Elim Elytra review: a 63-key wireless split keyboard at 420g with a layout that needs no relearning. Weight, switches, firmware, and travel tested.
The Elim Elytra is a 63-key wireless split keyboard in CNC aluminium that weighs less than some tablets. It provides a fully customisable, row staggered layout meaning that people coming in from normal office keyboards will need little retraining. It an excellent travel split keyboard given its low weight, though its padded case gives back some of the weight advantage, and mine shipped with firmware that could not hold a Bluetooth connection and required updating.
I paid for this unit as a Kickstarter backer. Elim has had no input into this review and did not see it before publication.
Provisional pros
- True wireless split at 420g
- Familiar row-staggered layout means low adaptation time
- Hot-swappable low-profile switches with a cushioned feel
- Despite its small size and low weight, it feels remarkably well build and solid
Provisional cons
- Shipped on firmware that could not pair over Bluetooth
- Padded case erases most of the weight advantage in a bag
- No Right Shift
- No battery percentage, only a low-battery blink
- Drag-and-drop firmware updates
- Expensive, especially with accessories
| Layout | 63-key row-staggered split, split spacebar, no Right Shift |
|---|---|
| Connectivity | Bluetooth (3 devices), USB-C wired (left half only) |
| Switches | Kailh CloudShell White linear (40±10gf, 2.8mm) or JZF Mist silent, hot-swappable |
| Keycaps | Low-profile PBT, printed legends |
| Weight | 420g measured (Elim quotes both 420g and 440g), 584g with case |
| Thickness | 11.8mm excluding keycaps |
| Battery | Elim claims up to four weeks. Test in progress |
| Software | Vial (browser, via USB) |
| Firmware | Shipped on 1.0. Current 1.4 (1 Sep 2026) |
| Price | US$249. Case US$39, tenting kit US$79–129, palm rest US$39 |
Layout
Many enthusiast split keyboards ask you to relearn typing. Column-staggered layouts, thumb clusters and forty-key minimalism are the norm, and the ergonomic benefit arrives with a fortnight of hunting for the semicolon. The Elytra keeps the row-staggered layout every laptop uses, trims it to 63 keys, and splits it down the middle. Anyone who has typed in the past century will find their fingers already know where to go.
I found a few things which may put you off-side initially. The spacebar is rather short, and my thumbs spent the first few sessions hitting the very edge of the bar. The second is the lack of a Right Shift button. I'm a left shift user, so didn't notice, but for those who rely on the right shift this may be a problem. Elim has published a Vial workaround that puts Shift on a held Up Arrow, which is less convenient and worth knowing if you're a right shift user.
Typing experience
I was at 85 WPM with 98% accuracy within an hour, against the 85 to 95 I manage on my daily drivers, the Keychron K11 Pro/Max and the Microsoft Sculpt. That is the fastest I've adapted to any board so far.
I ordered the CloudShell White linear switches. They are well cushioned, and typing feels satisfying yet quiet and clickless. They are also firmer than either of the other low-profile linears I own, which surprised me, because on paper they should not be.
| NocFree Rime | Elytra CloudShell White | K11 Pro Gateron LP Brown | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Linear | Linear | Tactile |
| Force | 40±5gf | 40±10gf | 55±15gf |
| Pre-travel | 1.2mm | Not published | 1.7mm |
| Total travel | 3.2mm | 2.8mm | 3.0mm |
These are three switches on the keyboards I use most. Two are 40-gram linears, but they feel nothing alike. The NocFree & fires if you rest a finger on it. The Elytra needs more convincing to activate. The Gateron Brown is nominally the heaviest of the three but for some reason it feels like the Goldilocks of switches: it doesn't offer too little or too much resistance, and once it gets past the bump it activates. Elim doesn't publish the CloudShell's actuation distance, and I suspect that is why the linear switches feel so different, along with the shorter travel and a firm bottom-out on an aluminium shell. The key note for anyone shopping low-profile boards is that gram weight tells you little about how it'll feel in reality – travel, actuation point and what sits under the switch matter more.
The keycaps have a stepped profile, like a large Lego brick. This has not affected the typing experience, but I do wonder how it will hold up when it comes to cleaning. Flat keycaps wipe down in one pass. These have more angles for dirt to accumulate, and a wipe-down may need more time to get into the valleys. The legends are printed on PBT, which is the combination most prone to wear. To their credit, the printing is sharp, but only long-term use will tell me how well they will survive daily use.
There is no backlighting, that's perfectly fine. In a brightly lit office, rainbow LEDs are fun to have and generate conversation, but they are not needed, and their absence means nothing extra is draining the battery.
Ergonomics
Unlike a unibody Alice board, where the angle is decided for you, a true splitmeans you need to experiment to figure out what the right positioning is for your purposes, and it certainly took a while: I spent a few hours nudging the halves in different angles and placements before it felt right. I ended up positioning it like a split Alice board, which works for me because it means my mouse has space to move on the right. I did try positioning them where the hands sit at shoulder width with the wrists straight, but then the mouse felt too far. As with many things, this is really based on your preference, and I found typing in both positions to be easy.
They keyboard does have mgnets allowing you to snap both halves together to resemble an Alice board, but I found it to be uncomfortable, so never used it. I do like the execution though.
The two halves talk to each other wirelessly, with no cable between them. In three weeks of daily use, they have not lost their connection to each other even once.
Elim sells a CNC aluminium tenting kit (6° and 10°, US$79 for the keyboard, US$129 with palm rest) and a wooden palm rest (US$39). I bought neither, and so won't be testing them. The board as shipped sits flat, with no tilt or tent.
Portability
Naked, the Elytra weighs 420g on my scale. The K11 Pro it replaces weighs 510g, and Keychron's current Alice-layout replacement, the Keychron K15 Max, is 700g (1.5 lbs). On raw weight the Elytra wins by a wide margin, and at 11.8mm (0.46 in) it is thin.
