Kemove P11 keycap puller

Keyboard Builders' Digest / Tips & Tricks

Kemove P11 keycap puller

In contrast to classic wire keycap pullers, the Kemove P11 is a novel way to remove caps, four at the same time.

KBD.news
Published November 27, 2024

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I've already teased the Kemove P11, this new keycap puller with an innovative design allowing four keycaps to be pulled out at once.

While the P10 is probably my favorite switch puller with the best value for money at the time I reviewed it, its keycap puller function is only for emergency situations. That's why I was excited to get my hands on the P11. If you're considering it for efficient cleaning or keycap and switch replacement, here's my verdict after testing it extensively for a few weeks with various keyboards and keycap profiles.

TLDR; The P11 4-key puller works fine with some keycap/switch combos, is very affordable, and Kemove offers a 30-day return, so feel free to try it. However, let's be realistic: being a 4-key puller doesn't result in a 4x speed, I'd say it's about 2x. To pull out four switches, you logically need to exert four times as much force. In addition, it may pull out switches from hotswap boards, which may compromise its efficiency. All in all, it works great with more loosely fit switch/keycap combos, and less well with tightly fit ones. The best part, however, isn't the pulling itself but ensuring a tidy arrangement of the removed keycaps. This is immensely helpful when putting your caps back, especially for those who frequently swap their keycaps or switches.

Disclaimer

I received this P11 keycap puller from Kemove. As always, I'm not being paid to write these reviews, but receiving a free sample may introduce its own biases – both positive and negative, based on my experience. Take everything I write with a grain of salt.

Build quality

While the P11 is very light and doesn't feel that strong at first, I had no problem with it. It's still in one piece after a few weeks of usage. :)

The grip's material is ABS, and the jaws are made of high carbon grade 420 stainless steel for wear and corrosion resistance. The edges of the metal parts are grinded for "non-destructive extraction."

Heat-treated electrolytic passivation on the surface of metal clips creates a protective layer that enhances the durability of the metal – Kemove.

The grip is relatively comfortable. The design, which lets you hook your fingers, is a great help when keycaps are snug and extra force is needed. It could be thicker, but then it would be heavier and less portable. Maybe for a more heavy duty deluxe version.

Specs

Material: ABS + stainless steel
Size: 90x70x15mm (3.54x2.76x0.59 inch)
Weight: 25g

Performance

The idea is great, but in practice, it not always works as expected.

Is pulling keycaps with the P11 quicker? Yes! Is the process as smooth as I expected? Not always. :)

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Especially on hotswap boards with tightly fitting caps, it tends to pull out the switches as well, which can be frustrating. While a simple wire puller would cause the same issue, this undermines the P11's effectiveness, making it not exactly 4x quicker than a standard wire keycap puller.

All in all, it works very nicely on some configs, but not on some others.

However, the biggest pro isn't the pulling part in my opinion, but the tidy arrangement of the pulled keycaps (which is a total mess with normal keycap pullers).

Speed

It's hard to do a proper speed test when also paying attention to the nice arrangement of keys.

The more acceptable mess on the left took me about 12s with the P11, while the absolute mess on the right took almost 30s with one of the better wire keycap pullers from my drawer.

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This means that I could go much slower with the P11 to aim for a perfect grab and release, while still beating the classic puller.

Yep, whether if it's about cleaning your keyboard, swapping your keycaps, or replacing your switches, it's better to consider the whole cycle of removing the keycaps and putting them back. And the P11 helps a lot in the second, assembly phase. Perhaps I don't need to emphasize how much easier it is to work with a neatly arranged keycap set, everything facing upwards, than with a jumbled pile of caps.

Compatibility

I tested the P11 on various keyboards and keycaps, and the design ensures there's no huge difference when it comes to various profiles. The only incompatible cases are keyboards with a keywell, and also curved thumb clusters of ergo splits.

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Obviously, the jaws of the P11 being straight, it's impossible to position them on splits with curved columns, or a hex one like my Mantis. :D But these are the outliers, and it works well with flat columnar staggering.

In addition, LEGO cases may come apart under the applied force, before releasing a keycap. :)

Keycap profiles

I haven't found any incompatible keycap profile among the widely available ones, however, haven't had higher profiles at hand, e.g. SA and MT3. That said, the P11 works with low-pro caps just like with various MX-compatible keycaps I had laying around.

In the photos below you can see how the P11 performed with various setups. I didn't modify any of the layouts afterward.

Cherry

I started with a Kemove board, the soldered Kemove87SE. As expected, the P11 does the job perfectly.

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Cherry profile on the hotswap Chosfox Fox65. White Fox V2s switches with standard MX stem. One switch pulled out, one cap flew off.

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I'd say it doesn't work well with the Gravastar Mercury K1 Pro (Cherry, hotswap PCB, Gravastar's switches with standard MX stem).

