Review of the Wooting 80HE: All in Impact Hall

It only took one keyboard for Wooting to climb to the top of the gaming keyboard list. The 60HE was as innovative as it was controversial, flipping the mechanical keyboard world upside down using Hall Effect keys in a factor of 60%. Now, Wooting is back with 80HE, a slightly larger keyboard aimed at addressing a range of risks faced by the 60HE.

You get enhanced keys, dampened holders, a clearer focus on internal construction, all with the Hall Effect quality that made 60HE a resounding success. Wooting has crafted a great keyboard here, one that stands out from the moment you unpack it. However, unlike the 60HE, the new 80HE is not essentially for modifications and customization. It’s a great keyboard that will surely retire, a difficult sell for up to $290.

Wooting 80HE Specifications

Design

At first glance, the Wooting 80HE doesn’t seem distinctive. This is what Wooting calls an 80% layout – it’s not, and I’ll get to that shortly – and doesn’t stand out like the 60HE+, which comes with a nylon strap branded with their logo attached to the side of the keyboard. You have six color options available across two different materials: black, phantom, frost with PCR (plastic), or black, white, or raw (silver) with zinc alloy.

The zinc alloy frame looks fabulous, with a smooth finish around all edges of the keyboard. It’s a unique feel. You don’t get the sandblasted polished finish found with raw metal, but you also don’t get the overly polished finish on aluminum. The zinc alloy casing falls somewhere in between. It also makes the keyboard slightly heavier. The weight of the Wooting 80HE is 4.7 lbs with zinc alloy casing, and only 1.7 lbs with PCR casing.

I prefer the heavier keyboard – read the Meletrix Boog75 review for more on that – so naturally, I gravitated towards the zinc alloy casing. I’m not sure if I would have chosen it if I were buying the keyboard for myself. The PCR version comes at a pre-manufactured price of $200, while the zinc alloy version costs $290 pre-manufactured – a premium of $90. You can purchase the casing separately later, but Wooting charges you $110 for the casing alone.

The price alone is not the big issue here. You can easily spend over $200 on the case alone depending on the premium you want. The problem is that you need to get the case from Wooting. The 80HE model doesn’t actually use an 80% layout – it’s a single vertical row less than a true 80% layout. It’s closer to the very common 75% layout, but you can’t use any 75% cases here. This is where Wooting missed the mark. There isn’t really a valid reason to use this design either. It gives you two extra keys compared to a 75% layout.

Another oddity comes in the adjustable typing angle. No, you don’t get exposed plastic feet prone to breaking. Instead, Wooting includes three sets of silicone feet that attach to the bottom of the keyboard. They’re just kind of awkward. They feel securely attached, but the weird designs on the feet (see above) mean they hang over the edges of the casing. It looks like an afterthought, cheap design, not some carefully crafted swappable feet as seen on the Asus ROG Azoth Extreme.

There are some practical issues here, no doubt, but the Wooting 80HE still looks great. You get a light strip on the keyboard pulling double duty as an indicator for a variety of functions, and the RGB backlighting may be the most vibrant I’ve ever seen. It’s better even than the Razer Black Widow V4 Pro at 75%, with rich colors smoothly transitioning between the keys. The keyboard looks stunning, despite design flaws in other areas.

Sound and Feel

One of the issues with the original Wooting 60HE was the sound and feel. Wooting was a pioneer in Hall Effect switches and the 60HE ignored designs focusing on distinctive sound and key feel directly catering to gaming. The 80HE model brings some typing enthusiast sensibilities to the design, and as a result, the keyboard’s sound and feel are much improved.

The internals are completely different here compared to the 60HE. At a high level, the two changes pulling the most weight are the holder for the damper and the switch plate. The damper is very tight here, but you still feel smoother compared to the upper holder available in the 60HE. It’s not as light as the Keychron Q1 HE, but the Wooting 80HE is much closer to the sound and feel of that keyboard compared to the 60HE.

In addition to the damper holder, the 80HE uses a polycarbonate keyboard plate instead of the steel keyboard plate used in the 60HE. It’s softer than aluminum or steel, contributing to a better typing feel overall, even with tighter dampers. I generally prefer FR4, but the polycarbonate plate is not far off. Wooting changed the internal sound damping, with a mix of silicone, foam, and a “tuning bar” beneath the PCB, all contributing to a soft, muted sound, which is pleasantly surprising for a Hall Effect keyboard.

