FANTECH MaxFit Air99 retro mechanical keyboard – Review


FANTECH MaxFit Air99
FANTECH MaxFit Air99

FANTECH MaxFit Air99

| Mechanical Keyboard | Low-profile | Wireless/Wired | North-facing |


FANTECH MaxFit Air99, the very first low-profile mechanical keyboard from Fantech.

The Fantech MaxFit Air99 is part of a 2 variant release under the MaxFit Air series which include a nearly full-size type (MaxFit Air99) and a more compact one (MaxFit Air83)





In the past we have reviewed nearly all latest gaming mice and gamepads from the brand and all have proved to offer excellent bang for buck, this MaxFit Air keyboard joins the catalog of peripherals from the company with an appealing style and design.

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FANTECH MaxFit Air99 Review

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FANTECH MaxFit Air99 Scores

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A

ACCESSORIES & PACKAGING
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The Fantech MaxFit Air99 comes in cardboard packaging style seen on most modern keyboards.

With the keyboard you will also get:

• USB-C cable
• Keycap puller
• 8 extra arrow keycaps + spacebar dark grey keycap
• Dust keyboard cover
• Decorative stickers


D

DESIGN
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The Fantech MaxFit Air series introduce a different approach to the “retro-styled” keyboards (like the CIDOO V75, CIDOO V65, CIDOO V68, CIDOO V21, EPOMAKER TH80 series, EPOMAKER RT100, etc.), with a low-profile approach, a refreshing and way more fun flavor with retro colors like seen on the golden era of classic game consoles and direct inspiration of the theme seen on Super Nintendo.

In fact, the MaxFit Air use a 2-toned grey keycaps set plus and extra color set for the arrow keys using red, green, blue and yellow for each of the 4 arrow keys.



The top plate of the keyboard is also embellished by a space grey, metallic finish that makes the device look stylish and aesthetically pleasing.

As you can see from the name MaxFit Air99, this model is not a full 100% keyboard but a much better, optimized layout that offers nearly all the keys of full-sized keyboard (also including a full numpad) but with a significantly smaller size due to the removal of the typical TKL 6-keys dual row and also by keeping the size of the case as small as possible without wasting extra empty space beyond the end of the edge keycaps.

Some additional functional and embellishing details include a long vertical RGB LED strip light separating the numpad from the main keys and 3 small dedicated LEDs for Caps Lock, Low battery and charging status indication.

If we would have to be nitpicky, we could say that the only lacking design element of the FANTECH MaxFit Air99 is the absence of a knob/encoder for volume control.

To give you a more specific reference of the height of this low-profile keyboard, the max. height at the highest point of the device is just 23mm.

The Fantech MaxFit Air exists in one only color theme but is available in 2 sizes/layouts:

• Fantech MaxFit Air99
• Fantech MaxFit Air83


CB

CONSTRUCTION & BUILD
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With a combined 2-material type used for the top and bottom case of the keyboard (top is aluminum and bottom is plastic), the unit feels better built than some all-plastic keyboards yet way lighter than a full-metal one.

In fact, the Fantech MaxFit Air99 is remarkably lightweighted, so much that you would think that this is not a keyboard with an internal battery.

The exact weight of the Fantech MaxFitAir99 is 565 grams.

When seeing the MaxFit Air, many users might think that the board is hot-swappable but this is not the case for this Fantech keyboard as the switches are soldered and cannot be replaced unless you want to risk and enter the world of unsoldering and resoldering directly to the board.


KC

KEYCAPS
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The keycaps of the Fantech MaxFit Air99 have a gorgeous theme which is responsible for its unique retro aesthetics, still these keycaps do not only look good but are also made of better ABS material instead of the cheap construction used on keycaps of most mainstream branded keyboards – despite feeling almost like PBT keycaps, these are not made of PBT.

In fact, if you compare the keycaps of the Fantech MaxFit Air vs Logitech G915, the quality of the Logitech keycaps feel laughably cheap and disposable.

The theme used for the keycaps make them easy to read with a contrasty effect on the keycaps and fonts colors used and large sized primary and secondary keys visible – also functional connectivity and pre-programmed Fn functions are visible on the corresponding keys.


SW

SWITCHES
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3.75/5

The Fantech MaxFit99 and Fantech MaxFit83 can be purchased with red linear or brown tactile switches, either option is of low-profile type – if you like clicky switches you will not have an option for clickys.

Both red or brown switches are of low-profile style but the brand does not disclosed if they belong to any main popular switches brands like Kailh, Gateron, etc.

The specific model of the Fantech MaxFit99 that we are reviewing is equipped with red switches (linear); these switches present a nice actuation force with a heavier feel than overly light linears.

