Ducky Cushion 98 Review

Design

• Sturdy aluminium frame
• Space-saving, functional layout
• Thoughtful touches across the board

I’ve always rated Ducky products highly when it comes to build quality, and the Cushion 98 continues that trend. This is a keyboard that’s built like a tank, with an aluminium top case and no deck flex, even under intensive pressure.

At 1.25kg, it carries a fair amount of heft and isn’t going to be going anywhere on your desk any time soon. Against more affordable keyboards I’ve tested from an array of manufacturers, Ducky remains a bastion of proper build quality.

The layout here might be a little startling at first, but the Cushion 98, as the name suggests, opts for a 98% layout (also known as an 1800 layout). This slims down a typical full-size keyboard by moving some of the nav cluster above the number pad to save space while retaining most of the core functions.

There have been some casualties, such as the lack of a Print Screen key in the top row, which may be a pain for some folks. The lack of a Scroll Lock key is likely to cause less concern, I’d wager.

The Cushion 98 features some durable, doubleshot keycaps made of PBT plastic – a sign of quality that’s becoming more common on mechanical keyboards up and down the price ladder. A big advantage of PBT against the previously ubiquitous ABS is that it’s much more resistant to horrible keycap shine that occurs when you’ve used a keyboard intensively after a period of time.

I’m a fan of the two-tone black and grey colourway Ducky has opted for here, plus the Esc, Backspace, Return and arrow keys all being in a sky blue accent is a welcome splash of colour.

On the underside, you’ll find some sturdy two-stage feet to raise this keyboard up to a more comfortable typing angle should you need it, along with a cubby hole for the USB-A receiver.

The interface around the back of the Cushion 98 is also in keeping with lots of other wireless keyboards, with a simple but effective offering. There is a USB-C port for charging or wired connectivity, as well as a toggle switches for means of connectivity between Bluetooth and the bundled 2.4GHz receiver.

Performance

• Reasonable soft-tactile Shush Green switches inside
• Lots of sound dampening inside
• Versatile connectivity and decent endurance

Inside, the Cushion 98 utilises Ducky’s own switches, signalling a shift away from its usual suite of Cherry MX options in various colours. To be specific, this keyboard is available with a choice of two different feels of Ducky’s silent Shush switches – either a linear Red switch or a soft-tactile Green, which is what my sample came with.

The Shush Green switches feature a 45g weighting, making them surprisingly light for a tactile switch, and feature a tactile bump halfway down the keypress. Admittedly, I felt the bump’s feeling to be a little inconsistent across the keyboard, with some switches having more of a pronounced one than others. 

Likewise, while these switches are satisfying to type on and feel smooth due to their lubrication, with how dampened it can feel under finger, it can be easy to mistake these switches for more traditional linears that lack any form of feedback under finger, such as a bump or click.

They tended to feel a little dull at times, due to the dampening, and lack the crispness of other soft tactiles I’ve tested, such as Cherry MX’s Ergo Clears or the perennial favourite of MX Browns; Keychron’s Super Banana switches aren’t as quiet but feel a fair bit more positive.

If you don’t like the Shush Greens, then Ducky at least gives the option to swap them out with ease, as the Cushion 98 is hot-swappable, and a combo keycap and switch puller is provided in the box alongside a nifty keyboard cleaning brush. The brand says this keyboard is compatible with traditional 3- or 5-pin MX-style switches, and it’s easy to swap them out in a matter of minutes. I put in some heavier tactile Cherry MX Falcons, which offered a bit more of a substantial feel under finger, although they weren’t anywhere near as quiet as Ducky’s own switches.

That’s the big appeal of the Cushion 98, after all, and it’s why Ducky has packed this keyboard solid with sound dampening. Ducky calls it the Nest Mount, which is a thick layer of flexible silicone cushioning that sits below the switches and PCB – it’s designed to deaden sound and provide a more uniform feel than you’d get from a traditional gasket-mounted system. 

There are two ‘cushions’ provided in the box, with the quietest provided by default. The other one is grey, and isn’t as quiet – the trade-off is a much firmer feel, which can help address the issue of a less positive feel from the switches.

Connectivity is either via Bluetooth, the bundled 2.4GHz receiver, or USB-C wired. I had no issues using the Cushion 98 either over Bluetooth with my MacBook Pro or with the receiver and my main Windows PC. Pairing is nice and simple, and I was connected in a matter of moments.

In terms of battery life, Ducky has put a hefty 4200mAh battery inside this keyboard, which the brand says offers up to 63 hours on a charge, albeit with the RGB lighting underneath turned off. This result largely rings true in my testing, working out to a week’s worth of use without the lighting enabled before Windows prompted me to plug the keyboard back in.

Software and Lighting

• Solid underglow lighting
• More basic software

Lighting-wise, the Cushion 98 has RGB lighting in spades, and it’s decently bright to boot. That is, as long as you’re happy with more of an underglow than real shine-through given the solid nature of the keycaps. Of course, if you swapped the keycaps out for a set that lets light through, it’d be a bit more impactful, but then you risk compromising this keyboard’s pleasant looks.

Ducky has traditionally been a brand that’s shied away from software of its own, either eschewing it completely or opting to use open-source options such as VIA. With this in mind, this particular keyboard opts for the brand’s own Ducky Hub software, which offers basic and lightweight control in a web browser.

With it, you can do everything from remap keys and program macros with drag-and-drop remapping and SOCD controls for gaming to mess around with the RGB lighting to a certain degree. There are more basic preset options for the backlighting, and you can only change the colour scheme based on the parameters in the software, rather than with any more granular controls or custom options, which is a bit disappointing.

Should you buy it?