Introduction

Kailh, or Kaihua as you may also know it, is one of the largest makers of keyboard and mouse switches and encoders today. Officially Dongguan Kaihua Electronics Co., Ltd, the company reached out soon after my roundup of the more popular Kailh BOX switches in a recent keyboard build. It was an interest check to see if I would be interested in doing a similar article using some of the brand's newer enthusiast keyboard switches. That one is still in the works, but then an invite went out to some of the press and distributors about a Kailh press event where a new BOX switch the company was extremely proud of would be revealed. Of course, I could not be there in person given the state of things today, so Kailh was kind enough to send over a whole kit for our examination.


The Kailh BOX keyboard can be seen as a first-party example implementation to serve as a demo for other customers, and such things are not new with the likes of Cherry and Gateron doing something similar whenever there is a major switch release. However, this BOX keyboard ended up a potential retail unit made by Hexgears (Hyeku), whose keyboards we have seen in the past with the Impulse and Gemini Dusk. The focus of this article is not the BOX keyboard itself, but, rather, the all-new BOX Hush switch. An addition to Kailh's BOX Silence switch series, it aims to steal the throne of quietest mechanical switch and caters to those who just find typical mechanical keyboards too loud. The BOX Hush released alongside the equally new Kailh V&S (Vocal or Silent) mouse switch, which Kailh sent in the form of a Hexgears mouse we will briefly examine, too. In fact, given the keyboard and key switches are going to make up the vast majority of this article, let's deal with the mouse right away on the next page and get it over with!

[Update: Kailh has renamed the BOX Hush as the Kailh Deep Sea switch for whatever reason, so that's what you need to look for now!]

Hexgears M105 Mouse w/Kailh V&S Switch

I am not a mouse editor and won't pretend to be one. The Hexgears M105 is an accessory to the BOX keyboard for all I am concerned and has only been included because of the new switches used therein. Packaging itself is quite decent, with a two-piece white cardboard box with the company logo, product name, render of the mouse, and salient marketing features on its front. This continues on the back with more specifications and another render to complement the contact information for Hexgears itself. Opening the box, we see the mouse right away underneath a molded plastic cover inside a foam layer with a cutout to hold the mouse, another below for the cable, and the other accessories underneath.


Hexgears includes a quick-start guide for the mouse that goes over the connectivity options (USB, Bluetooth 5.0, 2.4 GHz). There is also an obligatory warranty card and QC sticker, and then we see the black USB Type-A to Type-C cable with PU insulation to keep things simple and cost-effective.


The Hexgears M105 is not going to win any beauty contests, but I personally prefer a mouse to be heavily tuned towards functionality rather than aesthetics. With an all ABS plastic body, it weighs 78 g before batteries and the cable, which is presumably with the 2.4 GHz dongle removed as well. The gunmetal gray and black two-tone color scheme work nicely in my books, with a matte finish to the top that is given a faux bead-blasted finish for the looks. In addition to the customary L/R click and scroll wheel, there is an additional button up top and two more to the left side to facilitate right-handed mouse users. The mouse is relatively small at 111 x 60 x 31 mm, especially compared to typical gaming mice, and sloped less aggressively, too. Cutouts allow the user to lift off the top shell to access the contents inside, and the Type-C port is inset at the front to help both charge the internal 600 mAh battery and use the mouse in wired mode.


Removing the cover exposes the internal compartment where we find the expected 2.4 GHz USB dongle inside a cutout all its own. But then my eyes caught the mice switches themselves, the all-new Kailh V&S switch allowing end users to switch between a "vocal" and "silent" operation. The physical toggle switch in yellow is set to V (vocal) by default, with markings above to indicate the status. It is easy enough to switch between the two modes without any tools. The mouse click switch is on the top with a small blue housing jutting out as the contact pad for the shell to press down onto.



