#Steelseries’ Apex 3 TKL Mechanical Keyboard Is Water-Resistant and Gorgeous – Review Geek

The excellent and affordable SteelSeries Apex 3 mechanical keyboard now comes in a TenKeyLess form-factor. Available for just $45 at Amazon, the Apex 3 TKL features IP32 water and dust resistance, customizable RGB backlighting, and a genuinely impressive design.

By omitting the Numpad, TenKeyLess keyboards have a much smaller footprint than full-sized keyboards. And it’s not just a cost-cutting measure—TenKeyLess keyboards are often more comfortable to use than their larger counterparts, as your right hand doesn’t need to travel across a Numpad to reach your mouse.

The Apex 3 TKL is basically just a more compact version of the regular Apex 3. It has media controls, a built-in volume rocker, and customizable Brilliant PrismSync backlighting with support for eight zones and over 16 million colors. I’m very excited for the lighting on this keyboard—it looks amazingly crisp in images and can sync with other SteelSeries devices.

Also, this is the first TenKeyLess mechanical gaming keyboard with certified water resistance, which is a bit shocking when you consider just how messy gamers can get. For $45, this thing is worth the water-resistance alone.

But the Apex 3 TKL only comes with “whisper silent” switches. Some people may prefer the various clicky switches that SteelSeries offers with the full-sized Apex 3, though to be honest, I’m more of a quiet keyboard kinda guy.

You can order the Apex 3 TKL at Amazon for $45, or grab the full-sized Apex 3 for $50. If you want to make the most of these keyboards, aesthetically speaking, I suggest grabbing one of SteelSeries’ RGB-enabled mice to sync with your new keyboard’s backlight.

Source: SteelSeries