Introduction

Mistel Keyboard (or Mistel as shall be referred to henceforth in this review) is an interesting little company. There is not much to go on in the western half of the globe, with references primarily from keyboard enthusiasts. I first heard of them in a similar manner after looking at split keyboards as part of my due diligence for the ErgoDox EZ review from earlier this year, with the Mistel Barocco series looking to offer a split keyboard based off the 60% form factor (as well as a 65% form factor teased at Computex) with a rarely seen split along the staggered key arrangement we see in most keyboards. They share some common interests with iKBC, who in turn are affiliated with Vortexgear, both of whose products we have covered separately before. Adding to the product line was their Freeboard MD200 standalone NumPad, and thus, there was a lack of the more popular form factors from the brand - TKL (tenkeyless) and full size. Today, we get to see Mistel's take on the TKL form factor with the MD870, part of their new SLEEKER series of keyboards. Thanks to Mistel for providing a review sample for TechPowerUp.


The model name follows the others in that it ends up being a multiple of 10 of the layout, or as close as can be anyway. The 87-key TKL form factor thus gets the MD870 name, and the SLEEKER series differs from Mistel's other offerings by ditching plastic and using thick, brushed aluminum for the case. Mistel is aiming for the macOS end user here with the color scheme, as well as a couple of other tricks down the sleeve, but do not let this mislead you - it supports Windows as well. Predictably, the SLEEKER series is being touted as a high-end keyboard range with prices that should be on the higher side as well. The image above also hints at onboard lighting, although it appears that the keycaps are not translucent themselves. We will take a look at these in more detail, and more, and begin the review with the specifications below.

Specifications

Packaging and Accessories

Mistel is using a minimalist packaging with a white wrap on thick cardboard. On the front are the company and product names along with the Cherry MX switch mention to let people know this features genuine Cherry MX switches inside. I am not sure how effective this is considering the market for these keyboards is generally aware of switch options, and the other switch makers have nearly all improved vastly over time. On the back are some tech specs for the keyboard and a QR code that leads to the Mistel website, as well as a tagline that reads "Reaming on your fingertips", whatever that means. This continues on the sides, and we in fact see that Mistel has adopted a two-piece packaging with a slideaway cover we were looking at thus far.


The inner box is also white in color and has two compartments with two white boxes/covers. I am personally loving this whole minimalist white unboxing experience, but it is also not to everyone's liking as this is indicative of the actual product too. The smaller box houses the accessories that come with the MD870 SLEEKER, and these include a plastic pouch containing some replacement keycaps, a keycap puller, the keyboard cable, and an accessory for the latter.


The keycaps are for the modifier keys at the bottom of the alphanumeric section on a keyboard sans the space bar. These are made of thick PBT plastic (average wall thickness 1.42 mm) with legends that are dye sublimated on the white color of the plastic used. This means that the legends and keycaps are both going to last a long time without any signs of wear and tear, although they won't light up as with other legend-printing methods which allow for translucency. Indeed, we see more of a sidelight in this case. The keycaps also appear to be no different than for a standard US ANSI layout, so it will be interesting to see what these are intended to replace.


The keycap puller is very nice too, with a textured finish on one end providing plenty of grip and a metal wire implementation on the other minimizing the potential to scratch the sides of keycaps as compared to the less expensive plastic ring ones. The company logo is present on an orange and black color scheme, which is the only deviation from the otherwise black text on a white background we have been seeing throughout. The keyboard's cable is removable, as evident from it coming separately here. In a move towards future-proofing the MD870 SLEEKER, Mistel has gone with USB Type-C on both ends, and has provided an adapter as well, which is at this time a must for nearly everyone still. The cable is also white in color, completing the set.


The keyboard comes in the compartment to the left, and it has a white cardboard cover on top for aesthetics. Mistel also provides a nice keyboard sleeve that is thick and durable enough to use for travel or transportation of the keyboard, and this sleeve is see-through with the Mistel logo printed on to it multiple times. The final accessory we get is the keyboard manual itself, which I recommend going through for the secondary functions programmed into the MD870 SLEEKER.