Redragon Galatin Pro K719 review
The Redragon Galatin Pro K719 is a great everyday keyboard for anyone who spends their whole day typing — like I do. This 96% board may not be perfect, but it could still be a great option for typists on a budget looking for one of the best mechanical keyboards. It’s a good choice for anyone who needs a full-size deck while saving a little desk space over a 100%.
The colorful design looks great, and the Mint Mambo switches make typing comfortable. The adjustable typing angle also gives ergonomic support.
But for anyone who needs a serious gaming keyboard, this may not be the one for you, as Redragon doesn’t market it as a gaming deck or even specify the polling rate of the board. The sound of the board is also annoying at times, as it’s pretty clacky and more metallic when pushing the space bar.
Redragon Galatin Pro K719 review: Cheat sheet
- What is it? A 96% mechanical keyboard with a screen to display GIFs on
- Who is it for? Typists who want to add a pop of color to their setup
- What does it cost? The Redragon Galatin Pro K719 is available for $79 / £82
- What’s good? The design and typing are great, the 96% layout is ideal for those who don’t want a full 100% keyboard and the adjustable typing angle gives ergonomic support
- What’s not? The sound can be annoying for some users, and there are no extra keycaps provided for macOS
Redragon Galatin Pro K719 review: Specs
|
Price |
|
|
Switches |
Mint Mambo mechanical (linear) |
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Layout |
96%, 95 keys |
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Mount type |
Gasket |
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Keycap material |
PBT |
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Keycap profile |
OEM |
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Backlight |
North-facing RGB |
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Case material |
ABS plastic |
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Supported operating system |
Windows, macOS |
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Connectivity |
Bluetooth, 2.4GHz, wired |
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Polling rate |
Not specified |
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Measurements |
15.2 x 5.4 x 1.5 inches |
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Weight |
2.5lbs |
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Battery |
4,000mAh |
Redragon Galatin Pro K719 review: The ups
Typing on the Redragon Galatin Pro K719 is very comfortable, and the switches create a cozy type-feel. The stylish design is also a big win for this board, and the adjustable feet make it a good ergonomic choice.
Comfortable to type on
The Redragon Galatin Pro K719 is one of the most comfortable keyboards I’ve reviewed — and I’ve tried my fair share.
It may be a 96% layout board, but it takes up the same amount of space on my desk as an 80% board, like the Keychron K8 V2. Redragon says that the size of the keyboard has been shrunk by 20% and measures 15.2 x 5.4 x 1.5 inches. It is certainly a lot more compact than the Redragon K686 Pro SE. You get a number pad on the right side of the board, which I don’t use much, but is a handy addition for anyone who works with numbers and doesn’t want to get a 100% full-size keyboard.
Being a smaller size means that movement in your arms is reduced, allowing you to access the number pad more quickly. The body structure uses a gasket mount, which offers a springy feeling when typing. When combined with the Mint Mambo switches (more on this soon), the Galatin Pro K719 felt lovely to type on.
The PBT OEM keycaps have a uniform height instead of a raked board like Keychron C1 Pro 8K ($54), but the uniform height is still great when combined with the adjustable angle. When using the keyboard at a higher angle, it’s easier to type and hit all the keys. The keycaps are standard-sized, and I didn’t have many issues with inaccuracies when typing, as you can see in the table above.
Adjustable typing angles
There are feet on the Redragon Galatin Pro K719’s underside, which make it possible to adjust the height of the board to make it more comfortable to type on. I personally prefer a higher typing angle as it relieves pressure from my wrists when I’m typing all day long.
The board can be set at three different angles: effectively flat, a little higher with the smaller feet and even higher with the largest feet. I prefer the highest setting as this makes it easier for me to type on and easily reach all of the keys with minimal stretching and muscle strain. It’s not as high as the typing angle on the Keychron K8 Max, but it’s still extremely comfortable.
Satisfying linear switches
The Redragon Galatin Pro K719 uses custom Redgragon/ACGAM Mint Mambo linear switches, which produce no tactile bump or audible click. Redragon describes the type-feel of these switches as “cozy,” and I have to agree. They feel extremely satisfying to type on and very spongy. It feels much more like a casual keyboard than one you would use in an office setting.
The Mint Mambo switches require 40g of force to activate, which is pretty light and didn’t cause much fatigue to my fingers. The Keychron K8 Max ($124), which I recently tested, requires 55g of force instead, and I could feel the fatigue this caused, so I preferred using the Galatin Pro K719 for longer typing sessions. The actuation distance of the Mint Mambo switches is also short, at 2mm, shortening the distance your fingers travel and reducing finger fatigue even further.
While the Mint Mambo switches complement the board (I mean, they’re even green too!), the board is hot-swappable, and its sockets can fit nearly all three-pin or five-pin mechanical switches, allowing you to use switches with a different sound and typing feel if desired.
