Mechanical keyboards are becoming increasingly popular. Custom brands release pre-built keyboards that give you all the good parts of a custom board, with all the convenience of the former. With premium key switches, keycaps and chassis options, these boards are an excellent choice if you want a superb typing experience but don’t want to spend ages assembling a new keyboard.
The Wombat Pine Pro is just one of these pre-builts that uses its own chassis and combines it with a selection of different key switches and keyboards. It is Mac compatible and comes in the box with Mac specific keyboards. If you’re not a fan of the Magic Keyboard or those chiclet, laptop-style boards, then you could do a lot worse than look good at this one.
Of course, if you can afford it.
As always, this entire review was written on the keyboard itself – to do otherwise would feel silly.
Wombat Pine Professional: Price and Availability
You can only buy the Pine Pro directly from Wombat itself, and you’ll pay $159 to have one put on your desk. Plus, you’ll have to pay for shipping, so make sure you factor that in.
That’s obviously a lot of money for a keyboard, mechanical or not. Considering there are budget options available out there, paying $60 more than the Apple Magic Keyboard (without TouchID) might feel like a bit much. You’re definitely getting the better keyboard, one that’s easily worth the best price, but that’s a big question.
Wombat Pine Professional: What I like
Oh, those key switches. They’re not Cherry MX browns, which offer a silent tactile bump in the middle of keystrokes, but an excellent approximation thereof. The actuation distance is great and the tactile bump is as comfortable to press as it is to not hear it. Each key switch feels as nice to press as the last, with great consistency across the board. They are far better than any scissor membrane switch you can find on your MacBook keyboard or Magic Keyboard. Smooth as butter, but with a definite action and good finger feedback.
There is an option on Wombat’s website for ‘gamers’ who want more linear keys in the form of red key switches. These red switches forgo the tactile bump of the brown ones for a smoother keystroke, one that’s a little easier to bottom out. I didn’t get to experience these, but if these browns are anything to go by, they will be excellent.
On top of these key switches are some PBT keys with color sublimated legends. What does it mean? Well. PBT is hard, and gives the keyboard a more ‘tactile’ sound and feel. They make the whole affair more clicky overall, and are super durable. PBT is the only option here and they are excellent keycaps. The printing on the keys, or ‘the legend’, is done through dye sublimation, a form of digital printing. The legend here is super crisp and tight, and there’s little chance of any kind of print rubbing off because the print is literally being heated into the surface of the keyboard. You will need to peel off the top layer of plastic before this print starts to fade.
All in all, it sounds incredible – especially because it’s all pre-lubricated. Mechanical keyboards that aren’t lubricated can sound scratchy, and this one definitely doesn’t. It is slightly muted, but that only makes the experience even better. For longer keys, a keyboard requires stabilizers to compensate for the small footprint of the key switch in the middle. These keep the key from wobbling around and keep the space bar or enter nice to hit. On some keyboards, these stabilizers can be a little loose and scratchy, ruining the typing experience. The stabilizers here don’t rattle and each key has very little play. It’s fabulous.
The deck itself is unreasonably solid. There’s a metal frame around the entire board that feels great to the touch, making the whole thing feel super substantial. Then you lift it up – and immediately put it down again, because the thing weighs an absolute ton. Wombat has apparently packed the case with foam, as well as all the necessary keyboard guff like batteries and a big old PCB. There is literally no tire flex here – just the way I like it, though your mileage may vary if you like something a little more spongy. Despite the back panel of the keyboard being plastic, it doesn’t bend a bit, it just adds to the whole premium package.
It all adds up to one of the best writing experiences I’ve ever had. The click is quiet and subdued, while being extremely satisfying. Key action is wonderful and makes working on it for hours feel a little less stressful on my fingers and joints. I can’t think of a better keyboard I’ve used.
I also like how the keyboard is wireless, which makes my desk a little bit more tidy. You can choose between a Bluetooth connection, or use the small wireless dongle that comes in the box. Both connection methods are super solid and I’ve never had any issues with them.
