Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition review: A gaming keyboard that's unbelievably fast

Gaming keyboards aren't exactly uncommon. Lord knows Razer makes a whole agglomeration. But information technology's not every day that something truly innovative comes to the table, and that's where the latest and greatest comes in.

The Huntsman Tournament Edition epitomizes Razer's "for gamers, by gamers" brand to the fullest. With assist from some leading professional gamers, Razer took its optical switch technology and supercharged it for its fastest keyboard nonetheless.

If you're a serious gamer, you're really going to dig this keyboard.

Lightning fast

Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition

Bottom line: If typing is important this keyboard might not be for you. Just for competitive gamers, it's amazing.

Pros

Insanely fast optical switches
Detachable USB-C cable
Doubleshot PBT keycaps with standard bottom row
Onboard retentivity

Cons

Virtually as well fast for regular typing
Pricey

Optical switches become supercharged

Razer has been using optical switches for a while now in the Huntsman and Huntsman Elite with the purple optical switch. The idea is simple: it feels like a traditional mechanical keyboard switch but instead of a metallic contact, information technology uses a beam of lite which when broken provides instant actuation.

The speed of Razer's Huntsman Tournament Edition is unreal.

What y'all go is no delay at all so for the virtually competitive of PC gamers, you have an advantage. The regal switches are superb, with a similar experience to Razer'due south regular switches, just faster.

And and so comes the Huntsman TE. It's a smaller version of the regular Huntsman, except, that'southward not the whole story. The switches are now scarlet, and that'due south important. These are now linear optical switches which Razer claims it offers the absolute fastest actuation to appointment. On that front end, that does not appear to be a lie. This is absurdly fast.

Hither's what else makes up the Huntsman TE:

Red linear optical switch.
1.0mm actuation.
40g actuation force.
3.5mm travel.
Actuation VS reset point ± 0.ii mm.
Doubleshot PBT keycaps.
Onboard memory for upwardly to 5 profiles.
Detachable USB Type-C cablevision.
100 million keystroke lifespan.

The biggest departure between this and the regular Huntsman is that the imperial switches however have a slight crash-land, despite having that optical tech inside. These do non. The red switch is linear, so at that place'due south no bump, and with instant actuation, the well-nigh delicate of touches is all that'due south needed to produce an action.

I've used some fast keyboards in the past, just this is unreal. When gaming, it'south hard to put into words. Pardon the cliche, merely it's so light your fingers really do just dance across the keys. If you're into games similar Dota 2, in detail, you lot're going to savour information technology. Information technology too causes less fatigue if yous do a serious amount of gaming.

Razer Huntsman TE is not without its downsides

I have ane major criticism of the Huntsman TE. If you do a lot of typing, it'due south virtually too fast. And if y'all're a particularly heavy typist, as I am, yous'll make a ton of mistakes.

It'southward not that the keyboard is bad for typing. But the nature of the tech inside, and the fact these switches are linear, make it by no means Razer's best for typing. The regular Huntsman is a better choice in that regard. I've lost count of the times I've made accidental keypresses considering one of my fingers brushed the wrong key.

The Huntsman TE, notwithstanding, does perfectly embody Razer's "for gamers" mantra. If typing is secondary and what you want is a keyboard that will handle serious competitive play, look no further.

Designed by pros to benefit everyone

As with the recently launched Viper, Razer enlisted the assist of professional gamers to help go the Huntsman TE just right. Too the ludicrously fast switches, you accept a bunch of small pattern details that may non seem that important merely are everything to the serious gamer.

That starts with the placement of the cable. It's on the left-paw side of the keyboard considering a number of competitive gamers angle it during play for more than comfortable use. Past being on the left, it doesn't become in the way of annihilation else, almost notably, your mouse. Razer also deserves two boosted shoutouts on the cable. It's removable, which is crucial in a tournament-friendly keyboard that'south going to be tossed in its fair share of numberless. The second is that information technology'due south USB-C. The time has come, finally, for even gaming keyboards to ditch the aboriginal micro-USB standard.

The other handy improver to the Huntsman TE is the onboard storage which tin save up to five separate profiles. If you're traveling about a lot, to LAN events or tournaments, yous tin use your keyboard and your preferred profiles without the need to connect to the Razer Synapse 3 application.

Onboard storage means there's no need for Razer Synapse when you hit your next LAN.

You have all the features available, including Hypershift secondary key functions and Chroma customization, but y'all can just take information technology on the become and never have to worry about needing a companion app. The last thing you need to be doing before the ESL One final is installing Razer Synapse on the chief stage PC!

It's built to last, too. The chassis is mostly plastic, simply it feels durable. The top plate is aluminum, even so, and then it's going to stand up to the exam of time, especially if it goes in and out of a handbag a lot.

Add your own custom keycaps

Razer decided to use Doubleshot PBT keycaps and a standard lesser row. They visitor is likewise quite proud of the fact that it managed to make such keys without a chunky font on them. Details matter to Razer, and I can tell yous that how the font looks, especially with its Blush illumination, is a huge deal for the designers and the company's CEO. It's been a tricky process, but the outcome is worth it.

It's truly hard to put into words how fast this is.

It looks basically the same every bit every other Razer keyboard. At that place'due south no garish font or thick lines; it'southward near a bit boring. But boring in a proficient way. I for 1 cannot stand ridiculous fonts on keyboards.

The use of this type of keycap adds further durability to the Huntsman TE, again, in line with the target market place of competitive gamers who are going to hammer it a lot. But coupled with the standard bottom row, you tin at present easily add your own custom keycaps using third-political party solutions.

Should you purchase the Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition?

If you're going to spend the majority of your time using it in an office or anything that involves typing, no, you probably shouldn't. Only this keyboard isn't really for that, anyway. Grab a BlackWidow Lite or the regular Huntsman, if you demand to type a lot.

This is for serious gamers doing serious gaming. You'll pay a premium for information technology, coming in at $130 in the U.Southward. and €150 in Europe, but the bundle on offer is superb. The involvement of some of gamings most demanding customers in the design process means the Huntsman TE ticks just about all the boxes.

The responsiveness is remarkable, and it truly is hard to put into words merely how fast these cherry-red optical switches are. If you're looking for essentially zero filibuster from press to action, you'll detect information technology right hither. You lot might also demand a secondary keyboard for typing with, just for serious, competitive gaming, this is ane of the very best around.

Lightning fast

Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition

Stupidly fast optical switches for killer gaming functioning

Optical switches mean virtually no delay, and the new red linear ones here are as fast as you lot'll detect on any keyboard.

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