Summary
I’ve been exclusively using the Woooting Double-Shot PBT keycaps on my 80HE for the past four weeks, and they have held up very well and I see no need of replacing them. Their texture matches the Zinc alloy case, even thought it is a different material. They let the RGB light shine through clearly and are not prone to fingerprints. Nothing really super facny, but a very nice set of stock keycaps. My only nitpick is the slightly off-proportion Å key on the Nordic ISO layout.
Packaging and first impressions
Unboxing these keycaps, my expectations were set by the rest of the Wooting package, and that turned out to be the correct baseline.
I’ll save you the 500 words in this review: they’re good, and they’re still on the board. That’s it.
Wooting PBT keycaps / credit kaytomas.com
The packaging matches the keyboard and travel case perfectly, complete with the same small heart detail (cute!). It immediately feels like part of a well-thought-out product, not an afterthought.
Once installed, the first impression is how well the Wooting PBT keycaps visually match the 80HE. Even though the materials are obviously different, with PBT vs Zinc, they complement the zinc case surprisingly well.
Wooting PBT keycaps unboxed / credit kaytomas.com
Cozy detials on the packaging / credit kaytomas.com
Double-Shot and texture
“Double-shot PBT” refers to how the keycaps are made: two layers of plastic molded together, with the legends formed from a separate piece rather than printed on. This means the lettering won’t fade or wear off over time plus that the color from the RBG can light through the keycaps. PBT is the plastic type, harder and more textured than the glossy ABS found on cheaper keyboards.
The surface has a light texture, not slippery, not glossy, and they feel more grip-friendly than the GMK WoB sets I own. The Wooting PBT keycaps also give the impression to be shine resistant, although I’ve not used them long enough yet to where my fingers have started to polish them.
These two look good together / credit kaytomas.com
The spacebar
My biggest surprise was the spacebar. There’s extra internal padding here, something I didn’t expect at all since I intentionally avoided doing too much research. It makes a real difference and is a real testament to Wooting’s policy of implementing community mods into their keyboards.
The Wooting PBT keycaps spacebar has internal padding / credit kaytomas.com
The sound is deeper, more controlled, and it fits perfectly with the 80HE’s overall acoustic profile. Combined with the gasket mount and dampening inside the keyboard, these keycaps help produce that muted, solid sound I’ve mentioned in my 80HE review.
Curious about the sound? Check out this sound test.
Backlighting
Backlighting is handled well on the Wooting PBT keycaps. There’s very little light bleed, and the legends shine through cleanly without looking fuzzy or uneven.
Daily use
I normally don’t rush to replace stock keycaps. In this case, I see no real reason to. The Wooting keycaps are absolutely good enough to live on the keyboard long-term, both in feel and in looks. During the entire four-week review period, I exclusively used them without feeling any need to replace them.
Nitpick
My only real nitpick—and this is very much a Norwegian-specific one—is the Å key.
Like most sets, Wooting gives use Scaninavians you multiple legends so you can move keys around, which is expected. The issue here is that the Å character has been scaled down to make room for the dot, the circle, above the A.
This makes it look slightly out of proportion compared to the rest of the legends.
It’s a small detail, but once you notice it, you can’t unsee it. That said, this is the kind of thing you only really get “perfect” on much more expensive, niche keycap sets.
The Å key legend is slightly out of proportion / credit kaytomas.com
Verdict
Will I replace these keycaps eventually? Only if I already had a full spare set with the right layout and legends. I might, out of pure curiosity, replace them with my GMK set to see if that changes the sound or typing feel.
But do you need to? Absolutely not.
These are very solid, well-matched, and thoughtfully designed stock keycaps that feel appropriate on a premium keyboard.
The Wooting Double-Shot PBT keycaps don’t feel like a compromise. They feel like a nice addition to a already excellent keyboard.
Disclaimer
Wooting provided the keycaps as a part of the 80HE Review. This does not influence my opinions. All thoughts and impressions are my own.
