Zowie Celeritas Review
Testing and Conclusion
Putting a keyboard through its paces is always fun. As somebody who types an extraordinary amount I’m very sensitive to the feel of a keyboard. Naturally there is a little adjustment period with anything as you get used to the pressure needed to count as a keystroke, the speed with which a key rebound and the like.
With the Zowie Celeritas, thanks to its regular sizing and lack of extraneous buttons, it’s a very quick adaptation period. Everything is where you’d expect it to be, the size you’d expect it to be, and without accidentally leaning on a dozen needless macro keys.
The keys themselves are an absolute joy to use. Perfectly weighted. The tactile feedback is as good as anything I’ve ever typed on. There is no clicking and clacking, no sound of a key echoing through empty cavernous internals. Merely the same satisfying noise you get from any extremely well sorted bit of kit.
Having the ability to switch the Windows key off isn’t an entirely new feature as we’ve seen it on other keyboards before. But rather than need to flick a switch or similar, the Zowie Celeritas manages it with a quick two-key combination, and the logo instantly changes to remind you which mode you’re in.
Comfort is vital for any long gaming session. Many years spent typing on keyboards that had all the ergonomics of a spike have left my wrists a lot the worse for wear, but here everything was a joy and I could game all day, and even write this review, without it ever becoming an exercise in pain tolerance. Naturally you all wont be up to your armpits in RSI, but that only shows how comfortable the Celeritas is. If I am, and it’s a joy, then you certainly wont have any issues.
There is an old maxim that is as true today as it ever was. You get what you pay for. Yes, unquestionably the Zowie Celeritas is a niché product with a price-tag to match. There is no getting away from that fact. However two things need mentioning before you pick yourselves up from the floor.
Firstly, you really do get what you pay for. The Zowie is bomb-proof and, although we obviously can’t test a keyboard to destruction in the limited time we have for review, nonetheless we can’t foresee it falling over any time before you do. Mechanical keyboards always last for years and years, and this is a prestige mechanical keyboard.
Secondly, your reaction will largely depend upon where you are in life. If you’re the kind of person who looks at a Citroen Saxo in a tuning magazine that’s got £40000 worth of body modifications and ICE, and thinks “Wow that’s awesome” then maybe the Celeritas wont be for you. However, if you’re someone who looks at that same car and wonders why they didn’t just spent the money on a proper one like an Audi RS4 or BMW M3 in the first place, step right up.
If you absolutely must have the best, price isn’t a consideration, and you aren’t swayed but such fripperies as LEDs and a hundred macro buttons you never use, then the Zowie Celeritas is one of the best two or three keyboards on the planet.
It will certainly outlive two fifty quid keyboards, and give you twice the joy of those every day. An easy winner of our Silver Award, and in pure performance terms it would have to be a Gold. Sadly that price…
   
Thanks to Zowie for providing the Celeritas for review. Discuss in our forums.
