Do you have any idea how expensive Ergo cap sets can run?!

I love my Ergodox keebs, but man does it suck to find new keycaps for them. Back when I was a 60% user the mech scene was still growing. There were amazing sets in circulation, and I remember the excitement of every new announcement. The problem with these was getting your hands one them to begin with. There were far fewer sets than there are readily available now. With the right timing and some import tax cash ready to go, you can get your hands on some really great deals. I still regret not taking advantage of my options, even back then. PimpMyKeyboard was my go-to window shop, especially for the DSA Otaky set… might still buy that… Finding a good deal on Ergo sets nowadays? Still not fun.

Now PimpMyKeyboard have some great Ergo sets to accompany some of their more popular base sets. The big issue for us non-American residents has always been shipping, both time and fees. Depending on the seller, there may not even be and option to ship a set out of the USA, and even when you can, you know you’ve spent enough on the set itself to warrant a love letter from the national import taxers. Import fees can sometimes reach highs of 60% of the price of the original purchase. So yeah, not too attractive an option.

Recently, I thought I might try something I swore never to do: buy caps from CHOINA. I had no fear over the import taxes when buying anything from China as I never feel confident enough to spend more than a few bucks on any of the products from there listed online. Quality, this was my main concern. They don’t have an amazing record at producing trust-worthy, long lasting, sturdy, reliable products. 9 times out of ten you’re buying a check replica of what you could be paying top dollar for in your own country. However, when it comes to something like bits of plastic? Choina has great experience in producing products made from all forms of plastic composits.

I took the risk and bout the set pictured above. I knew what PBT caps felt like, how sturdy and durable they were. Personally, I’m an ABS man, but PBT seemed good enough for the 30 bucks they were asking. I just got the set today, and this post was typed up with them. I really like them. For 30 bucks? They feel really good. I’m not going to lie, the dye subbing (and it is dyed) is not my favorite part. I’m used to double shots, but its not as bad as I though it would be either. I think the problem I have is the contrast, as I’ve been using whatever high contrast DSA Ice cap set EZ have from PimpMyKeyboard. So my eyes need adjusting I guess, but not for long…

See, this set is a bit of a change from my religious use of DSA sets, as these are Cherry profile. I haven’t used a Cherry profile set since I bout some 12 dollar wacko-made Tai Haos and despised them so much that I saved up to buy some DSA Honeywells and never looked back. I’ve gone back to Cherry firstly for a change of environment, as it’s been a while, but secondly, to put in place a plan so stupid that it just might work… I’m going to skirt around limitations and buy Cherry base sets!

I’ve already ordered the Japanese Root base set pictured above. This way, as long as the base set matches the modifiers from my original Cherry set, I can combine them to expand my options. Based on the photos of the set itself I’m given the impression that they will match, but that is yet to be seen. I’ve wanted that Japanese Root set ever since I saw PBT Sushi sets, so I hope it’s a match. Of course, I could always just spring for the modifiers I need to make an Ergo set with matching colorways to whatever base set I’m looking to use, but the hassle of buying every cap separately is more of a pain, although I can see myself doing this in future. Eitherway, the experiment is still underway so I’ll post an image of my setup soon.