Alice66 VIA JSON file.

I quickly swapped some letters according to my go-to logical layout, plus set up SpaceFN to check layer behavior. Every important feature I tried worked without any issues.

Portability

While the Alice 66 is a 65% layout board, its width of almost 36 cm is closer to a TKL because all the Alice angles and offset arrows/keys/rotary switch. Well, not exactly the size of a TKL, but you get the point.

Pic:

That said, the board is relatively light – one of the advantages of the plastic case – and easy to transport.

Comparison

The only similar layout in my 120 strong collection is the Weikav Record Alice. It's a very affordable CNC aluminum keyboard kit with great typing feel. However, its firmware implementation is severly flawed.

The Alice 66, however, is a prebuilt keyboard, has great VIA support – but comes in a mediocre plastic case.

When choosing between the two, you'll need to decide between the alu case and wired connection (Record) vs programmability, wireless modes, and much better lights (Epomaker Alice 66).

Pic:

If you fell in love with the retro console style of the keycaps, the Fami edition of 8BitDo's retro keyboards comes in a similar look (I reviewed the NES version). That said, the 8BitDo one is the same loud plastic, just in a TKL layout – and proprietary software. So the question here is: TKL with closed firmware and more retro dials/buttons vs Alice with Via and much better lights.

Pros

  • Hotswap, VIA, tri-mode connectivity
  • Layout with split spacebar
  • Decoration lights
  • Flamingo switches

Cons

  • Hollow sounding plastic case despite generous sound dampening
  • Self-tapping screws?!
  • Not a big fan of the keycap font choice.

Conclusion

The Epomaker Alice 66 is a decent 65% Alice style pre-built keyboard, available for $80. Tri-mode wireless, hotswap, QMK/VIA support, and three different decoration lights beyond featuring per-key RGB. I love the look of the Flamingo switches a lot, the font choice for the keycap legends less so. If you prefer the Alice layout or just want to try it out for the first time, the Alice 66 is a relatively affordable and easily customizable board to start your journey – if you don't mind the loud sound caused by the plastic case.

Availability

If you like what you've read about the Alice 66, check it out at Epomaker (don't forget to use the KBDNEWS discount code to save $10!):

Do you like this post? Share, donate, subscribe, tip me off!

Published on Mon 23rd Dec 2024. Featured in KBD #182.


Related

Momoka FROG linears review

Momoka FROG Linear switch review by Reimu64 (video).

Zealio V1 Redux

ThereminGoat reviewed the Zealio V1 Redux switches.

Kinetic Labs' Husky switch

Kinetic Labs' Husky switch reviewed by ThereminGoat.

Hyperglide Cherry MX Black

Hyperglide Cherry MX Black review (video) by _veelut.

Synth Labs 060 review

Ouch. The Synth Labs 060 is probably the most beautiful keyboard I've ever tested. I'll have to send it back after the review, and I'm already missing it. :) :(

TTC Wild switch review

TTC Wild linear switches reviewed by ThereminGoat.

×
top