The Roccat Vulcan II Mini Air is one of the best gaming keyboards you can get for under $200.
About the Roccat Vulcan II Mini Air
Credit:
Reviewed / Matthew Prunty
The Vulcan II Mini Air’s performance remains consistently good—even at 65% of the standard keyboard size.
- Price: $180
- Connectivity: USB Type-A to Type-C (detachable), 2.4GHz Wireless via USB-A dongle, Bluetooth 5.1
- Dimensions: 12.79 x 4.88 x 1.29 inches
- Weight: 1.27 lbs (576 grams)
- Battery life: Up to 240 hours of continuous use (RGB off)
- Material: Plastic with aluminum top plate
- Colors: Black, white
- Switches: TITAN II optical Red linear switches, TITAN II optical Brown tactile switches (150m click lifespan)
- Special Features: Full n-key rollover (NKRO) with 100% anti-ghosting, 29 EZ Function smart keys
The Vulcan II Mini Air is advertised as only supporting Windows-based systems, which is true only from a software standpoint. Currently, updates can only be installed via a Windows PC. Thankfully, there is unofficial built-in support for macOS, AndroidOS, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5 consoles.
You have a choice between linear optical red switches with 1.4mm actuation or tactile brown switches with 1.8mm actuation. This choice allows you to customize your experience based on whether you need immediate and instant actuation versus having a little feedback with every keystroke. Our test unit came configured with red switches.
Credit:
Reviewed / Matthew Prunty
The keystrokes are natural and remained responsive without lagging.
The Vulcan II Mini Air is a robust 65% gaming keyboard that sheds the numpad and dedicated function keys without losing any functionality. This allows the keyboard to be taken on the go without any impact on performance.
The Vulcan II Mini Air is sturdy, with little flexing in its plastic frame when you try to bend or twist it. As always, I used my “three-foot drop” test on tile, hardwood, and carpeted floors, and it survived each with flying colors (and only a few keys popped off ).
Roccat’s TITAN II optical switches allow for fast actuation and have an impressive 150 million keystroke lifespan; that’s 50 percent more than popular rivals like the SteelSeries Apex Pro Mini Wireless or Corsair K70 Pro Mini Wireless, which advertise up to 100 million keystrokes. You also get the EZ Functions dual-LED smart keys, 29 multi-function keys that allow you to control media playback, check the battery life of connected accessories and device swapping.
Then there is the Adaptive Battery feature, which relies on proximity sensors to know when you are away from the keyboard and maximizes battery life when not in use.
Credit:
Reviewed / Matthew Prunty
You can optimize your gaming experience through the on-board storage which allows for up to 5 profiles to add alternative settings like Smart Keys.
Out of the box, the Vulcan II Mini Air was able to handle every game I threw its way on PC, including Stranded Deep, Cyberpunk 2077, and Grounded. When not gaming, I primarily used this keyboard across a range of different wireless connectivity options and they all worked well. Bouncing between my Macbook Air M1 to my Galaxy Z Fold 4 to write this review, to my Xbox Series S and PlayStation 5 to play Ghostrunner and Planet Coaster: Console Edition, the Vulcan II Mini Air had no problem keeping up across systems.
Rounding out the Vulcan II Mini Air is the ability to program up to five distinct profiles, each with their own distinct key assignments, per key RGB lighting, and more through Roccat’s Swarm software. I set up custom shortcut presets for work and gaming, maximizing both setups. Their AIMO lighting allows you to synchronize the RGB patterns across supported accessories (keyboards, mice, headsets) to create a holistic lighting experience.
Credit:
Reviewed / Matthew Prunty
I used Monkeytype to test my typing speed and eventually settled at 66 words per minute.
I normally rely on my Logitech MX Mechanical to handle all my work needs, but I was pleasantly surprised by how well the Vulcan II Mini Air replaced it. It did take a brief moment to get used to not having 10-key support, but the typing experience was wonderful. Smooth, responsive, and the board is an attention grabber when people walk by my desk. My typing experience eventually settled at 66 wpm with 97% accuracy on Monkeytype. That’s not as fast as my normal keyboard, but my job is all about accuracy first, speed second.
Should you buy the Roccat Vulcan II Mini Air?
Credit:
Reviewed / Matthew Prunty
The Roccat Vulcan II Mini Air won’t take up much desk space if you’re particular about a bulky gaming keyboard and more importantly, its performance packs a serious punch.
Yes, it’s a day one purchase
While built with a gaming focus first, Roccat’s Vulcan II Mini Air is a well-rounded keyboard that performs well for both the work and play aspects of your life. While competitors have released comparable 60% and 65% gaming keyboards, this one has enough cross-task appeal to make you want to invest in Roccat’s ecosystem.
Corsair’s $180 (though often $120) K70 Mini Wireless and SteelSeries’ $240 Apex Pro Mini Wireless gaming keyboards boast similar features and functionality as the Vulcan II Mini Air (including customizable RGB lighting, programmable keys via downloadable software, and adaptable battery life depending on use). Roccat outshines both, however, thanks to a battery that can hit 240 hours and key switches guaranteed to last up to 150 million strokes; it’s a keyboard built to last.
Corsair, Razer, and SteelSeries have more name recognition and representation when it comes to rankings of the best gaming keyboards, but the Roccat Vulcan II Mini Air is the better buy. If you don’t need the added wireless functionality, you can pick up the Vulcan II Mini and enjoy the same great experience for $100 less.
Roccat Vulcan II Mini Air
The Roccat Vulcan II Mini Air is a small, but mighty budget-friendly keyboard that comes with a lengthy battery life, eye-catching AIMO RGB lighting and wireless functionality.
Meet the tester
Matthew Prunty is a freelance gaming and tech journalist with over a decade of writing experience covering everything from video games hard and software to smartphones and PC hardware.
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