Packed, it is a different story. The Elytra needs its case. I tried the two halves in the Keychron K11 Pro's unpadded sleeve and the sleeve wants to fold – two separate slabs will knock together in a bag, and a floppy sleeve cannot stop them. Elim's case fixes that. It is internally cushioned, secures both halves well, and takes the packed weight to 584g and the packed thickness to well beyond a slab in a sleeve. The K11 Pro in its sleeve, at ~550g (1.2 lbs), remains the (marginally) lighter keyboard in my backpack.
Note that the case was included in my backer tier and is a US$39 extra at retail.
Build quality
The board feels solid. My initial concern was that the hollow shell at the bottom would cause it to bend and buckle under typing, but this has not been the case at all. Despite the low weight it stays put on the desk. The promise of a quiet typing experience is fulfilled, and it is closer to a standard office keyboard rather than a mechanical clack.
Each half has a hollowed aluminium back that Elim says is modelled on beetle wing cases, which is where the name comes from. They also shipped a solid insulation pad in the box as an alternative. I have left the board as it came, because that is what a buyer receives and I'm not keen on taking the board apart.
Battery
Each half charges separately over USB-C. The battery indicator is a red blink when low and a green breathe when charging. There is no percentage, in Vial or anywhere else.
Elim's FAQ said 'to be confirmed' during the campaign and now claims up to four weeks per charge. I am three weeks in on a single charge with no red light, and I will report the day it dies. One caveat: firmware 1.4, released on 1 Sep, claims a three-to-four-fold improvement in left-half battery life, and my test is running on 1.4. Readers on earlier firmware should expect less. Elim does not publish the battery capacity.
Software
Remapping. Vial runs in Chrome or Edge at vial.rocks over USB (to the left half), and every key is remappable with layers, combos and macros. The software feels intuitive, but I've only done minimal configuration - Page Up, Page Down, Home and End are on my list, as this keyboard omits these keys. I will cover configuration more fully in the final review.
Firmware. My unit arrived in May on firmware 1.0. On 1.0 it would not reliably pair over Bluetooth, and when it did, it connected and disconnected every second. It was unusable wirelessly. The wired fallback works.
Elim's release notes follows the update history. Firmware 1.1 (21 May) was 'general stability'. 1.2 (24 Jun) was 'improve the Bluetooth compatibility', which is the manufacturer's own description of the fault I hit. 1.3 (14 Jul) fixed Bluetooth dropping on charge-only power. 1.4 (1 Sep) fixed lag after sleep and extended battery life. Four releases in fifteen weeks. Since updating to 1.4 I have paired the board with three machines and it works perfectly so far.
The update process is for the intermediate user. There is no updater app. You clear the board from your computer's Bluetooth list, connect a half by USB, double-press the reset button on its underside, and a drive appears. You drag the correct .uf2 file onto it and the half reboots. Then you do the other half with its own file. macOS will complain that the disk was not ejected properly, which Elim says is normal. Each half has its own file, and Elim documents no recovery path if you flash the wrong one. I have not tested that, and I have asked Elim what happens.
Verdict (coming soon)
I have three travel splits. The SpiderIsland is the cheapest, fully wired and thick. The NocFree & is a 75% board that splits, weighs 1.03kg and comes with a case the size of a suitcase. The Elytra is the lightest and thinnest compared to its competitors. Accessorised with case, the Elytra runs to US$288 before shipping.
Elim is a Hong Kong company. The Kickstarter ran from 17 Dec 2025 to 16 Jan 2026, raised HK$368,814 from 227 backers, and delivered in May, on time. Communication during the campaign was sparse. The board arrived. Rating to follow.
What I am watching
- Battery: days to first red light on firmware 1.4, no backlight, daily office use
- Bluetooth stability across Windows and Mac
- Whether the halves ever lose each other
- Keycap legend wear and how the stepped caps clean
- Whether the firm switch feel persists or my hands stop noticing
- Elim's answers on actuation distance, wrong-half recovery, battery capacity and which weight figure is correct
Update log
- [tab]
- 2026
- 20 Sep 2026: Preliminary review published, three weeks of usage.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Elim Elytra hard to learn?
No. It keeps the standard row-staggered layout, so there is nothing to relearn. The only adjustments are the split spacebar, which took me about five minutes, and the missing Right Shift, which matters only if you use it.
Does the Elytra have a Right Shift key?
No. The 63-key layout omits it. Elim publishes a Vial workaround that puts Shift on a held Up Arrow, but a Right Shift typist should know this before buying.
Is the Elytra truly wireless between the two halves?
Yes. There is no cable between the halves. In three weeks of daily use they have not lost each other once. For wired use you plug in the left half only, and the right half links to it wirelessly.
How long does the Elytra battery last?
Elim claims up to four weeks. I am testing that and will update this review with the measured figure. There is no percentage indicator, only a red blink when low.
Does the Elytra work with Mac and Windows?
Yes. It pairs with up to three devices over Bluetooth and supports Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android. Remapping through Vial works on any of them in Chrome or Edge.
Can you remap the keys on the Elytra?
Yes, every key, through Vial at vial.rocks in a Chromium browser, connected by USB to the left half. Layers, combos and macros are supported.
Is the Elytra good for travel?
Yes, with a caveat. At 420g and 11.8mm it is the lightest split I have used, but the two halves need a padded case, which takes the packed weight to 584g. A single-piece board in a thin sleeve still packs flatter.
What firmware should the Elytra be on?
Version 1.4 or later. Units shipped on 1.0 had unstable Bluetooth. The update is a drag-and-drop .uf2 file onto each half in bootloader mode, and the board works wired through the left half while you do it.
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