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The Akko Year of the Dragon (magnetic(!) Akko Cream Yellow) with hybrid but Cherry(ish) sets (Aihey Studio's Harry Potter themed one and the original Akko set.) It works like a breeze with 1U caps, even on switches with dust-proof stem. A minor mishap during one of the releases.

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All in all, it's not about the keycap profile alone.

XDA

The P11 worked beautifully with the Ergohaven Planeta V2 (XDA, Tecsee Ruby). However, the tool's greatest advantage does not come into play with blank keycaps, obviously.

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MDA

I had Akko MDAs combined with Akko switches on the Moeetech Glitter 65 R2 and ScottoWing. I'd say the P11 worked the best with these combos. The easiest removal by far.

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ASA

The ASA caps on the resin Akko YU01 behaved strangely. Maybe these transparent PC caps are lighter, but they scattered everywhere.

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MOA

The wooden Akko MU01's PBT MOA caps behaved much better.

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Dot

It works well with these trendy uniform caps too, here on the Lilith + Lilin chimera, however, pulling them was definitely harder than other keycaps. This may be due to the dust-proof stem of the switches. By the time I got to this board, I had learned that I need to be careful with LEGO cases.

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Low profile

The KBDcraft Israfel's low-pro but MX caps on the all-POM low-pro Kailh switches were on the more annoying end of the spectrum. This may be due to the circular stem, but also simply because the LEGO case was not designed to withstand this type of force. I completely tore apart the case on my first try, and you can see some loosened bricks here too. :)

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I may get back to more low-pro caps, but I can't see any reason why the P11 shouldn't work with MBK, MCC, CFX, etc.

Hotswap

Yep, hotswap sockets caused me the most trouble. The speed and efficiency of the P11 are compromised on hotswap keyboards with snugly fitting keycaps but loosely fitting switches in the hotswaps sockets.

Pulling the caps together with the switches undermines the promise of speed and smooth usage.

Sure, it's likely that a classic wire puller would do the same in this situation. However, with a wire puller you stop, resolve the problem, and drop the cap on your chaotic pile of keycaps. The same stopping, however, may mess up your otherwise neatly arranged pile with the P11 – which is the best thing about this tool.

Usage

Positioning is a bit different, it takes some time to master, but is a very quick process once you get the feel of it. The pulling motion needs to be firm but gentle to keep the caps between the jaws.

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After some practice, it works well for 1U keycaps. Also for larger caps, but you better handle those separately. And you better grab a standard puller for ISO Enters. :)

One more thing: Wire pullers may damage the keycap because of the very small contact surface. The P11, however, distributes pressure evenly along the length of two sides of the keycap, reducing the risk of damaging your expensive keycap set.

Portability

While definitely lightweight and can fit your pocket in theory, it still takes up a much larger space than a classic wire puller – as a result of the spring keeping the jaws in an open position.

I always keep a basic wire puller in my pocket (for real, so I don't miss a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity when encountering e.g. a rare vintage keyboard on the street for whatever reason :)), but replacing them with a P11? Somehow, that didn't occur to me. I'd say the P11 is for desk usage.

Conclusion

The Kemove P11 4-key puller is an innovative idea, very affordable, and since Kemove offers a 30-day return, feel free to give it a try. Whether if you'd like to clean your keyboard or replace your caps and switches often, the P11 works fine with some keycap/switch combos, regardless of the keycap profile. However, using it is definitely not 4x quicker than a wire puller: To pull out four switches, you logically need to exert four times as much force, that requires quite some strength, especially in some extreme situations. In addition, this tool may pull out switches from hotswap boards, which may compromise its efficiency – however, this is a common annoyance with standard wire pullers too. All in all, it works great with some more loosely fitting switch/keycap combos, but with some very tightly fit ones you may have to revert back to a wire puller. The best thing, however, is not the pulling part but the P11 ensuring a tidy arrangement of the pulled keycaps. This is an immense help when putting your caps back, especially for those who often replace their keycaps or switches. While you can pull multiple caps with a wire puller consecutively, releasing them results in a real mess, at least for me. With the P11, I don't have to look for individual keycaps in a chaotic heap of caps, but can put them back together very effectively.

Pros & Cons

Pros

tidy arrangement of pulled keycaps
spreads the pressure, no damage to the caps
affordable

Cons

hard to use with tightly fit keycaps (4x force)
may pull out hotswap switches (just like wire pullers)
less portable

Availability

If you pull lots of switches and consider buying a P11, it's available at Kemove for $4.75 with the KBDNEWS coupon code:

KEMOVE P11 Keycaps Puller for ~~$4.99~~ $4.75.

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Published on Wed 27th Nov 2024. Featured in KBD #180.

Tags: tool review

Keyboard Builders' Digest / Tips & Tricks