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Add to SafariWhen comparing Leopold Tenkeyless Tactile Touch vs Ducky Shine 5, the Slant community recommends Ducky Shine 5 for most people. In the question“What are the best mechanical keyboards?” Ducky Shine 5 is ranked 6th while Leopold Tenkeyless Tactile Touch is ranked 14th. The most important reason people chose Ducky Shine 5 is:
The Ducky Shine 5 comes with Cherry MX mechanical switches. You can choose between the Brown, Red or Black varieties, according to your preferences.
Specs
Question Ranking
Pros
Pro Cherry stabilizers
The Leopold Tenkeyless Tactile Touch uses Cherry stabilizers on all of its keys.
Pro Grainy keycaps
This Leopold keyboard ships with PBT (short for "polybutylene terephthalate") keycaps which have a grainy texture that some might prefer as it helps prevent fingers from slipping. They are also known to withstand wear well.
Pro High quality components for a low price
The practical design of this keyboard is typical of high-end mechanical keyboards, only differing in the details. The matte black chassis has rounded corners and a simple design. This keyboard uses Cherry MX switches, common among keyboards that cost significantly more than the Leopold.
Pro Removable USB cable
While this might not seem like a big deal, having to replace your beloved keyboard because the cable has been broken through frequent wrapping can be frustrating.
Pro Quality mechanical switches
The Ducky Shine 5 comes with Cherry MX mechanical switches. You can choose between the Brown, Red or Black varieties, according to your preferences.
Pro No software needed
The Shine 5 has all the backlighting effects built into it. To alter the RGB lighting, there are keyboard combinations that can be used to quickly switch between modes.
Pro Lots of lighting modes
There are 14 pre-programmed lighting modes available, as well as 2 customizable modes (which you can blend together). To access the first 7 pre-programmed modes, press Fn+F9 - these are the more basic patterns with fewer colors (Solid, Single Color Breathing, Solid Color Change, Red/Green Waves, Snake, Single Color and Single Key Reactive, Radiant Reactive, and Linear Reactive). Pressing Fn+F10 toggles through Solid Color Change, Colorful Waterfall, Color Changing Snake, Color Raindrop, Colorful Single Key Reactive, Colorful Radiant Reactive, and Colorful Linear Reactive. The 2 custom modes can be activated through Fn+F11/F12. On these modes, you can set per-key colors and brightness, and pressing the same button combination will make those keys breathe.
Pro Great build quality
The Ducky Shine 5 has a dual layer PCB, plate mounted switches, laser printed and UV Coated keycaps.
Pro USB cable is detachable and replaceable
You can easily replace the cable with one of a different color or different length.
Pro Wide choice of keycaps
Given the popularity of Cherry MX switches, there are many customized keycap options to choose from.
Pro ABS Double-shot keycap
There are two layers of plastic in the Shine 5's keys - the print is part of the underlayer of the keycap, which means it won't wear out and allows light to shine through the printed area.
Pro Unique symbol on the spacebar, to celebrate Chinese year
The default spacebar logo is a simple one, however a replacement spacebar is included, with a symbol that corresponds to the current Chinese year. This adds an optional design flare to an otherwise simple and professional looking keyboard.
Pro On board memory for profile/settings storage
The Ducky will remember all your backlighting customization settings snd other profile settings, even if you turn it off or use it on another computer.
Cons
Con No backlighting makes night-time use harder
Backlighting is common among high-end keyboards, but the Leopold doesn't have this feature. While most users looking for a mechanical keyboard will be able to type without looking at the keys, sometimes the special characters can still be hit or miss. In the dark, it might take a few tries before getting the intended special character.
Con Easily bends
This keyboard easily suffers from a bit of flexing, something other keyboards in this price range don't suffer from.
Con No extra features (such as macros or USB passthrough)
This is an affordable board, therefore it lacks some of the more premium features found on more expensive boards. It doesn't have any macro capabilities which can be useful for heavy users (macros are recorded key sequences which can be activated with a single button press - these can be used in games to automate some tasks, or in other programs to get repetitive tasks done quicker). There's also no USB passthrough option. Some keyboards let you plug your mouse or a USB key right into the keyboard, which helps keep cables looking tidier, while being more accessible.
Con No software available
Setting up custom lighting can be a real hassle because there is no software available to assist you. You'll need to manually set the RGB value (from 0-7) to pick the right color/brightness, then tap each key you wish to set that color for. Then switch the color, and tap more keys. Repeat until you are satisfied. In addition, further future tweaking of the layout is another pain, as there is no easy way to copy the color already on the keyboard. You will need to go through a trial and error process to match the color you want.
Con Many features are missing
The Ducky Shine 5 is a great, high-quality keyboard, but it misses some nice features, like USB passthrough, a wrist wrest, cable management features, or media control keys.
