LOFREE BLOCK keyboard review: Industrial design & mechanical elegance

The world of mechanical keyboards has dramatically expanded over the past few years, from the most popular brands' entry-level options to the super expensive custom builds, there's bound to be a mechanical board for everyone out there.

Beyond the haptics and sound, one of the most appealing qualities of getting into the mechanical keyboard space is the sheer abundance of different design options, from custom keycaps to complete overhauls that fit specific aesthetics.

One such designer keyboard brand is LOFREE, which currently has six main products that each fit a completely different design ethos. I had the chance to check out their new BLOCK wireless mechanical keyboard, which promises to take things 'back to basics' with an industrial minimalist design that shines within both its aesthetics and functionality.

Dialing up Dieter Rams

At the very heart of the LOFREE BLOCK's visual architecture is Dieter Rams' design ethos that 'less is more'. It's featured heavily on the product page, and the industrial influences are abundantly clear the moment that you look at the keyboard.

My immediate thought was that it looked like it was ripped straight out of a 1980s central European office, and I couldn't help but not fall in love. Off-white and greige give this keyboard an identity that very few have these days, and the specifically Hermès orange knobs in the top left punctuate the aesthetic of the entire product.

This even extends to the smaller details too, as the classic industrial design is evident within custom backspace, enter, escape, and other keycaps. Using these special keycaps to accentuate an overall look isn't anything new, but it continues to work excellently here and contributes greatly to the visuals of the board, despite being only a small feature.

Capping everything off though is the wonderful small panel that sits between the main keys and the number pad, embodying the 'less is more' ethos by letting you know everything that you'll need in one tiny space. One quick glance will show you your current battery life, connection type, and any locks that you have enabled, saving you time while looking great too.

Engineering the perfect sound

What mechanical keyboard enthusiasts obsess over though is achieving the perfect sound. From the ever-popular thock to those who actually enjoy clicky switches (I'm not judging), achieving the perfect sound for your keyboard is perhaps more important than the look or layout for most people.

Lubing your switches and stabilisers is common practice for anyone who wants to achieve the perfect typing feel, but there's also a desire for pre-built boards to find the ideal sound out of the box - and the LOFREE BLOCK is maybe the best that I've tried.

The switch sound is akin to the satisfying low pop that you hear from so many premium mechanical keyboards, where there isn't a single ping to be heard and every keypress feels as smooth as a linear should be.

It's definitely not overly loud like some mechanical keyboards should be, but gives enough feedback to still feel like you're typing - and would definitely be suitable for an office environment.

Interestingly, LOFREE doesn't mention that the switches themselves have been pre-lubed at all, instead focusing on the fact that each TTC switch has been fully constructed with polyoxyethylene (or POM for short). This is a low-friction material that is supposedly self-lubricating, which could be far more consistent across the board, and might save you the effort of re-lubing each switch in the future.

Supporting all of this beyond the switches though is the wonderful sound dampening, giving the board two layers of foam padding, a poron base, and gasket mounts that all contribute to an exceedingly pleasant sounding board. Gasket mounting in particular is something that has become more popular in recent years, and it's excellent to see it implemented so well here and you can really feel the effects when you're typing away.

What perhaps impressed me the most though was the near-flawless stabilisers that LOFREE have designed and implemented themselves. Often with prebuilt keyboards, it's the stabilisers that you will find are the weakest area - whether it be wonky implementation, horrible scratchy sounds, or the dreaded ping on every keypress. Thankfully, none of that is present here, with smooth-sounding stabs throughout that are equally as pleasant to press as the standard keys.

If these switches aren't quite to your taste though - or you just want to play around or lube them yourself - you needn't worry as the PCB is fully hot-swappable, giving you the complete flexibility and freedom to customise the board to your liking. The same appears to be true for the keycaps too, as while I can't see myself ever changing from the existing PBT options, they are all standard ANSI size and should fit most custom options with no issues.

Minor gripes

The only concern that I encountered when testing the LOFREE BLOCK was with rare duplicated keypresses. This was certainly not a regular occurrence - and admittedly hasn't happened once in my last few days of using the keyboard - but I did have a period of use where inputs would be doubled up.

This isn't ideal for typing obviously but it is also slightly concerning for certain games where precise movement is ideal. It might not seem like the end of the world but an additional keypress in something like Counter-Strike could completely throw off your aim, and you certainly don't want that.

I have been almost exclusively using the device over 2.4GHz wireless connection, and in the short period of wired testing I did not encounter any duplicated inputs, but it is something that I did notice for a short period of time.

The Verdict

Overall, the LOFREE BLOCK is an outstanding mechanical keyboard that excels from both design and sound perspectives. It creates a distinct look that is unified throughout the design and functionality and backs it up with near-faultless construction for a pre-built product.

Rare instances of double inputs do worry me ever so slightly about the quality control, but it largely wasn't enough of a consistent issue during the testing period to detract from how much this keyboard has in its favour.

4/5

Review unit provided by the manufacturer.