However, this is still a Hall Effect keyboard. If sound and feel are your primary concerns, traditional mechanical keys are the optimal solution. Some keyboards, like the Glorious GMMK 3, give you the choice between Hall Effect and mechanical keys. With the Wooting 80HE, you’re limited to Hall Effect keys. However, the switch PCB is swappable, so you can add your own Hall Effect keys if you wish.

As with the 60HE, Wooting uses their own internal Lekker keys with the 80HE. You have the choice between L45 and L60, differing only in their final strength – 45 grams and 60 grams, as you might think. Both are linear keys, both use an MX stem so you can add any keycaps you want, and both support the full-range actuation of Hall Effect keys from 0.1 mm to 4 mm.

Features

Wooting has been a pioneer of Hall Effect keys, and the 80HE comes with features to showcase the switch technology. As with other Hall Effect keyboards, you have an adjustable activation point from 0.1 mm to 4 mm, allowing you to either lightly press or barely scrape the key to register a key press. Dynamic actuation, or what Wooting calls Rapid Trigger, is the best way to use Hall Effect keys. However, with key actuation and reset based on movement, not a key point.

Now, Wooting also offers Rappy Snappy. A great name, but not a unique feature. It’s the same as Razer’s Snap Tap, allowing you to control two keys through software and trigger the latest input between them. Instead of leaving your D or A key when attacking Valorant, for example, all you have to do is press down on the direction you want to move in while pressing down your other finger. down.

Professional esports players have called it “cheating.” Courageous spirit of the player, for good reason. It undoubtedly gives you an edge in competitive games, to the point that Valve officially banned these features on Counter-Strike 2 servers, as did ESL for all its < Counter Strike 2 groupers.

While Hall Effect was an unexplored territory just a year ago, the array of features available today seems like a milestone. I’m not sure how far Wooting – or other brands, in this regard – should go with the technology. The Wooting 80HE looks great, but traditional mechanical keyboards still look better and give you more customization options. If you don’t see a feature provided by Hall Effect here, the 80HE may not be suitable for you.

Programming

The Wooting software is great. To manage the 80HE, you’ll use the appropriately named Wootility software, available through your browser and as a standalone download. I prefer the browser version. It’s convenient, as you can use it in offline mode after pairing the keyboard, and gives you access to all keyboard functions without needing an external application. All your settings are stored on the suitable keyboard, so everything will continue to work even if your browser is not open.

The usual suspects are here. You can adjust the activation point on a per-key basis, change Rappy Snappy keys, and adjust RGB effects for each key. RGB effects stand out in particular, allowing you to configure different lighting effects for different layers of key assignments. For example, holding down the Function key will switch the key to the second layer, and by default, only a few keys with media control elements are lit. It’s an area where I saw the Hyte Keeb TKL collapse.

You can fully reassign all keys, including support for up to four layers – three layers plus the main layer. You can rebind keys to functions like launching the calculator or shutting down the system, in addition to mouse controls. However, there is no support for macro units (you need the separate and free Wootomation app) or customizable commands. For instance, you can open the default browser or email client, but you cannot open a specific application by setting keys like a secondary browser.

If you’re brave, you can delve into the advanced Hall Effect settings in the application. Wooting supports setting a console button using analog inputs, in addition to dynamic key presses allowing you to assign multiple functions with a single key press. These additions work to showcase the capabilities of Hall Effect keys, but I’m still not sure if they are actually useful. Perhaps there is a power user who can run a set of inputs with a few key presses, but I haven’t seen it.

The main draw here is that Wootility is also easy. It’s incredibly responsive, even in your browser, and I had no questions on where I need to go to access certain settings. Updates are almost instantaneous as well, so you don’t have to wait long when trying out new lighting effects on the keyboard.

Should You Buy Wooting 80HE?

The Wooting 80HE does one thing really well. It’s the Hall Effect keyboard, much like the 60HE was, now with some premium internals. The main issue here is the cost. Keyboards like the Meletrix Boog75 and Keychron Q1 HE offer Hall Effect keys at a much lower price and with the same quality. Certainly, Wooting has an edge in their software, and if you want to spend the money for a premium experience, the 80HE provides that.

However, my reservation in recommending the 80HE is the lack of customization, at least at the current time. Modding was a big deal with the 60HE, and Wooting unnecessarily restricted modding capabilities in the 80HE through a custom layout that serves no practical purpose.

It’s a stark change for the company, which has maintained, until now, open-source software and design files for their products so users can customize their keyboard how they want. Currently, there are no design files for the 80HE.