After coming from what’s probably Geon’s worst board, the Frog Mini Leggera, we swing in the exact opposite direction with one of Geon’s best boards. The F1 line comes from a longer lineage of keyboards dating back to just towards the end of 2020 that quickly became potentially the most prolific TKL only second to the TGR Jane, namely for its generally great quality control and upper-eschelon sound, albeit with much more simplistic design language. Towards the end of 2023, Geon teased the release of a V2 design with a slightly more modern design but also with the goal of making an unlimited run to get the F1 in more people’s hands, expecting to make the run take more like 6 months, but greatly underestimated the almost 3000 orders that came in, which ended up making the leadtime more like 18 months to get it all just right for the people.

Design/Aesthetics

The F1-8X V2 retains most of its dimensions as its mainline predecessor, rather than the shorter but larger dimensions of the F1-8X 722, but the original 19mm front height still pairs nicely with the rather steep 9° typing angle, which is a little steep for my liking (i generally prefer 5-7°), but not within the realm of uncomfortable quite yet. The F1 design has always had thin side bezels with rather thick chins and foreheads to account for its mounting style, and that remains the case for the V2 design. The V2 does slightly stray from the older box-on-wedge style of the original and the full wedge of the 722, instead opting to go somewhere in the middle with a seam in the middle and instead taper the back of the bottom case as it gets closer to the front, allowing it to retain the flat and industrial backside while still playing with the angles on the side.

The V2 design is still otherwise rather plain-looking otherwise save for a small badge on the bottom of the board which is provided in copper by default, but is also able to be bought in Stainless Steel. I don’t think it needs anything else on the bottom, but I also won’t deny a big sheet of brass or copper on the bottom would make for a fun accent piece to patina, as long as it doesn’t have Frog-style writing on it.

Assembly

The F1 is simple to build, being just 6 screws under push-in feet to open up the case assembly. This experience of unscrewing the case is probably simultaneously the most annoying and most relieving part of the build. This is mostly in part to the fact that these push-in feet are probably the best that Geon has implemented, yet the screws are not magnetic, so they don’t catch onto your screw driver when unscrewing them which helps because of how deep the screws go into the case.

Once the case is disassembled, all 6 interior copper weights (which is new to the F1 line!) are already installed (and make the board HEAVY), so all that’s left to do is mount the PCB and plate in. The F1 is synonymous with the Viton strip mount that acts like an in-between of gasket and o-ring, where instead of one o-ring encircling the entire PCB/plate assembly, instead a strips of o-ring are cut into sections across the top and bottom of the case, friction-fitting into the top case and resting in grooves on the bottom case and the plate.

Also worth noting is that the V2 also includes capability for a Fly daughterboard to be installed, which is a daughterboard that leaves me conflicted. I like how small it is and that it works nicely in a C3 daughterboard footprint, but the EZ-Mate connector is just complete garbage; it’s nice that the EZ-Mate connection is only on the daughterboard itself, but I still absolutely dread using it. I like the flexibility of daughterboard usage instead of being forced to an on-board USB-C, but I still think lowering the USB port to allow for a full C3 daughterboard would have been the best move.

PCB and Firmware

The F1-8X V2 doesn’t come with a PCB by default, which makes finding PCBs mildly annoying, albeit it is compatible with just about any h87 PCB. So, let’s do a mini-review here as well. In this case, I went with a Mechlovin Infinity 87.5 CEM solder PCB, both to try a CEM PCB and because of it being a pretty solid recommendation from most other people I know with an F1. I also intended to try to go for a half-plate build, but wasn’t able to snag one when extras came up. It’s also a striking red which felt appropriate for the silver finish. Despite saying it’s powered by VIA, it doesn’t show up in VIA by default and instead needs a json file to be opened, which is a mild disappointment especially since this board isn’t wireless or anything, so it shouldn’t run into issues being merged.

Typing Experience

As mentioned, the F1 line is known for having a very good sound profile, and it certainly keeps that image with the V2. Even with the sheer amount of copper in the case below, it still maintains a sound with depth, with a good pop from the o-ring underneath. The spacebar is especially insane with a really prominent sound that while dominant, still somehow stays appropriate for the otherwise really good sound profile. Just about the only part of the sound that didn’t hold up for me is the backspace, but it’s still solid compared to the rest of my collection. To make a comparison, my previous favorite was the Arc60, which is plateless. This is with a plate, and somehow sounds even more full.

As far as feel goes, it’s not as stiff as a top mount, but it’s definitely not as bouncy as a gasket or o-ring mount, which runs basically perfectly for my preferences, but I could see people possibly desiring a softer o-ring in place of the default.

Overview

Maybe it’s a honeymoon period, but the F1-8X V2 is probably my new favorite of the bunch and does not disappoint for the price of $400 plus a $30-50 PCB. Despite the volume that went out, it seems people are trying to sell F1s at $500, but if you look in the right places you should be able to find people selling at-cost or even lower if you luck out. If you can find it $350-400 unbuilt, or even $450 built and in good condition, then I say cop if you can justify the funds, I don’t think you’ll regret it.