Custom Keycaps in 2026: Everything You Need to Know Before You Buy
Custom keycaps are one of the most impactful ways to personalize your mechanical keyboard. They change the look, feel, and sound of your board — and in the case of high-quality keycaps, they can meaningfully improve the typing experience over the stock caps that come with most keyboards. This guide covers everything you need to know about keycap profiles, materials, and compatibility before making your first custom keycap purchase.
Keycap Profiles: The Shape of Your Keys
Keycap profile refers to the shape and height of the keycaps. Different profiles feel dramatically different to type on, and switching profiles can change the character of your keyboard almost as much as changing the switches. The most common profiles you will encounter are Cherry, OEM, SA, DSA, and XDA.
Cherry profile is the most popular among enthusiasts. It is a low-profile, sculpted design where each row has a slightly different height and angle, creating a natural typing position. Cherry profile keycaps are the standard for most custom keyboard sets.
OEM profile is slightly taller than Cherry and is the most common profile on pre-built keyboards. It is familiar to most typists and is a safe choice for anyone who wants a profile similar to what they are used to.
SA profile is a tall, spherical profile that produces a distinctive, vintage typewriter feel. It is loved by enthusiasts for its aesthetics and unique typing feel but is not ideal for gaming due to its height.
Keycap Materials: PBT vs ABS
The two most common keycap materials are ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) and PBT (Polybutylene Terephthalate). The material choice has a significant impact on both the feel and durability of the keycaps.
ABS keycaps are the most common material in budget and mid-range keyboards. They are smooth to the touch and produce a slightly higher-pitched sound. The main drawback of ABS is that it develops a shiny, greasy appearance over time — a phenomenon called "shine" — from the oils in your fingers. This shine can appear within weeks of use on heavily-used keys.
PBT keycaps are the premium choice. PBT is a harder, more rigid plastic that resists shine significantly better than ABS. PBT keycaps also have a slightly textured surface that many typists prefer, and they produce a deeper, more satisfying sound. The Odin Gaming Nova Keycap Set uses PBT material for this reason.
The Nova Keycap Set
The Odin Gaming Nova Keycap Set is designed as the perfect companion to the Aurora65. It uses double-shot PBT construction — a manufacturing process where the legends (the letters and symbols on the keycaps) are molded from a separate piece of plastic and fused to the keycap body, rather than printed on the surface. This means the legends will never fade, no matter how many hours you type on them.
The Nova set uses a clean, minimal aesthetic that complements the Aurora65's design language. The color palette is designed to coordinate with the Odin Gaming product lineup, creating a cohesive look when paired with the Aurora65 and a matching desk pad.
Compatibility: What You Need to Know
Before purchasing custom keycaps, you need to verify compatibility with your keyboard. The key factors are the switch stem type (MX-compatible switches use the cross-shaped stem that is compatible with the vast majority of custom keycaps), the keyboard layout (65% keyboards require a specific set of modifier keys), and the keycap profile.
The Nova Keycap Set is designed for MX-compatible switches and includes all the keys needed for a 65% layout, making it a plug-and-play upgrade for the Aurora65.
Legends: Doubleshot vs Dye-Sub
Beyond the material, the method used to create the legends on keycaps affects their durability. Doubleshot legends (like the Nova set) are the most durable — they cannot fade because the legend is a separate piece of plastic, not a surface treatment. Dye-sublimation legends are printed into the surface of the keycap using heat and dye, which is also very durable but cannot produce white or light-colored legends on dark keycaps. Laser-engraved and pad-printed legends are the least durable and will fade with heavy use.