Stylish design
There’s no denying this keyboard looks good. With the mint and sage green keys to complement the green lettering on the keycaps, this is a cohesive and stylish choice for your computing setup.
There’s also an LCD screen at the top-right of the keyboard, which displays the time, date, battery life, what operating system is in use and other data from the board. Using the knob on the side of the screen, you can also make changes to the RGB lighting and brightness. This design makes it super easy to see all of the settings and adds a modern twist to the board.
But my favorite part of the screen is the ability to download and display GIFs on it. I have a cute mouse carrying a block of cheese to keep me company during my work day. You can change this by downloading the companion software for the Galatin Pro K719 for Windows. This software is pretty easy to use, but not as streamlined as the Keychron Launcher that can be used with Keychron boards, as this is simply accessed through a web link.
Tri-mode connectivity
There are three connection modes on the Galatin: Bluetooth 3.0/5.0, a 2.4GHz dongle that slots into the right-hand side of the keyboard and wired. It also features multipoint connectivity so you can swap between up to three Bluetooth devices and a Wi-Fi connection using key combinations.
I can’t speak to the polling rates of these connections, though, as that information is not provided by Redragon, but we can safely assume that you will get more reliable connectivity over 2.4GHz or wired connections.
Redragon Galatin Pro K719 review: The downs
The Redragon Galatin Pro K719 can sound tinny at times and could benefit from some switch lube on the spacebar stabilizers. Also, there are no alternative keycaps for switching between operating systems, and it’s not the best choice for gaming.
Sound may be slightly annoying
While the Redragon Galatin Pro K719 produces quite a lot of sound, and it looks like it’s going to sound great… but it doesn’t. I love the sound of a clacky keyboard, such as the Keychron K8 Max and the Redragon Eclipse K720 ($99), but the Mint Mambo switches made the sound a little high-pitched and pingy.
The layers of sound dampening of the five-layer sound kit on the keys do a good job at muting the tinny sound when typing. But because of the clip-in stabilizers, the space bar doesn’t benefit from this. It actually sounds like I’m mining in Minecraft because it’s so rickety.
The sound kit features five noise-dampening layers, including 3.5mm PO foam, IXPE switch foam, PET sound pad, bottom socker today and a silicone bottom pad along the silicone gasket. The typing is comfortable, but the sound of the keys is high-pitched compared to other boards, like the Keychron C1 Pro 8K.
No macOS keycaps
Despite being compatible with both Windows and macOS, there are no alternative keycaps if you’d like to use this as a macOS board. As a macOS user, it’s tricky to use this board when needing shortcuts, especially on the function keys. This means that you can’t use functions like app expose, for instance, without memorizing the function keys.
This is fine if, like me, you type by muscle memory, but if you are someone who needs to look at Command keys for shortcuts, it might be confusing. There are other boards like the Keychron K8 Max — or any Keychron board, for that matter — that come with extra key caps to remedy this. There are also boards like the Lofree Flow84 ($169) or the Lofree Block ($169) that have dual-labeled keys, negating the need to swap them out at all.
Admittedly, this is a Windows-biased board, so this isn’t a huge deal, but something to be aware of before you buy if you switch between the two OS’ regularly.
Not recommended for gaming
We can’t recommend this board for serious gamers as there is no polling rate specified by Redragon for the Galatin Pro, so we can’t be sure how it polls over Bluetooth, wired or 2.4GHz connections.
But I wouldn’t recommend it for gaming anyway — even with a decent polling rate — because the keys are super rickety. Many keyboards I like, such as the Keychron 3 HE ($239), have lots of movement in the keycaps, but boards like the Keychron K4 HE ($134) feel far more stable and controlled. Less wobbling means less room for error.
Poor backlighting
The Redragon Galatin Pro K719 uses north-facing switches, and when using the keyboard, this means the light isn’t directed towards the typist. As someone who loves lighting on their keyboard, I wasn’t able to enjoy the lighting as much as on some of my other boards, like the Keychron C1 Pro 8K.
Redragon Galatin Pro K719 review: Verdict
The Redragon Galatin Pro K719 provides a comfortable typing experience thanks to its OEM profile PBT keycaps as well as adjustable typing angles, and the 96% layout saves some space on your desk, too. The Mint Mambo switches are a delight to type on, and because they don’t require a lot of force to activate, typing doesn’t feel fatiguing.
But in areas like the space bar, where the sound dampening isn’t as good, the keys tend to sound tinny. The lack of interchangeable keycaps for macOS is also frustrating, as there are other keyboard brands that offer the choice, such as the Lofree Flow84 or the Keychron K8 Max.
While serious gamers should look elsewhere, the Galatin Pro K719 is a good, budget-friendly keyboard for typists who want to add a touch of whimsy to their desk with a pop of green… and a GIF!
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