Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition Review | A Compact Gaming Keyboard

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The Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition is a masterclass in mechanical keyboard design.

The Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition is an outstanding mechanical twitch-response gaming keyboard. It's compact-appeal, combined with its unbelievable optical switches, make it an accurate and comfortable keyboard, perfect for precise and competitive gaming. It's not without its drawbacks, however, so let's dive into our Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition Review...

When it comes to elite gaming keyboards, Razer has long been king. As long as you're an RGB fan, their PC gaming products put them above and beyond anything else on the market at the moment. In our Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition Review, we're going to get into the details of how Razer has excelled in terms of style, portability, and typing comfort.

Before we dive in, we have many reviews for you to check out...

Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition Review: A Compact & Stylish Design

I am going to come clean with you: if you don't like RGB lighting on your gaming equipment, you should probably steer clear. Other than that? The Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition is a stylish victory, emerging with a small, beautifully designed keyboard, that's perfect for portability and competitive play. It's a smaller affair, devoid of a num-pad, but that's okay.

Measuring around 30cm in length, the Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition has a crisp and finished look to it. The keys have a satisfying preciseness to the lettering, especially exaggerated by the RGB lighting, which is highly customizable. It is not very long, and can easily fit into most backpacks, so travelling with this baby isn't a hassle whatsoever (not that you will travel with a gaming keyboard very often). It's compactness also benefits its design – this thing has nothing that you won't use, no logos, no media keys.

The Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition also features a detachable cable, something that few keyboards provide. The whole thing has been designed – as the name suggests – to benefit a pro-player, or a player akin to performing in fast-paced tournament settings. That's why it's so small, there's no superfluous space, the keys are perfectly organized, and everything looks both professional and stylish.

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The Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition is a compact and stylish keyboard worthy of its brand.

Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition Review: Precise Twitch Gaming

The Linear Optical Switch is the true star of the Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition. It's aggressively precise, and allows for insanely fast button-presses with near pin-point timing and accuracy. It has a very light touch to it, which is nice for a genre of keyboards that regularly require a pretty heavy press to get an effective result out of. It barely feels like you've pressed anything, to be honest, which is fantastic for gaming – but not fantastic for office work.

It's a double-edged sword: if you are here for gaming, then this is a feature you will fall in love with. If not: then you will be increasingly frustrated, as even the slightest of knocks can set a keystroke off, resulting in pretty persistent typos. The lack of a num-pad is also tedious when doing office-work, as that's a feature that you commonly need. We're not here for office-work, though, so that's not really such a big deal.

The Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition is here to provide accurate and fantastic Esports gaming hardware. It's perfect for twitchy-games – things like MOBAs – and games that require pin-perfect timing and accuracy. That's where it delivers, and along with its stylish design, it's the true strength of the Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition. As I said in the beginning of this section, the Linear Optic Switches are the true star of this keyboard.

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The Optical Key Switches are the true heroes of the Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition.

Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition Review: The Verdict

The Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition provides for a comfortable and accessible competitive gaming keyboard that does the job it's supposed to without any unnecessary or superfluous space or features. It feels comfortable, it has one of the most satisfying clicks I have ever experienced when using a gaming keyboard, its size is perfect for transportation, and it's just great to look at.

What does that mean for our Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition Review, though? Well, we recommend the Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition wholeheartedly – but only if you are using this exclusively for gaming. The lack of a num-pad is frustrating for office work (especially if you work with a lot of numbers), and the whole thing is just too small and too "clicky" for effective office work. The thing is: the Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition was never designed for that. It's a gaming keyboard through-and-through.

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