Lofree Flow Overview
Taking a first look at the Lofree Flow we received the light version of the keyboard, which features a silver casing with white keycaps. Lofree will also be offering a dark version of the keyboard which has a darker casing and black keycaps. For those wondering about size the official dimensions of the keyboard are 316 x 126 x 24.5 mm.
Looking at the keyboard we have an 84-key design, which many people know as a 75% layout. Here you’ll have a full compliment of keys, full function row, arrow keys, etc. Lofree has designed the keyboard to not really have any extra space on it and we can see that with the small outer frame around the keyboard. As I mentioned we have white keycaps which have black legends and alternate legends are in gold. Lofree is making use of low-profile PBT keycaps, which should feel much better than ABS keycaps.
Under the keycaps you’ll find a first on a low-profile keyboard, the Kailh low-profile full POM switches. POM, or Polyoxymethylene is a pretty common thermoplastic that is actually used quite a lot in mechanical key switches, but mainly used in the stem. Here we have an entire switch made out of POM. POM has a relatively lower coefficient of friction compared to Polycarbonate and Nylon which is often used in for the slider rails in switches. These “self-lubricating” POM switches from Kailh will feel smooth on first use, and will have an ever-smoother feel over time. The white version of the keyboard comes with Kailh Ghost switches which are their linear switches. These have an actuation force of 50g and total travel of 2.8mm. The switches on the keyboard are completely hot-swappable, although Lofree did not include a switch or keycap puller with the keyboard. The black version of the keyboard will come with their Phantom (tactile switches) and you can buy the Wizard (clicky) switches as an addon.
Another thing that makes this keyboard stand out from other low-profile keyboards is its gasket-mount design. This type of design is typically reserved for larger non low-profile keyboards. With this type of design the PCB is placed between two pieces of silicone with no screws connecting the PCB to the aluminum casing. The means that sound will not echo throughout the keyboard as you are typing. I have experienced this will other keyboards that do not have a gasket-mount design and it is quite annoying!
Looking at the keyboard from the side we can see just how thin it really is! The actual aluminum casing is only 10mm thick but there are a set of feet that raise the keyboard up at an angle and with the keycaps the max height is 24.5mm. This is still incredibly thin! On the opposite side of the keyboard there is a gold section of the casing with the Lofree logo on it. This is a nice touch and adds a bit of style to the keyboard.
On the top-edge of the keyboard you will find a USB-C connection as well as a small slider that allows you to turn the keyboard on and put it into wireless (Bluetooth) mode. The USB-C connection can be used to not only charge the keyboard, but also use it in wired mode.
As we flip the Flow over we can really see the nice unibody aluminum design. The two feet are made of a rose gold aluminum, which adds a nice touch. As I mentioned these feet do not offer any type of adjustment. On the feet as well as the casing you’ll find four feet that will keep the keyboard in place on your desk.