The Bear65 was adorable.
Just look at that infilled engraving.
It was one of the first Alice boards I considered picking up, and here it is in a V2, a new
iteration that seeks to build on the legacy of its predecessor.
So, does it?
Bear65 is an alice layout 65%.
We’ve got a hotswap PCB, which supports stepped caps, and a soldered PCB, which supports
stepped caps and split backspace.
Both will also depend on whether you get the winkey or winkeyless version of the case.
Both have daughterboards, and of course VIA support.
Both also have RGB underglow.
Like mentioned before, you do have the choice between winkey and winkeyless, with winkeyless
having the original bear engraving on the top case.
Typing angle is 6 degrees.
For plates, you can choose between aluminum, FR4, polycarbonate, and brass, which costs
extra.
The colors are ewhite, e purple, blue, rose gold, black, and polycarbonate.
The bottom bear weight can also be configured to be brass or aluminum, with brass being
the default.
Finally, the Bear65 v2 will run you around 350 to 400 dollars.
The build process is very easy, just like any other gasket mounted keyboard.
Already in here are TX stabs lubed with 205g0 and XHT-BDZ.
On top goes the polycarbonate plate, and we’re using purple cows lubed with 205g0.
I was sent the solder PCB, so we will have to take care of that as well.
With the inner assembly done, we can open our case up and start adding in gaskets.
You do get 2 different thicknesses, 2 millimeters and 2.5 millimeters, for the top, bottom,
and sides.
The thinner gaskets are meant for the top or bottom, while the thicker ones are recommended
for the sides.
However, just because these are thicker, they aren’t necessarily softer.
The thicker gaskets are actually stiffer, so I will be using them for the side and top,
and I will use the thinner 2 millimeter gaskets for the bottom case.
I got a package in the middle of video production.
First thing here is an updated daughterboard.
Next is updated plate foam.
If you use this, side gaskets are not required, because the foam will prevent side-to-side
movement via these tabs here.
Next is the updated PCB.
This was to correct the thickness of the JST port, and to prevent it from hitting the bottom
case.
It's a lot thinner now, meaning the board will bottom out further.
Finally is an aluminum plate.
We’ll get back to the polycarbonate plate build, and I’ll add a sound test with this
updated hardware after it.
Im going to install the daughterboard.
Finally, we can put the inner assembly inside, screw the case together, and mount gmk blue
samurai.
This configuration sounds disappointing.
Partly because of the use of quieter non long pole switches, but also because of the pc
plate and the cuts in the PCB.
The cuts in the PCB are allowing a lot of the sound to leak through the bottom, so what
if I covered them up?
My theory was right.
By covering up the PCB cuts, the board is overall a lot louder.
But now, it’s also resulting in a lot of hollow sound.
I’ll force break the top and bottom case and see if it helps.
It did, just a bit, and the rest is due to the empty space inside the case.
How about the aluminum plate with different switches?
Much much stronger sound, but it’s kinda hollow.
So let’s add some makeshift case foam.
This is plate foam with a cutout for the daughterboard area.
The hollowness is gone, but it’s kinda muddy now.
The harsher clack has been rounded out.
Let’s cover up the pcb cuts again and see if it helps.
And there we have it.
It took a bit of work, but we finally got to THE sound.
For bear, I would try to avoid the polycarbonate plate since it tends to make a lot of switches
quiet and dead sounding.
Although, purple cows aren’t a strong-sounding switch to begin with.
The Bear v1 included a PCB without flex cuts, which actually sounded very decent without
foam or mods.
However in v2, with these flex cuts that leak sound, the aluminum plate is a must for a
stronger sound in the stock board.
Changing out the gasket config should marginally change the sound.
I wish there were enough included for each thickness to use on both the top and bottom,
but unfortunately, there are 16 large slots and only 8 of each thickness.
If your build does end up as hollow as mine, sadly you will have to sacrifice bounce for
a better sound.
Case foam isn’t included, which is baffling, and the plate foam is obviously thick, taking
up most of the bottom case.
This means that there’s virtually no bounce or flex, but with the foam gone, there is
a decent amount of bounce.
shown here is the aluminum plate.
The polycarbonate plate has notably more flex as well.
The updated PCB does add a few millimeters of bouncing room.
In terms of design, it’s really not too complex.
On the win key top, we have absolutely no defining features.
No depth, engravings, anything.
If you were considering the bear, I would get the winkeyless version, which has the
nice bear engraving from v1.
The sides have average-sized chamfers and the seam between the top and bottom case runs
around the entire board.
On the back, we have a very small indent for the centered USB-C port, which isn’t deep
enough to be considered recessed.
Finally, on the bottom is the weight piece, bear written inside a bear paw.
Being a board in the mid to high-end price range, I definitely would have wanted to see
some more external flare, especially on the sides.
I'm not like, dying to see a more flashy design though, because Jacky’s boards do tend to
be a bit more on the minimal side.
Speaking of flashy, there is RGB.
not per-key RGB, just underglow.
Which would only really be nice if you had the polycarb case.
It just barely shows through with a polycarbonate plate, which again, I would advise against.
Of course, the usability of the Alice layout is up to you.
Personally, I just can’t.
I always press ‘Y’ with my left index, and this layout just makes that killer.
Absolutely destroys my typing speed.
Before we talk about the differences between v2 and v1, I have to mention the thing that
most upsets me.
No bear engraving on the win key top.
Because it looks like even with the reduced space, it technically could still be fit,
and there are still a bunch of other spots on the top to put an engraving or design.
Okay, now let’s look at v1 again.
Compared to v2, there are some slight changes to the bottom curve for symmetry and also
slight changes to the gaps of the layout itself to make it more ergonomic.
The front height has been lowered to 19mm from around 22 mm, but the largest 2 differences
are the cuts in the PCB and the addition of a daughterboard.
These both help add bounce, but also like how I’ve said before, PCB cuts are a double-edged
sword.
Helping flex but quieting sound.
There are no issues with material quality.
I’ve said this for so many boards that I'm just going to stop saying it unless there
is a problem.
Standards and manufacturing quality are generally so high now that it isn’t really a concern
anymore.
But even with that out of the way, there are still a lot of things I think this board can
improve on.
Case foam would be a start.
And unless you’re using loud switches, try to avoid the polycarbonate plate.
With all this in mind, Bear has a lot of potential that I think takes some extra care and work
to harness.
But if those are things you can commit, bear can be a great board.