Therefore, we found that the linear switches of the Fantech were better at reducing typing errors and unwanted inputs.

If we evaluate them as a premium switch (they are not), we can say that the switches do exhibit some scratchiness.


CON

CONNECTIVITY
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The Fantech MaxFit Air99 and Fantech MaxFit Air83 are tri-mode keyboards, meaning that they can be used wired and wirelessly.

The wired system of the keyboard uses a detachable USB-C connection, placed on the rear edge of the case – an On/Off switch sits next to it.

Wirelessly, users can select to use either a Bluetooth connection or 2.4G wireless. To make use of the 2.4G connection you need to use the bundled dongle – which has a dedicated storage slot on the bottom of the case, next to one of the adjustable feet.

Instead, when using a Bluetooth connection, users can benefit from 3 independent BT banks to pair to 3 different BT devices and switch between them on-the-fly.

To set the keyboard in BT, 2.4G or wired mode you can access a dedicated switch on the right rear edge of the case – next to the Win/Mac selector.

While using the MaxFit Air, we did not experience any lag, hiccups nor unwanted disconnections with an overall stable and very usable performance.


P&E

PERFORMANCE & USE

TYPING
4.5/5

The compact, thin size combined with 2-step (3 height levels) adjustable feet and access to a full-key keyboard makes the Fantech MaxFit Air99 a fantastic option for all type of tasks and nearly-perfect daily driver.

If any, we could say that after being reviewing keyboards for 10 years we do prefer the switches & keycaps feel of premium keyboards over the Fantech, though we are comparing it with keyboards with a price-tag 3 to 4 times higher.

Nonetheless, if you are coming from something like the Logitech G915 or many Razer keyboards, you will enjoy much more the overall experience with the Fantech.

GAMING

3.75/5

As we always highlight, we do not like full-sized nor above 75% keyboard for gaming purposes, yet many pro gamers swear for 100% keyboard in pro competitions.

In spite of this, you always have the choice to select the smaller MaxFit Air83 if you prefer a more compact gaming-friendly size.

With wired and 2.4G wireless options, the keyboard can adapt to gaming use but the brand does not specify if the MaxFit Air series include gaming specs such as the NKRO nor the explicit polling rate.

OFFICE

4.5/5

The excellent size and layout which includes arrow keys, main navigation keys, F-number row and a complete numpad makes the Fantech a very good and competent option for productivity and office work.

Added features like triple wired and wireless connection add up to its usability for this tasks.

TABLET/MOBILE
4.5/5

The low-profile, light weighted nature and Bluetooth-enabled design can be a dream come true for users that adopt a mobile setup or look for a companion to travel when pairing it with tablets or smartphones.


L

LIGHTING
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This Fantech keyboard has a board with north-facing RGB LED that can be customized but the north-facing nature combined with non-shine-through keycaps makes the RGB effects and brightness to be less popping and visible than on other keyboards reviewed so far.


S

SOUND
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For the price, the Fantech MaxFit Air99 performs more than well and, in fact, shows better lubing and stabilizers pre-lube than seen on many expensive premium keyboards like AKKO MU01, MU02, MOD007B, MOD007 PC). Right out of the box, the stabs of the Fantech do not present any type of rattling nor mush feel while pinging is also not present.

On the other hand, this is not a keyboard with multi-dampening layers or other components like springs, gasket-mounted, PBT keycaps; which as a result cannot compete in the sound department against thock top-tier keyboards.

Despite this, the MaxFit Air do not have the wobbly, rattling, shakiness and awful sound and noises that highly popular low-profile keyboards like the Logitech G915 have – none of these issues are present on this Fantech model.


SW

SOFTWARE
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The MaxFit Air series use a proprietary software made by Fantech with all the customizations and personalization that you see on most keyboard software and adopts a UI theme coherent with the aesthetics of the keyboard.

You can expect full access to options such as macros, RGB LED settings, light presets, etc.


B

BATTERY
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The brand promises up to 400 hours of battery runtime per charge (90 hours if LED lighting is On), making it quite respectable in comparison with similar and higher priced competitors.

The MaxFit Air fully recharges in 2 hours when connected to a USB port able to provide the standard 5V.


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Specifications

FANTECH MaxFit Air99 Technical Specifications

Model name
MaxFit Air
Model number
MK916
Connectivity
BT, 2.4 GHz, Wired
BT Version
5.0
Lighting Effects
RGB 13 Modes
Battery Capacity
2500 mAh
Bluetooth
5.0
Keycaps
ABS
Battery Life (LED Off)
Up to 400 Hours
Battery Life (LED On)
Up to 90 Hours
Charging Time
Approx. 2 Hours
Interface
USB C


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FANTECH MaxFit Air99

8.6

SCORE

8.6/10