Finding a keyboard that is perfect for you can be difficult (trust me, I know!)
Sometimes, try as you might, you just can't find a keyboard that feels quite right, such as in terms of responsiveness, ergonomics, style, etc. etc.
But your search for your next gaming (or office) peripheral doesn't have to be so frustrating - not if you take a look our our Ducky One 2 Mini review!
With a keyboard like the Ducky One 2 Mini, you can tailor it however you wish, and who knows - maybe it will be your new favourite!
We even featured this keyboard in our best mechanical keyboards for CSGO, feel free to check it out!
The Ducky One 2 Mini is one of the best (and most popular) 60% mechanical keyboards on the market - and probably for good reason, too.
While considered a 'premium' keyboard, it certainly packs enough to make it worth the price - from a high level of customisability, to excellent build quality, and more!
If you're looking to take your keyboard around to cramped LAN parties or small office spaces, then you can do so - with style!
However, be warned - this keyboard is not compatible with the Ducky RGB software, so if you aren't a fan of customising your keyboard via the board, then this may not be the keyboard for you.
A 60% keyboard such as the Ducky One 2 Mini may be ideal for you for a lot of reasons, namely the fact that this size is perfect for gamers, or for people who have very little space to work with.
However, if you are someone who needs as many keys as they can get, such as the navigation cluster and FN layer, then a 60% keyboard may not be right for you - instead, you may wish to look at anything larger than a 60%, such as a full-sized keyboard.
If the former sounds more like you, then keep on reading to find out what you should be looking out for when choosing a 60% mechanical keyboard!
There are several different factors you need to take into account when choosing a 60% keyboard for yourself, and these mainly rely on your personal preferences - some of the things you will need to decide are:
Once you have thought about those, you can start looking out for these features. These will often include:
The Ducky One 2 Mini comes with a range of incredible features that will bring your gaming and typing experience to the next level.
Before we delve into all of that, however, let's first go through what's in the box:
Now that you know what will come in the physical box, let's take a look at what you get in the (metaphorical) box.
We're starting off this closer look with the build quality of the Ducky One 2 Mini - how does it hold up?
The case is made entirely of a durable plastic, which is thick enough to give you very little flex for a solid design, and also features a white backplate which enhances this keyboard's sturdiness.
The look of the keyboard's build itself looks great too, featuring a two-tone low-profile design with a floating keycap look for extra style points, as well as a white backplate
It also features grippy rubber feet on the bottom of the keyboard, which offers extra stability no matter what height you choose to work at.
The keycaps that the Ducky One 2 Mini comes with feel - and look - incredible, to say the least.
The keyboard comes with thick double shot PBT keycaps, which provides extra durability, as well as resistance to shine or wear-and-tear.
The additional keycaps that you receive are completely random in both design and colour, and help to add an extra pop of style to your keyboard.
The main attraction to the keycaps, however, is probably the zodiac space bar, which features an eye-catching design related to the current zodiac year. How cool is that?!
If, for some reason, you would rather use your own keycaps instead of the default PBT double shot ones, then no problem! Thanks to the Ducky One 2 Mini's standard 60% row, this keyboard is compatible with pretty much any keycaps of your liking.
Though the Ducky One 2 Mini may not be wireless, this doesn't mean that you can't travel with it.
In fact, this keyboard features a detachable USB-C cable which makes taking it around with you that much easier.
This feature also means that, if you are not happy with the quality of the cable that comes in the box, or if you simply need to replace your keyboard's cable, then you can do so with no extra hassle!
Probably one of the most important features of this keyboard, however, is the switches.
The Ducky One 2 Mini comes in a huge variety of switches, so you won't find yourself wishing for more options.
No matter your typing preference, there will be a switch for you!
This gaming keyboard can come with the Cherry MX brown switches, as well as the following switches:
Though this keyboard does not feature software to customise your macros or RGB lighting, you may actually find yourself preferring the excellent firmware that the Ducky One 2 Mini comes with!
The learning curve may be steep, as you will need to learn the button combinations thoroughly in order to be able to change your keyboard's settings on the fly, but it can prove to be a very convenient method.
One of the most unique features of this keyboard is the ability to move your mouse through button combinations, as well as the ability to right and left click.
This makes the Ducky One 2 Mini all the more convenient for on-the-go usage.
The Ducky One 2 Mini comes with four different DIP switches, each of which control different functions and settings of the keyboard.
In short, the DIP switches allow you to switch the locations of the modifier keys (such as the Windows and Function keys), as well as toggle them on or off.
Unlike some other keyboards (especially 60% keyboards), the Ducky One 2 Mini comes with great height adjustability, featuring adjustable feet that will give you two different height levels each.
