Hexgears Soda Mechanical Keyboard Review by Zeroair.org

• Hexgears Soda mechanical keyboard
• Keyboard cover
• Cable
• Switch puller
• Keycap puller
• Manual

Package and Manual

Size

Keyboard size: 313 x 104 x 50 mm
Keyboard weight: 1008 grams

This is a 68-key keyboard. That makes it 65%, which is just bigger than a maybe more common 60%. The “extra” keys are on the right column and in the arrow area.

Part of what makes this as wide as it is (not too wide, just 330mm) is this extra column of switches. I for one really appreciate these switches, but actually forget to use them about 80% of the time. But PgUp/PgDn and Del are nice to have when you remember they’re there!

Build Quality and Disassembly

Build quality on the Hexgears Soda mechanical keyboard is great. That’s a fairly standard thing to say, I think. But this board has an extra bit of “great” – it’s easily the most solid 65% keyboard I’ve ever touched. Maybe even the most solid keyboard of any size!

The case is plastic and has big feet.

The transparent case allows you to generally see inside the case (but more on that shortly).

Inside the case is what makes this board feel so solid. This silicone liner along the bottom of the case supports the PCB and bottom side of the switches. It beefs up the weight (which is fine, but “weight” isn’t necessarily a target.) It dampens sound and firms the feel of the board. It really makes the board!

So when you see through the orange case, you really see this liner. Amazingly, Hexgears doesn’t even seem to mention this fantastic addition in the marketing material! This liner not standard, and is a step above.

One more piece that adds to the pleasant feeling of this board is the gasket that the PCB rests on. This is another bonus and makes the board feel so solid!

Those switches are mounted on an aluminum plate!

Only 7 screws hold the PCB to the case.

PCB

Hexgears uses a green PCB on the Soda mechanical keyboard. It looks like this is a revision from 2021, so this board has been around for a little while!

You can get a good look at the hot swap parts below. While the switches aren’t soldered in, many parts are and the soldering looks fantastic. Also in general this is just a very clean board, which I really appreciate.

Above, you can see the board’s antenna.

Case

The case here is plastic. In fact, the plastic case is maybe half the point of this board – it’s the Hexgears Soda mechanical keyboard Orange version – the case color is right there in the name!

Since I don’t really know where else to cover it, here’s the keyboard cover, too. The cover is clear and reasonably thick plastic. Technically billed as a “dust” cover, it works extraordinarily well to make this a travel board, too!

The dust cover has magnets and clicks right into place easily.

Thanks to smart design and this little tab here, the dust cover can double as a wrist wrest, too!

Layout and Keycaps

As stated above, this is a 65% keyboard, which has 68 keys.

The keycaps are PBT with an orange top. The clear bottom allows the north-facing LEDs to shine through very brightly!

The keycaps are MX-compatible (because the switches have Cherry stems).

Life ain’t nothing but Switches and money

Hexgears describes the Soda mechanical keyboard as having Custom Kailh® BOX Switch. These particular switches are blue, which means they’re clicky.

The “custom” aspect of these switches seems accurate – I don’t see this specific switch on Kailh’s website. Either way, they’re clicky with a clear bottom and blue box stem.

Switches bigger than 1.5U (or so) have stabilizers, too.

If you’re like me and don’t care about clicky switches, you can easily hotswap these switches! Hexgears includes a switch puller, but you’ll need to buy your own switches.

Connectivity

Briefly, here are the connection options: Bluetooth, 2.4GHz, and wired.

The included wired support is for USB-C, which is nice and current. This C port is on the back left-hand side.

It’s shown above where the case is open, but you can see below where four LEDs display which connection is active. Because the case is clear, and the LEDs are bright, a bit of the surrounding area also lights up when any of those is lit, too. It’s not really a problem.

A USB to USB-C cable is included. It’s a nice long cable, too.

Bluetooth is, of course, a little more work. Before getting started, I always recommend fully charging the keyboard. There’s a physical switch on the back to turn the board on (which you should do for any wireless option) and then there’s another switch to select wireless or Bluetooth.

Holding Fn+Q/W/E (Q, W, or E) for 3 seconds will operate the Soda to save a device in that Bluetooth slot. At this point, I open the Bluetooth menu on my MacBook and see the device, which has a “Pair” clickable beside it. Click Pair. Pairing should then be nearly automatic.

After being paired, switching between any of the three Bluetooth-connected devices is as simple as holding Fn while clicking Q, W, or E). As far as I can tell, there’s no way to see which of the three Bluetooth is active. But then, I’m not sure any board offers this! (Even the three LEDs on the top right of the board only show which type of connection is active. So in this case would just show “BT” not 1, 2, or 3.)

If you don’t use Bluetooth for wireless connectivity, you can use actual wireless for wireless connectivity. That’ll require the little (included) USB plug. Just plug that into your computer and the keyboard should work automatically.

Using the wireless option means you’ll need to put this USB adapter in place. This thing tucks away nicely on the bottom of the board if you never need it.

Interestingly, it has a USB-A side and a USB-C side, too! Very current.

User Interface and Operation

The user interface, as I always say on keyboard reviews, is the switches. Pretty obvious right?

But first, you’ll need to turn the keyboard on! If you’re using a wired connection, this switch can be (or even “should” be?) in the off position.

Programmability

Here’s one thing Hexgears says:

Reach your gaming potential with complete key customization designed to give you a winning edge. From specific-key configurations to keybindings.

I don’t see software specific to this Hexgears Soda mechanical keyboard on the webpage: https://hexgears.com/pages/software

I also do not see any mention of programming macros in the manual.

RGB

Each switch has a north-facing RGB LED. Together, they can make quite an array of color features on the Hexgears Soda mechanical keyboard.

There are a bunch of the usual RGB options as with any mechanical keyboard. What’s different about this one is how much of the RGB you get to see, and that’s thanks to the clear bottom of the keycaps!

Conclusion

What I like

• Size and shape (I do like a 65% keyboard – the extra column is nice)
• USB-C
• Very sturdy because of the silicone tray and PCB gasket
• Hot-swap switches make customization easy
• Mac compatibility
• Clear bottom of the keycaps make the RGB really shine!

What I don’t like

• Only clicky switches for this orange body!
• Unsure about programming macros.