Above are two sound recordings of the mouse in action, with the mouse first placed right next to the microphone and then ~1 foot away. I recorded it at a normal working distance from my ears, but the Kailh V&S switch in the silence position dampens noise by 30–40% of what you get in the vocal position, which made it nearly inaudible even at 1' away. The left mouse button is clicked first, and its switch is in the vocal position until about halfway through—it's quite obvious, as you will see—when I start pressing the right mouse button with the switch in the silent position. The switch in the silent position isn't as good to click on as in the V-position since it does the sound dampening similar to mechanical switches by using dampers that create slightly mushy feedback and also reduce the travel distance. Actuation force remains unchanged at ~80 +/-40 gf, and I can see this switch coming in handy in an office or with video calls more than gaming and other fast-response applications.

Kailh BOX Keyboard: Packaging and Accessories

This page is going to be a bit weird because Kailh did not ship the BOX keyboard as a fully assembled product with the intention being easy and direct access to the switches themselves. So I will be assembling the keyboard over the course of this page before we proceed and begin with the packaging of the kit itself, which is again a white cardboard box. This time, it doesn't even have Hexgears anywhere on the front, and even the Kailh logo or name is missing. That's quite bold if indeed a retail sample. All we see is "BOX KEYBOARD" and a few images at the bottom for the salient marketing features. On the right is also an embossed logo of the Hyeku brand (Hexgears in China). Not much more to see on the back or side, with a label confirming the use of the new Kailh BOX Hush switches. The box opens up top down from a long flap only to reveal a soft microfiber cloth to help clean things as needed.


As with the mouse, the contents of the BOX keyboard come inside a thick foam sheet with cutouts to host the keyboard as well as the accessories. A quick start guide in English and Mandarin greets us right away, and we then see a switch remover tool underneath to go with the Hexgears-branded metal wire-style keycap puller, as well as a matching USB Type-A to Type-C cable. This time, we do get a sleeved and braided cable, also in black as with the mouse cable. The connectors are gold-plated this time around for oxidation resistance, leaving no doubt that the keyboard is the more important of the two items.


The keyboard comes packed under a magnetic dust cover, which is translucent acrylic given a smoky finish with the BOX keyboard and Hyeku logo on top. It is at this point that we find out the keyboard comes without any keycaps installed, but also four missing switches! The four switches are found separately in this kit, inside a plastic jar that opens up to also reveal the current-gen BOX Red switch for further comparison, as well as a spare keycap and a housing to make a keychain out of one.


This gives us our first look at Kailh's new BOX Hush switch, which is part of the BOX Silence series that tends to go with a circular column around the stem rather than the squared one to minimize keycap wobble and add some dust and spill resistance. I have discussed the Kailh BOX Red here for those interested, so the photos above are more for a visual comparison of the exterior. The obvious differences also come in the form of the color scheme with a blue and purple housing and a dedicated diffuser for RGB lighting support. Both are 3-pin mechanical switches that are otherwise compatible with Cherry MX stem designs for keycap compatibility and support north-facing LED configurations to where the BOX Hush will be better for lower-profile keycap sets, too.


Here is the keyboard now assembled with all the switches, which contrast nicely against the black plate, yellow stabilizers, small sections of exposed green PCB, and the red case itself. Now, we just need to get the keycaps installed.


This is my first time working with a first-party set directly from a switch manufacturer; that is, with the exception of smaller outfits, such as Matias. As such, I was not expecting the keycaps to arrive separately when I first opened the shipment. These come in another white box, this time clearly branded Kailh. It also tells us there are PBT keycaps inside and has cutouts for a sneak peek at the keycap set of at least three colors inside. A finished render on the back confirms this is a set for a 65% keyboard, which the Kailh BOX keyboard seems to be, and opening the side flap provides access to the keycap set that comes in a foam-lined plastic blister with reinforced edges and corners. There is another Hexgears metal wire-style keycap puller, as well as a second metal switch remover tool. We also get four replacement keycaps for the arrow keys, this time in red, and the base kit below. Each item comes individually packed snugly in a foam cutout, which is nice for accessing and storing leftover keycaps after you are done.