With this feature, this keyboard can suit pretty much any posture, and can keep your wrist position ergonomic for those long, uncomfortable hours of gaming or working!
As mentioned previously, this keyboard comes with a detachable USB Type C cable, meaning you can remove it at any point to carry around separately, which can help tremendously with portability.
In addition to this, the Ducky One 2 Mini is only a 60% keyboard, meaning it's, well, 60% the size of a normal full size keyboard.
Naturally, this smaller size makes this keyboard that much easier to stash away in your backpack and take with you on your journeys!
Despite the myriad of wonderful features this keyboard possesses, one of the only drawbacks of the Ducky One 2 Mini is the fact that it is not compatible with the Ducky RGB software - instead, you customise your keyboard through on-board functions.
The Ducky One 2 Mini is mostly compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux.
This keyboard is fully compatible with Windows, and pretty much all of its features work with macOS and Linux, too, with the one exception being the calculator hotkey.
When it comes to mobile devices, however, this keyboard is not compatible - though this is often to be expected with 60% mechanical keyboards.
Unfortunately, the Ducky One 2 Mini is not hot-swappable, meaning, if you wish to change your switches, you will need to desolder them from the board.
However, there may be other methods to give your existing switches a different feel without needing to go through the hassle of desoldering, such as by lubing your switches.
In truth, there is no single best switch for the Ducky One 2 Mini - it will depend entirely on your personal preference, and what kind of feedback you like from your button presses.
The Ducky One 2 Mini comes with many types of switches, as we discussed earlier in this review.
For example, the Cherry MX Red is a great switch to go for if you're looking for minimal resistance, as it produces a light feel with little tactile feedback, thanks to the fact that it lacks a tactile 'bump' in the middle of its press.
However, if you need something with a bit more feedback, then the Cherry MX Blue may be the switch for you, with its loud clickiness, separated slider construction and tactile bump giving it a great amount of tactile feedback.
There is a different switch for every preference out there, so you just need to take a look at each one individually and see which one you prefer!
The RGB lighting on the Ducky One 2 Mini may seem complicated to change at first due to the fact that there is no software that is compatible with this keyboard, but you can still do so through keyboard combinations.
The lighting effects can be changed by pressing FN + Alt + T, and allow you to choose from:
The colors themselves are also changed through keyboard combinations, and there are two ways to do so.
First, you can press FN + Alt + Z/X/C to cycle through red, blue, and green levels to choose the colour that you're looking for.
However, an easier method may be just through pressing FN + Alt + Spacebar, which will make your keyboard light up with a colour palette. All you need to do is press the key that's associated with the colour that you want, and voilà!
There are many other things you can customise with your RGB lights, too, such as effect speeds and per key customisation, and the ways to do so can all be found in the user manual that comes with the Ducky One 2 Mini keyboard.
Of course, we don't just give you all the information with no user feedback - after scouring the internet, we have found several happy users giving a review of the Ducky One 2 Mini and, safe to say, they are all positive!
The firmware that the Ducky One 2 Mini comes with may be ideal for some users due to its convenience, but for others it may be too steep of a learning curve.
The Razer Huntsman Mini has the best of both worlds - it is compatible with Razer's software, Razer Synapse 3 (which allows you to customise your RGB lighting, record macros, and rebind keys, amongst other functions), and also allows you to toggle through pre-made RGB profiles and record macros on the fly through keyboard combinations.
So, if this sounds like exactly what you want, then you must take a look at it yourself!
The Keychron K6 is a compact mechanical keyboard, much like the Ducky One 2 Mini, with the main difference being that it is a 65% keyboard rather than just a 60% keyboard - which means it also has arrow keys (along with some navigation cluster keys), while still being compact.
This keyboard is ideal if you like the small size of the Ducky One 2 Mini but are put off by the lack of arrow keys, so be sure to check it out!
This gaming keyboard is a great choice if you're looking for something a bit more budget-friendly than the mini Ducky keyboard that also offers hot-swappable switches - though, bear in mind, it can only be switched between optical switches.
If you want a 60% keyboard that fits within your budget and is also hot-swappable for that extra touch of customisability, then you have to take a look at the HK Gaming GK61 mechanical keyboard!
We did our own product review on HK Gaming's GK61. You can check it out here.
In short, the Ducky One 2 Mini is probably one of the best 60% mechanical keyboards out there, with its high quality double-shot PBT keycaps and on-board customisability, as well as its wide range of switches.
So if you've been looking for a keyboard that is easy to carry around and saves as much space as possible, then we hope this keyboard review of the Ducky One 2 Mini has helped you out!
If you're interested and are ready to transform your PC setup, click here to check this Ducky keyboard out!