First, thanks to the Angry Miao team for allowing me to get my hands on this board before it goes on sale in the US. It has truly been a pleasure working with the team and I look forward to a bright future.
I have been hanging about in the Angry Miao chats for months. At first it was for the opportunity to purchase the AFA R1. The second was to learn and hang out with like minds that like nice boards.
I have suffered with Arthritis for the past 10 'ish years and have looked for a board that really fits my paws. I have decent sized hands that no one would call small. As a result, I have been searching for a board that allows me to type with as little strain as possible. I have tried a few boards out such as YNDB, AV4, Kunlun, Keychron, and AM AFA R1 in black. The last was my end game board. I think we can all agree, there is no such thing.
Given the opportunity to partake in the testing of R2 AFA I jumped at it as I have always wanted the VF-19 variant which reminds me very much of Gundam.
Onto this board.
Whats New:
- New Colorways - "Anodic Electrophoresis Finishes" - Don't worry, I have no idea what I means either but I will tell you that the boards as you can see in the photos are vibrant and look really good
- Glass middle instead of plastic (less prone to scratching)
- Reducing screw count from 20+ to 4 per side for a total of 8 for removing the board on the inside
Experience:
Now that I have the colorway that I have always wanted, I want to focus on the typing experience more than anything. There will be several other reviewers that will go into much more detail on the physical board itself. I will link at the bottom if you want to see those.
If you have an AFA R1, this is the exact same. All of the switches are in the same place, the board still feels super sturdy, and the experience remains the same. If you have never used an Angry Miao board, it will take some getting used to. As mentioned, I have big hands and it takes both of them to fill this board. Everything is spread out. When you first use the board, you will mistype, you may even curse and think that you have made a mistake. But once you get used to it, you realize that you are carrying around your board to work (I travel to different offices), upstairs, and even in the basement. My hands feel better and hurt less.
When typing on a smaller (cramped) board I often have to stretch my hands out. I do not enjoy typing on straight boards due to the pain i get when typing on them.
This board is not for everyone. Whether it is the upfront cost, the physical size of the board, or the spacing of the layout, you must be prepared to jump in, and with both feet and hands.
As mentioned, this was just a quick review to talk about why I use this board and not to sell it to you. Hope you enjoy. Enough of my yammering, lets get to what it sounds like.
Forgive the video quality, I had to use my phone to record. Currently recovering from knee surgery and I was not going to the basement to get sweet lighting and even better audio.
Interested in a board like this for yourself? Check them out!
