Lofree Flow review: Sublime typing in a designer package

Low-profile mechanical keyboards appear to be occupying an increasingly large space within the hardware and gaming world, and the Lofree Flow aims to become the design others look to emulate.

While less focused on the gaming side of things, Lofree as a brand aims to perfect the design and aesthetic sides of a keyboard, with ergonomics and visuals at the forefront. The Flow keyboard is definitely one of the best-looking keyboards I've found, and using it is mostly a delightful experience - yet there remain a few setbacks that leave it lacking in the grand scheme of things.

Sleek and suave

Fitting neatly into a 75% 84-key design, the Lofree Flow is delightful to look at. The white colourway that I'm reviewing is housed in an eggshell aluminium alloy case with a handful of rose gold accents that really bring it all together.

It truly feels like a 'designer' keyboard, offering simple yet sophisticated aesthetics that stand out despite not being innately 'flashy'. On top of this, the design feels structurally solid, providing premium build quality to match the expensive look.

Textured PBT keycaps only add to the premium feeling too, avoiding any unappealing marks or fingerprints to keep the board looking good all of the time. While it might seem like a small detail, I always appreciate when keyboards opt for more rounded keycaps, as I personally prefer the feeling when typing.

I would have loved to have seen a bit more flexibility when it comes to the design though, as there are currently only two fixed colourways with contrasting switches. I prefer the contrast of black keycaps on the metal casing, but you can only opt for that with tactile switches, whereas I'm a diehard linear lover.

One of the biggest flaws with the Flow though is the lack of adaptability when it comes to height. While the keyboard itself is impressively low profile, boasting a height of just 24.5mm, this is frustratingly fixed with no adaptable steps on the back. While this won't be an issue for most as the low-profile design often prevents the need for an accelerated typing angle, it still feels like an oversight when it comes to comfort.

Subtle switches

Alongside the actual look and design, fundamentally the most important aspect of a mechanical keyboard is the switches themselves. With the Flow, you get the choice between Ghost (linear) and Phantom (tactile), which are proprietary collaborations between Kalih and Lofree.

As mentioned, I opted for the Ghost switches as someone who finds themselves dedicated to linear options, and initially, I was delighted. Out of the box, they felt smooth and light, but with still enough weight to accentuate each keypress. Linear options are often associated with quickness, and I certainly noticed how easy it was to speed through words more than other comparable boards that I've used.

The Flow was rather intriguing from an acoustic perspective too, as its sound emulated a more bubbly or pebble-like pop than the deep 'thocks' you might expect from enthusiast linear builds. This certainly isn't to say that it approached any unsavoury clicks, nor did it get much louder than you'd expect from a quieter switch, and the end result was really quite satisfying to type with.

This is partly due to the switch itself, of course, but also to do with the construction - as there are two layers of silicon and poron padding sandwiched on either side of the PCB, alongside gasket mounting too. This creates more than enough dampening and flexibility to avoid any of the nasty pings and violent thuds of your key presses while avoiding the hollowness that you'd get with a standard-size keyboard due to its low-profile nature.

After a while though I did start to notice a slightly unpleasant noise on some of the larger keys especially, such as the spacebar, which did tamper with the experience slightly. It wasn't so much a ping or a scratch but just a very light click just before the main actuation sound, disrupting what was a blissful ripple of key presses.

Gaming performance

It's hard to measure non-hall effect keyboards in the gaming space fairly, as the technology has become such a fundamental advantage compared to the standard mechanical model.

If you're unaware, hall effect switches offer magnetic analogue inputs that can, with the right software, deactivate a key press the moment the actuation is lifted. This gives you a significant advantage in games where fast and precise movement is king and is something that has really turned the gaming keyboard world upside down in recent years.

Lofree's Flow does not have this technology - and as a low-profile keyboard this is near impossible anyway - leaving it innately lacking compared to some of its contemporaries, although you are getting somewhat of a compromise when it comes to the low-profile design.

As these boards have naturally lower actuation points - 2.8mm in this instance - the travel time to both actuation and deactuation is faster than you'd typically get from a standard keyboard. This certainly fosters a sense of snappiness when using it in competitive games, but you're still a distance from the effect of a Hall Effect keyboard like the Keychron Q1 HE.

The Verdict

Ultimately, the Lofree Flow is one of the best keyboards that you can buy purely from a typing perspective. Its 'Ghost' linear switches combine superbly with interior padding and gasket mounts to create soft and rounded acoustics, and the textured PBT keycaps are a pleasure to type on.

It's unmistakably a Lofree keyboard from an aesthetic standpoint too, offering the same attention to detail and designer approach that make their brand stand out. The aluminium chassis is simply stunning, and will elevate any desk you place it on.

It is definitely lacking from a gaming perspective compared to other popular products on the market, but it's hard to fault the Flow too much in this regard as it's not its primary purpose. Thanks to the low-profile design it still will give you snappy feedback when playing competitive games, but don't expect any significant edge over your opponents.

4.5/5

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