Razer's own BlackWidow Tournament Edition Chroma goes for the same price, but comes with RGB keys and clicky green switches. However, this is far from a perfect product.įor the same price or less than BlackWidow Lite's $89 (£99) MSRP, you can get more features. If you need a mechanical keyboard that you can throw into your bag and carry with you, the BlackWidow Lite's svelte dimensions and light weight are really compelling. The Razer BlackWidow Lite offers a great typing experience with a conservative design aesthetic, but its greatest strength is really its portability. So, for example, if you want to have £ be available as a single keystroke, you could remap it to a less-used key on your keyboard. With Synapse running, you can control the brightness level of the keys, setup keyboard macros or even change what character(s) appear when you hit a key. This auto-prompting is annoying, especially if you don't need any of Synapse's features.
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Razer's compact keyboard prompts you to install the company's Synapse control panel software the first time you plug it into a new computer (unless Synapse is already installed). It also has 1,000 Hz polling, so it should sense your keystrokes instantly, even in fast-moving first-person shooter games. If you want to game with the BlackWidow Lite, you'll be pleased to know that it provides 10-key rollover with anti-ghosting technology. The F11 and F12 keys control the backlight brightness, which is highly adjustable and can become more or less luminous the longer you tap them. There are no extra keys for controlling media, but if you hold down the Fn key, you can use the function row to raise and lower the volume, and pause / play or forward / reverse a media file. The BlackWidow Lite keeps things simple on the feature front with few bells and whistles in the hardware, but some added functionality in the software. However, I found the relatively low elevation from the flip-out feet less comfortable than typing on a keyboard with a steeper angle. I typed on the BlackWidow Lite comfortably for a long time while writing this review. In the end, I think I still prefer the clicky green switches, but not by a wide margin. Instead of the click sound you get from keyboards with green or blue switches, the Razer oranges give a pleasant clack.
![razer blackwidow tournament edition cable razer blackwidow tournament edition cable](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/5UcAAOSwstxVS3KT/s-l500.jpg)
In my testing, the keys felt really responsive, but they weren't particularly silent and, for the most part, that's a good thing. The BlackWidow Lite is powered by Razer's own orange switches, which are supposed to be quieter than the company's clicky green switches while still offering plenty of tactile feedback. The feet are also a bit flimsy as one fell off in my bag and I had to re-attach it. The Razer BlackWidow Ultimate that I have been using at work recently has a much sharper angle.
![razer blackwidow tournament edition cable razer blackwidow tournament edition cable](https://sc01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1m7aWRxnaK1RjSZFtq6zC2VXah/235263195/HTB1m7aWRxnaK1RjSZFtq6zC2VXah.jpg)
While many typists will be fine with this, I would have preferred more elevation and a sharper angle with the feet flipped out. The bottom of the keyboard features a pair of flip out feet that raise the top of it up about 0.3 inches (7.6 mm). So when you're on the go, you can easily wrap it up and take it with you. Rather than having a built-in cable like so many other keyboards, the BlackWidow Lite comes with a detachable, braided microUSB to USB Type-A cable that has a built-in cable tie. By comparison, Razer's tenkeyless BlackWidow Tournament Edition weighs 0.6 pounds more and is significantly larger and thicker at 14.4 x 6.3 x 1.6 inches (365 x 160 x 40 mm). I barely felt its weight while carrying it around in my backpack.
![razer blackwidow tournament edition cable razer blackwidow tournament edition cable](https://my-live-01.slatic.net/p/47d6c268d57bea6afe59690c350951e8.jpg)
The compact, 14 x 5 x 0.5 inch (355 x 127 x 12.7 mm) keyboard can slip into even a narrow bag without adding much heft. At just 1.45 pounds (0.66 kg), the BlackWidow Lite really lives up to its name.