I recently took two trips out of town. I have been evolving my hotel room set up for years after my employer had me spend extended times in hotel rooms and it always involves an external mechanical keyboard. I had written about the folding keyboard search as part of this previously. In that article, I only mentioned the Royal Kludge F68 in that context as a mechanical low profile keyboard that folds. But I didn’t talk about low profile keyboards themselves. I’m limiting myself to mechanical keyboards per my preference for them.

A low profile mechanical keyboard, also called an ‘ultra-slim’, even in a larger form factor, can take up less space than a comparable keyboard and still have some of the advantages of mechanical keyboards. Like full size mechanical keyboards, you have keyboards with hotswappable switches and ones without. While they come in larger sizes, for travel a 75% or smaller makes sense.

Some people find the low profile keyboards better for ergonomics. Also, if you are coming from a laptop keyboard, the angle can be similar enough, but it is definitely a more premium experience.

I tried out the Keychron K3. There are several revisions and variants, and the newer ones have QMK/VIA and different wireless capabilities. For example, the K3 Pro which is hotswap and bluetooth.  The K3 is a 75%. The smallest Keychron makes is the K7 at 65%. I was able to get a hotswappable K3 on a deal, and that allows me to try different Gateron low profile switches. It came with Browns, but there are other ones to try that may be more to my liking. Either way, I was perfectly satisfied with using these on those recent trips. I even printed a case to transport it.

There is also the Azio Cascade Slim, which is hotswappable, and finally the more expensive and often reviewed alternative is the Nuphy line. They make the Air60, and Air75 variants that fit into the travel category.

Finally, on the budget side, Royal Kludge, in addition to my F68, has the N80 Low Profile 75%. It includes a little LCD screen. Redragon, also known for being on the less expensive side, has the K652. Both are budget models that get decent, if mixed reviews. The Redragon K652 is hotswappable with the Outemu low profile switches. The Royal Kludge uses their own branded low profiles and is hotswappable. However, some research suggests TTC or Cherry MX LP switches are compatible.

You can also go with the entirely niche, but prebuilt Chosfox Geonix48…another Ortho, or their L75 75% keyboard.

Even kit-wise, if you want to build one. There is the 60% Cerberus from Pikatea….which is ceasing operations in December of 2024. Boardsource has the Equals48 and Equals60 kits, which are both Ortholinear keyboards.

The two most popular low profile switches are the Gateron Low Profile and the Choc V1 Low Profile. The Keychrone, Azio, and Nuphy all use the Gateron type. Choc V1 seems to be the domain of ergonomic type keyboards mostly. Despite the useful utility of this category, it seems as if the low profile market for traditional form factors is limited.

In the end, after all that, there are some good options…and most of the choices come in traditional red, blue, or brown switches, so you should be able to find something to suit your preferences.