Razer Huntsman Mini review: Mini meets mighty

The Pitch

The name of new Huntsman Mini might evoke the premium thrills of its predecessor but it's a much more barebones affair. 

That's not necessarily a bad thing though. For as lavish as the original Huntsman and Huntsman Elite were, they weren’t exactly low-key about it. As far as gaming keyboards go, they were big, bold and designed to be the center of attention. 

If that isn’t your thing but you’re still keen to get some of Razer’s nifty optomechanical actuation tech on your desktop, the Huntsman Mini will get you there. It just won’t get you there cheap. It’s compact, cutting edge and not all that interested in compromise. 

Specs

• Dimensions: 29.5 x 10.2 x 3.3cm

• Ports: 1x USB Type-C

• RGB: Razer Chroma, per-key

• Switches: Razer Optical Clicky or Razer Optical Linear

• Software: Razer Synapse

• Polling: 1000Hz 

• N-Kay rollover: Yes

Price when reviewed

In Australia, the Razer Huntsman Mini is priced at AU$219.95 for the model with clicky switches and AU$239.95 for linear switches. You can grab it via the Razer website here.

Design & Performance

Credit: Razer

The new Razer Huntsman Mini is being pitched as a itty-bitty, high-performance gaming keyboard. It’s the gaming keyboard that’s all about doing more with less. That being said, it will cost you more up-front and it won’t be particularly apologetic about it.

To help sweeten that deal though, Razer has kitted out the tenkeyless peripheral with an aluminum chassis, a detachable USB-C braided fiber cable, Razer Doubleshot PBT keycaps and full Chroma RGB integration. 

You won’t find any discrete media keys on this thing but it rarely feels like you’re missing out. It’s positively packed to the gills with all the usual trappings and, if you do need any of those extra buttons, they’re usually only a quick function key away. 

Of course, the biggest inclusion here is invisible. Like the larger Huntsman and Huntsman Elite, the Huntsman Mini adopts optical switches over mechanical ones. There are two models on offer here: one with clicky Razer Optical switches and one with linear Razer optical switches.

Credit: Razer

If you’re unfamiliar with tech involved, essentially, the switches found on the Huntsman Mini rely on an optical sensor rather than a traditional or mechanical one. When you push down on a key, a tiny beam of light inside the switch is able to complete its journey to a nearby sensor - which translates into a digital input.

Relative to traditional clicky keyswitches, optical setups like this promise 30%  faster actuation speeds and simultaneous actuation and reset points, allowing for the same kind of addictive rapid fire key presses you’d be able to get out of a linear switches. 

Credit: Razer

The subtraction of moving parts here also ends up yielding greater durability - though the promise of 100 million keystrokes (versus the usual 50 million) is a number so large it probably doesn’t mean much to most people. 

As someone who relied on the Huntsman Elite as my go-to for several months, I can’t say that relying on the Huntsman Mini felt all that different. Still, it didn’t feel worse and my desktop was definitely the beneficiary of the extra physical space - both in a visual and practical sense. 

The Bottom Line

If you’re keen to cut down on desktop clutter but don’t want compromise to enter the picture, the Razer Huntsman Mini is a near perfect realisation of that ideal. It’s a cutting edge accessory that competes on quality over quantity. Nothing more, nothing less.

If $200 feels too dear to pay for a gaming keyboard this small, check out our guide to the best gaming keyboard here for a few other choices.

Credit: Razer