Sharkoon SKILLER SGK50 S2 Wood PBT

Sharkoon may not be the best-known brand, but they have been around for several decades. The brand is best known for making affordable products manufactured in China, but with headquarters in Germany. They usually operate in a price range that is accessible to everyone, but occasionally they release products that stand out solely on price. So when they release a keyboard with a wooden chassis, it's a little confusing.

The SGK50 series of keyboards is one such product. They are fully customisable and available in many variants, both with and without keys and switches. If you want a barebone ISO or ANSI solution, you can have that too. The series comes in three versions: 96% (S2), 75% (S3), and 60% (S4). Virtually everything can be changed easily and simply. We tried the S2 version with both switches and keys. Incidentally, a few tools are included for changing keys and switches, so you save money there.

The layout is slightly smaller; three keys are missing, which takes some getting used to. Our test model had Gateron G Yellow 3.0 Pro linear yellow switches, and a space bar and ESC key in a wood-look finish. These are switches you can only be happy with, as they feel light, smooth, and natural, despite requiring 50g of force to activate. It takes 67g to press them all the way down, significantly more than the brown and red Gateron switches that most enthusiasts are probably familiar with. As with most other custom keyboards, only 3 or 5-pin standard switches are required, and there is full support for VIA and QMK standards when it comes to software. However, I am surprised that the space bar clearly slides more easily, faster and more linearly than the other keys. I wish the whole keyboard were like this.

The keys feel solid, not too noisy, but with a relatively smooth surface that feels somewhat more premium than the ESC and space bar keys but not quite what I expected. The hard coating they have been given to make them more resistant also makes them feel a little cheap.

The keys are made of high-quality PBT plastic and "stylish wood," with internal damping and everything. The USB connection port has a gold finish. However, I must emphasise that the sides and the entire keyboard chassis are coated with a kind of lacquer to protect against scratches. This makes it look a bit plastic-like, probably because a glossy rather than a matte lacquer was chosen. It's a shame, because it's a really cool concept so let's hope the next generation will have a matte lacquer. Alternatively, you could just sand it down, which is what I would do if it weren't a loaner for testing. This would allow the wood to appear genuine and untreated, which is quite appealing as it offers an alternative to coloured plastic.

Polycarbonate, a shatterproof plastic, has been inserted with a layer of silicone to ensure a more refined sound and to better dampen hard keystrokes. It works and the sound when you press the keys is reasonable and not too plastic-like, but it can't completely hide the fact that the keys are moulded in plastic. On the other hand, they sound fine and are subtle. Significantly more so than the space bar, which is quite noisy. It's clearly not dampened like the rest.

It's a nice little detail that the USB connection is surrounded by a metal ring. It provides a nice contrast, but it also makes it difficult to connect anything other than the included cable. However, it's cool and rolled up like a spring, which is so modern, and it works well.

A fun detail is that there is no text that lights up to tell your if Caps Lock is on as instead, the key itself lights up. The keyboard is controlled, whether it's media playback, macro functions, or lighting, via key combinations, just like in the old days. I miss having a wheel or button to control the volume, but otherwise it's fine.

The price is not great. A barebones version without keys and switches costs around £150. On the other hand, it only costs a tad more with switches and keys. Considering the price of the switches alone, it's the best deal. Then you can always change the keys to something you like better, especially because the space bar is absolutely fantastic to press.

And so we come to the overall result. The idea is actually quite good, but with a few minor flaws here and there ,and a hefty price tag that rivals the well-established players on the market, perhaps they should have finished baking the cake before putting it up for sale. The surface treatment of the keys should definitely be changed, and if it were my keyboard, that would be the first thing I would change. And I wonder why they missed the opportunity to make a version where the keys are also made of real wood as that would have been superb. But otherwise, the keyboard is solid enough, in more ways than one.