Battery life is outrageous. When the keyboard arrived with me, it had (apparently) 8% battery left. That was about a month ago and I still need to charge it – and I keep it on pretty much all the time. Battery life isn’t quoted on Wombat’s website, but expect it to be huge. When it runs out of battery, you can connect it with the USB-C connector on the back and use the keyboard with a cord while charging the battery. This is also a true wired connection, so for the gamers out there this will be a boon for latency.
It’s obviously a full-sized keyboard, and with that comes plenty of shortcuts. There are Mac specific ones all over the store, with brightness controls, music controls and volume controls to name a few. You won’t want to miss a single one, let’s put it that way. Having a Numpad is also nice, although I personally hardly use it.
Finally, I think it looks nice. I wouldn’t say it looks amazing, but it’s nice and simple and fits easily into most desktop setups. Mine is the Space Gray version, so maybe one of the other colors might be a little more interesting. You can grab one of five colors, all of which look great. They all match one of the colors you can get an iMac in, so there’s a light blue, a mint green, a salmon pink and a silver. I love the little orange accents on my copy though, which add some more visual fun to the deck.
Wombat Pine Professional: What I don’t like
Anything negative I have to say about the board feels like bullshit. The cable that comes in the box is a piece of plastic sleeve, and while it’s flexible, it’s not as comfortable as a braided cable. The instructions on the back of the keyboard are fine, but could be clearer for those unfamiliar with mechanical keyboards.
The biggest issue I have with the keyboard is the lack of backlighting. While it may make the keyboard a little more expensive, I would have loved to have seen a single brightness-level white LED backlight to make the keys a little more legible in the dark. Currently, the dark colored keys and black legend can make the keys harder to read in darker environments. However, you just have to light your room properly and you will have no problems. Just be prepared to struggle a bit if you’re expecting illuminated keyboards.
While I love the multi-level feet on the back, I wish they felt a little nicer. They’re fine when they’re on the desk and you’re not touching them, but they feel a bit plasticky. They click into place with no problem at all, but maybe that’s just me expecting something more premium considering the rest of the board.
I should tell you the lack of TouchID is a bad thing, but honestly, even though it’s present on my MacBook keyboard, I don’t miss it that much here. If you absolutely can’t live without it, then it’s not here and your only option is the Apple Magic Keyboard, and it’s only about $10 less than this.
Wombat Pine Professional: Competition
If you don’t need a mechanical keyboard, then the obvious option is the Apple Magic Keyboard. It is lived, sure, but if you go for the TouchID option, you get an inferior keyboard with a fingerprint reader for $10 less. It’s also an option if you prefer low-profile plates, although there are other mechanical low-profile options if you prefer one of those. Something like Nuphy Air could do you good in this case.
There are also countless other mechanical tires out there, some from major manufacturers and some from smaller ones. Logitech makes some great mech boards – we’re fans of the pint-sized Logitech MX Mechanical Mini for Mac – as do other gaming manufacturers like Roccat and Corsair.
If you’re looking for something a little more boutique, the likes of Keychron and IQUNIX make some incredible boards. They will be a bit more expensive, but choosing something like the Keychron Q1 is always a good bet or the IQUNIX OG80, which forgoes the Numpad for a super smart look.
Or you can make your own! We’ve got our own comprehensive mechanical keyboard guide to walk you through the process, and we even detail the best mechanical keyboards for Mac.
Wombat Pine Professional: Should You Buy It?
You should buy this if…
- You want an excellent mechanical keyboard
- You have $160 left over
- You need a full-sized keyboard
You should not buy this if…
- You don’t want to spend $160
- You need something backlit
- You want something low profile
Wombat Pine Professional: Verdict
It’s not the cheapest keyboard out there, but it’s certainly one of the best at this price point. It offers a truly spectacular typing experience and looks solid on the desktop while doing so. It could use some backlighting, but the wireless connectivity and ease of connection will soon make you forgive its very, very few shortcomings. ‘The last keyboard you’ll ever need’ is what it says on the box – and I’m inclined to agree.
The bottom line:
In short, this is one of the best keyboards I’ve ever used. It might be a little uninspiring to look at, but it performs solidly and feels like it will last until the heat of the sun dies.
