Ducky Shine 3 vs Type Heaven

The Shine 3 has a dual layer PCB, plate mounted switches, as well as laser printed & UV Coated keycaps. Ducky also has the reputation of having some of the highest quality boards on the market.

The Shine 3 comes with fully programmable LED lights under each and every keycap. There are 6 backlight patterns to choose from: Full (100%), Breathing, Wave Marquee, Snake Marquee, Reactive mode, and Ripple mode. When you buy the Shine 3 you have the option of picking the color of the backlighting LEDS from Red, Green, Blue, White, Magenta & Orange.

The Ducky will remember all your customization settings for the lighting and other profile settings even if you turn it off or use it on another computer.

The mechanical Cherry switches have been known for 5 decades for their tactile quality and robustness. With the Shine 3, users can choose between Brown, Blue, Black or Red.

Some people prefer the design of the Cherry Stabilizers over the Costars as they are arguably quieter (no rattle and less sound when you bottom out). They are also better for frequent keycap swapping as it's easier to remove/add keys. On the other hand, they can be described as "mushy".

The USB cable is detachable and comes with cable routing guides to let you control where the cable comes out of the keyboard.

Without the numpad it takes up less space and allows you to place the keyboard and mouse closer together in a more natural position for your body which can help avoid injuries for people using it all the time.

The spacebar features a unique logo from the year when the keyboard was manufactured to celebrate various animals on the Chinese zodiac. Pictured is the YOTS variant or known as Year Of The Snake. The Ducky comes with a replacement spacebar with no design if you don't like the snake version.

Type Heaven's Topre switches have a much quieter, softer sound than the Cherry MX Browns.

No LEDs, no USB hubs and no detachable cables: to Topre, that's just hype. They clearly feel that, with the right product in your hand, there is no need for all those "sideshow features", as they refers to them.

Each of the 104 keys is dark grey with a white, laser engraved inscription. The frame of the keyboard is black, but is slightly textured to give it a matte finish without the "gritty" feel. The keyboard has some hard lines and sharply turned corners, but also has some round surfaces. This combinations makes it quite elegant.

Topre has an extensive line of keyboards, all featuring the company's custom switches. However, the Type Heaven is the first Topre keyboard to be offered at a price this low.