As I have repeatedly told every boss I've ever worked for, I'm a simple man. And as a simple man, I'm pleased by simple things—like the latest Drop Lord of the Rings-themed keyboard, complete with a sword graphic on the Enter key. It's the little things in life, or in this case, the pointy, swingy, stabby things.
Okay, so it's not technically the first LOTR-themed Drop keyboard with a sword on a keycap. That, to the best of my knowledge, was the Drop Black Speech all the way back in 2023. But the Drop + The Lord of the Rings Gondor CSTM80 keyboard is a much more subtle affair, and something you could actually take to work without revealing your Hobbit-appreciating tendencies to the rest of your office chums.
The simple black, white, and grey colourway is downright discreet, and I appreciate that in my, err, LOTR-themed keebs. Some of the other graphics are perhaps less so, such as a fully-fledged horn of Gondor on the left hand side.
I fully expect someone in the comments to tell me that it's actually Gondor's horn, or somesuch. What can I say, I liked some of the movies, I fell asleep reading the books. Do with that information as you will.
Anyhoo, the bad news is it isn't cheap. $199 of your finest dollars gets you this sort of nerdery, but it is remarkably well-featured for all that cash. You get removable gaskets, PBT keycaps, Gateron KS-3 Milky Yellow Pro switches (we really have run out of names now, haven't we?) and of course, hot-swappable switch sockets.
No enthusiast gaming keyboard is complete without them. Oh, you also get per-key RGB lighting, so you can choose to light it up in green to side with the elves, or go full Sauron with a red theme when you're feeling spicy.
"We are truth-speakers, we men of Gondor. We boast seldom, and then perform, or die in the attempt." That's a quote Google informs me is in the Lord of the Rings book I didn't properly read. Still, it seems somewhat apt. Go type the truth, Gondor fans, and swing your metaphorical swords with pride.
