Closer Examination

The Redragon K596 is a weird take on the TKL form factor, but I get it. There is no numpad here, of course, and the company is marketing it for gamers in that you can have the mouse closer to the keyboard and arguably in a more natural position relative to your shoulder. Gamers might thus also appreciate the extra keys, including the column of five G1–G5 macro keys to the left of the typical 87-keys on this US ANSI layout. Above these we find even more keys, including a second set of five G6–G10 keys, and dedicated volume, media playback, and backlighting toggle. The keys up top are not mechanical and have a shorter travel, and the volume control is a wheel with infinite rotation.

This results in a keyboard that is larger and heavier in part because of the two-piece ABS plastic case and steel plate construction than the average TKL keyboard. Bezels are about average in size, especially at the top and bottom, though we do get a bend at the bottom where the wrist rest will naturally slide into place. The Redragon K596 is a predominantly black keyboard, with the only change of color with the keycap legends, including the logo on the space bar key that adds branding as well. It is a solid keyboard with no flex in use, and we see seamed doubleshot injected primary and secondary legends which are placed in the top-center of the keycaps. There are also several keyboard-specific legends underneath, which are laser-etched. Typeface and size are adequate, but not my first choice personally.


Flipping the keyboard around, we see the usual certification sticker in the middle. Two rectangular rubber pads on the bottom corners keep the keyboard from sliding around on the desk, combined with the two feet at the top with a rubberized bottom and contact surface that act as two more rubber pads whether the feet are raised or not. We also see cutouts on the sides through which plastic diffusers can be seen, which helps with the side lighting on offer here. There is also a snug cutout in the case to accommodate the USB dongle for the 2.4 GHz wireless connectivity option.


The USB dongle is easy enough to remove when in use, and store in the cutout when not. There is a slider to toggle the wireless connectivity on or off as well, and the wired connection makes use of a lightly recessed USB Type-C port on the middle of the side facing away from the user and towards the source itself. The provided cable, also in black, fits in well and is braided too. It is the usual 6' long and goes to an available USB Type-A port on your computer where USB 3.2 Gen 1 is recommended, and both connectors are gold-plated for oxidation resistance.


Installing the wrist rest is quite trivial, just align the magnets on the base of the keyboard with the two on the wrist rest itself. The wrist rest ends up going over the base edge of the keyboard, which results in a fairly seamless transition before moving down towards the desk itself. I would have liked a more comfortable top surface, and also acknowledge that a wrist rest when gaming typically overrides all ergonomic concerns.


The keycaps have an OEM profile, and the various rows are thus sculpted accordingly. They are not the floating type owing to the two-piece plastic case, and the included keycap puller is among the worst to use. The arms on the puller just are not wide enough for many of the keycaps, and even when I was able to remove keycaps, it left a telltale sign since the puller touched the sides. I quickly switched to my metal wire puller instead, and here we find out that the stock keycaps are fairly good, using thick PBT plastic (average wall thickness 1.32 mm) with doubleshot injected primary and secondary legends that are associated with the US ANSI layout. The PBT is quite textured—smooth is not an adjective I would use here. The doubleshot injected legends are backlighting compatible, although the keyboard-specific legends are laser-etched, which will have them wear out sooner than the rest of the keycap.


Contrary to what you may have thought based on the four types of spare switches included as accessories, the Redragon K596 actually only comes in a single switch option in the form of the Outemu Red. These are Redragon branded and have the name printed on them as seen above. The switches here are identical to those we saw on the previous page, with walls on the side that make these the "Dust-Proof Red" switches, which is marketed on the packaging and quite optimistic. The larger keycaps use a Cherry-style stabilizer, which does feels like a homage rather than the real deal, but still makes for the mushy typing experience associated with these.


The keyboard is compatible with a few other switches, and the CIY socket makes swapping switches easy. Their included switch-removal tool is no different from any other of the same design and works well enough in practice. You hook into the middle notches on either side of a switch and wiggle it sideways while pulling upwards. Removing a switch also clearly shows where the associated RGB LED is placed, which confirms the use of top-centered legends for backlighting on the keycaps.