Review: Tesoro Lobera Spectrum Mechanical Keyboard

I’ll be honest, I try to buy my electronics and accessories purely on a functional basis, but sometimes I’m a sucker for something that looks cool. Enter the Tesoro Lobera, a highly customizable mechanical keyboard designed for gamers featuring up to five easy-to-set key profiles and gorgeous illuminated backlighting.

For many the keyboard is love at first sight: the full rainbow spectrum of the backlighting, sweeping through red to purple rapidly from left to right, is very appealing. I’ve had the Lobera for several weeks now and the novelty has not worn off. It not only gives a leg up to my tired, gaming-weary eyes late at night, but also earns the envy and compliments of all my guests and friends. The vibrant hues are a nice contrast to the smooth velvet-like black finish of the keys, making it as pleasant to feel as it is to see.

Initially I was deterred by the Lobera’s use of all four of my computer’s ports (microphone, headphones, and two USB). But since each are provided on the back of the keyboard, allowing me to use all my accessories, it’s fine. I’m actually afforded more freedom of movement than plugging them into my PC directly. Sadly, with some headphones I’ve used there’s minor to moderate feedback when I plug them in through the keyboard. I did, however, get an older pair of Logitech gaming headphones to work. It was nice not having to deal with a short cord.

As the Tesoro Lobera is a mechanical keyboard, the light, springy response is a treat for the hands. I spend up to 12 hours a day typing and I have severe joint issues on top of constant tendon fatigue. The Lobera has been a nice reprieve. Each key is clean and quick and my fingers never feel labored. The keyboard on my Macbook feels sluggish by comparison. I will note that I have twice or so had an issue with keys sticking. I only type about 97 words per minute at the most, so it’s unlikely that my speed is to blame. However the error has occurred so infrequently that it does not change my opinion much of the keyboard’s quality.

While I personally don’t use them, the key profiles are very easy to configure and switch around, so if you’re a hardcore MMO or FPS fan who needs different set ups for multiple games, you’ll likely be pleased with this feature. You can also adjust the vibrancy of the backlighting on the keyboard, which I promptly used to make sure it was at maximum level.

Come for the rainbow backlighting, stay for the efficient key response and key profiles. I love my Tesoro Lobera and recommend it for both work and play.

Disclosure: We received a review unit of the Tesoro Lobera Spectrum for the purpose of this review. It retails for $179.99.