Roccat Vulcan II Max

A keyboard that prioritizes looks over substance?

- SAM LEWIS

WITH THE KEYBOARD market saturated with models featuring every type of design, gimmick, and accessory imaginable, it's unusual for a larger peripheral manufacturer to think outside the box and create something that looks a bit different. But at first glance, that's what Roccat has done with the Vulcan II Max, a 100 percent full-sized board with an exposed clean design and a vibrant RGB glow. Alright, it's not particularly revolutionary, but it's nice to see this exposed look once in a while.

Construction-wise, the build quality is definitely a strong point for the Vulcan II Max. This is in part due to its aluminum face plate, but mainly comes down to the weight of the overall board. Weighing 2.86lbs, it has plenty of heft and, thanks to three large grip pads underneath, this thing isn't moving anywhere once it's placed on your desktop. Despite its weight, some of the materials used are underwhelming, especially at this price. There are no PBT keycaps here, just ABS, and although you can swap them out, that's not really the point if you've paid over $200 for a keyboard.