Evo80 Review
keyboard by: Evoworks
Photos taken in House by alex
The Evo80 Review — A Powerhouse of a Keyboard
A little backstory, I’ve had my eye on the Evo80 for a while now, but I just never got around to trying it. It’s one of those boards that was always sitting in the back of my mind, but like with most things, life gets busy and it slipped off the radar for a bit.
The Evo80 is a ‘premium’ pre-built tenkeyless (TKL) mechanical keyboard crafted by Evoworks, which is a collaboration between Qwertykeys and Neo Studio. The board also includes tri-mode support, USB-C, Bluetooth, and 2.4 GHz, with dual 4000mAh batteries under the hood. Nice right?
At first I really did think this board was just a really good TKL from the feedback I’d read online about it. But after trying it myself? Well, it feels like someone actually sat down, thought about what a very solid TKL should be, and just executed on it. Seriously, it blew me away. Just a good build that sounds and feels better than a lot of customs in its price range and then some. It punches way above its price range.
Let’s talk about why.
Full Disclosure and Affiliations
This is not a paid article. These boards were sent to me to look at and they let me keep them after the build stream and no mention of a written review was ever discussed. There are some affiliate links. These links give me kickbacks and allow me to continue making content! All thoughts are my own, transparency matters.
What Stood Out Right Away
Right out of the box, the Evo80 feels like a very premium keyboard, but who’s really surprised by this? The aluminum chasis has an excellent finish with solid machining. The version I got was a coated white version with a silver and orange accented weight, and boy did it look good! To note, the coating had a small amount of glitter in it which reminded me of the Matrix coatings.
The build quality is solid. It’s a fully CNC’d aluminum case, screwless design, and magnetic pogo pins for the daughterboard. Which is basically all the quality-of-life stuff you’d want in a modern board.
You get your choice of plate/switch combo, a full foam stack inside, VIA support (sort of), and the whole thing comes pre-assembled and tuned out of the box. You even get tri-mode wireless with actual usable polling rates on 2.4GHz.
It also ships with either HMX Azure or Keygeek Oat switches, both of which come pre-lubed and ready to go. I went with polypropylene and Keygeek Oat as my stock config but they also sent over an FR4 plate with the Azure switches for me to try.
Overall it’s impressive at first glance especially when you consider the price of $159.99 (which my unit was).
What Makes The Evo80 Different
The mounting system is what really shines in this board and why it makes it unique in a sea full of entry level boards.
The Evo80 uses a butterfly leaf spring gasket mount, which is a bit different from your typical poron or silicone gasket setups. Instead of relying on soft foam to isolate the PCB/plate combo and create bounce, the leaf springs sit underneath the plate and provide subtle flex that feels softer and more uniform.
So what is it exactly? Well, the mount is made up of specially cut tabs on the bottom of the keyboard case that act like tiny spring arms. These tabs flex slightly when you press down on a key, distributing pressure more evenly across the plate instead of having it rigidly fixed at specific points. The “butterfly” part refers to how the spring tabs are shaped, they extend inward from both sides and the middle, almost like butterfly wings, to create consistent flex throughout the board.
It ends up feeling more intentional than just relying on soft foam or silicone gaskets. It gives you just enough feedback to feel like the board is working with you, not against you. Quite frankly, getting this kind of mounting style at this price point is incredible. The only other board I’ve used with it that felt like it was implemented properly was the Class 60 which was way more expensive.
One thing to keep in mind is that early units had some quirks with the bottom row feeling slightly firmer due to spring tuning, but those issues seem to have been addressed in newer batches. My unit didn’t have any of those issues at all.
Inside the board, you’ll also find a full stack of dampening materials. There’s IXPE under the switches, plate foam, case foam, and even PE film to help round out the sound profile.
Under the Hood
The Evo80 is easy to work on. The ball-catch top case makes opening the board super straightforward. No screws, no hidden tabs, just pop it open and you’re in. The magnetic daughterboard connection also means no JST cable to accidentally tear. Big win! However, it’s not ground breaking and it’s basically what I have come to expect from most well done pre-built boards these days.
If I had to nitpick, the flex-cut hotswap PCB means you should open the board when swapping switches to avoid damaging the socket pads. But that’s a minor problem. I still would love if they did offer some other PCB options for those who wanted to do more with their board. Also to nitpick, the lack of layout support was a bit annoying but I understand the type of product this is and who it’s geared towards, but still I feel like this would be a very cheap thing to invest into and allow customers to have more flexibility with their board. Oh and one last thing, the switch for wireless on and off is under the caps lock. It’s not a terrible place for it, but a bit inconvenient.
Now, as I built this board I thought, oh the flexcut PCB might mean going no foam is off the table. Typically a PCB with a lot of flex cuts sounds incredibly thin and can bottom out on the keyboard. Honestly, I’ve tried no foam flex cut builds in the past and have always hated them. But this board proved me wrong.
I was genuinely shocked, you can even watch my reaction from the live stream. It sounded good with no mid plate foam. There is clearly some magic in this board… or it’s the butterfly leaf springs. I really think this was a good decision for them to include it. By the way, kudos to Evoworks for doing a great job implementing these mounts. An important note here is they isolated each metal leaf spring with silicone so it doesn’t create a pingy mess like some older releases from the parent brands, looking at you OWLab Spring.
Sound Profile & Typing Feel
This board sounded fun stock. That’s the best way to describe it. I do appreciate foamy builds a lot and it nails the foamy sound without sounding too muffled. And like I mentioned in the build experience portion, it also nailed the foamless sound, too. It’s all preferences at the end of the day.
With the polypropylene plate, the Evo80 leans into a creamy, muted sound that’s still crisp and defined. It gives you that low-pitched “thock” some people chase.
And I did try to completely foam up the other plate. If you go with the FR4 plate, the sound shifts slightly into a brighter, more clacky sound signature. It’s not harsh or sharp, but it definitely adds a bit more definition and edge to each keystroke.
For foam I preferred the polypropylene plate with Keygeek Oats.
The typing experience on the Evo80 feels polished. And in my opinion, is the strongest part of this board. Those butterfly leaf springs are the star of the show here and again, I was surprised how well they are implemented here.
VIA Support? (Sorry for this again)
This needs to be said: VIA is not supported out of the box. Vial also doesn’t work out the box either. You’ll have to download a .json. This could potentially be a deal breaker for some people.
Again: Brands really need to start treating VIA or VIAL support as a launch requirement, not an afterthought.
So yes, it technically works, but you’ll need a file.
Final Thoughts
The Evo80 clearly focuses on being consistent, reliable, and incredibly well-tuned. And in doing that, it ends up outshining a lot of keyboards that cost way more. Like I mentioned at the start of this article, it punches way up. This was a tough one to really sit here and criticize because this was done so well.
If you’re new to the hobby and want something that’s genuinely plug-and-play, or if you’re a longtime builder looking for a board that just works without fuss, the Evo80 is an easy recommendation.
This is one of those boards that reminds you why you fell in love with mechanical keyboards in the first place. Just a damn good board that delivers.
Until next time. 👋
