Today, I’m taking a closer look at the XVX Holy Beasts Series – White Tiger keycap set. While its frosted translucent design already gives it a distinctive look, what really caught my attention was the matching aluminum artisan kit. Rather than designing the artisan keycaps as a standalone set, XVX made them a natural extension of the base set. That’s something you don’t come across very often, and I think it gives the White Tiger set a lot more character. But how do they feel under the fingers?
Packaging
The base kit comes in a stylish cardboard box. Inside, the keycaps are organized in three plastic trays stacked on top of each other. Each tray is covered by a clear plastic lid that snaps into place, keeping the keycaps securely inside the tray. The package also includes a basic keycap puller.
Overall, I’m quite happy with the tray quality. I’ve seen more expensive keycap sets come with worse packaging, so I have no complaints here. The plastic feels sturdy enough, and the trays are well suited for both transporting and storing the keycaps.
The aluminum artisan kit comes in a smaller rigid cardboard box that shares the same visual design as the base kit’s packaging. Inside, the seven artisan keycaps are neatly arranged in a dense foam insert, with each keycap sitting in its own cutout for added protection. The box also includes a stem adjustment tool, which I’ll come back to later.
Design Language
The design of the XVX Holy Beasts Series is inspired by ancient Chinese mythology, specifically the Four Symbols – four mythical creatures: the Azure Dragon of the East, the Vermilion Bird of the South, the White Tiger of the West, and the Black Tortoise of the North – are also known as the Four Guardians, Four Gods, or Four Auspicious Beasts. Each one is associated with a cardinal direction, a season, a color, a virtue, and one of the Five Elements in Chinese philosophy (Wuxing).
As the name suggests, this keycap set is dedicated to the White Tiger. It represents the West, the color white, autumn, and the metal (金) element in the Five Elements philosophy. I really like how XVX translated those ideas into the overall design. The frosted clear keycaps reflect the White Tiger’s association with the color white, while the gold legends and accents evoke the golden colors of autumn.
The matching aluminum artisan keycaps add another layer of depth to the design. Besides making the set feel more unique, their material directly reflects the metal element of Five Elements philosophy, making them like a meaningful part of the overall design rather than just decorative additions.
Personally, I always appreciate it when a keycap set is built around some idea or tells a story through its design instead of relying solely on colors and aesthetics. It makes the set much more interesting and memorable to me.
With the overall design direction in mind, let’s take a closer look at the keycaps themselves. As I mentioned earlier, the set features frosted clear keycaps with gold legends printed on top. Some keycaps also include silver accent details inspired by tiger claw marks.
Several keycaps feature stylized legends, such as “White Tiger” on the Enter key and “Shift-Roar” on the Shift key. The set also includes 11 novelty keycaps designed around the White Tiger theme.
Thanks to their translucent design, these keycaps let RGB lighting shine through nicely, while the frosted finish helps diffuse the light and create a softer glow. Because of this, I think they will especially appeal to users who enjoy RGB lighting. Their frosted clear appearance also makes them a versatile choice that should pair well with almost any keyboard case. However, I think they would look particularly good with silver aluminum cases. The gold legends, on the other hand, would complement aluminum cases with a gold/sandgold finish nicely.
However, the real highlight of the set is the aluminum artisan kit. These artisan keycaps feature a unique skeletonized design, with intricate cutouts on all four sides that give them a very distinctive appearance.
The surface of the artisan keycaps is covered with engraved legends, tiger claw marks, additional decorative accents. There’s even a full tiger illustration on the Enter keycap. All of these engraved elements are hand-filled with black, white, and gold colors, creating a strong contrast against the aluminum surface.
In person, these artisan keycaps look even better than they do in photos. The intricate machining, engraved details, and hand-filled accents make them feel like something much more special than just metal keycaps. This is the kind of craftsmanship that you can truly appreciate in person.
These artisan keycaps pair perfectly with the base set, but they also work just as well on their own. Their silver finish makes them a great match for silver aluminum keyboard cases, especially those with a skeletonized design, such as the KBDfans Holy60 / Holy80, MMD AR60 / AR80, and other similar cases. The cutouts on the artisan keycaps complement the skeletonized design of these cases very well, creating a cohesive look where both elements share a similar design language.
Keycap Anatomy
The keycaps included in the base kit are made from polycarbonate (PC), a material commonly used for translucent keycap sets because of its excellent light transmission. Their walls measure a 1.7 mm thick, which not only helps produce a deeper sound profile but also gives the RGB lighting a softer, more diffused appearance as it passes through the keycaps.
The keycaps use the Cherry profile, which has become something of an industry standard over the years. Its relatively low height and sculpted shape make it comfortable for both typing and gaming, which is one of the reasons it remains so popular today.
The legends are applied using UV printing. This process involves printing the legends and graphics directly onto the surface of the keycap using UV-curable ink. This method makes it possible to reproduce highly detailed graphics and complex multicolor designs on translucent keycaps like these. It also provides good legend durability and should not be confused with simpler printing methods such as pad printing or screen printing.
The artisan keycaps are CNC-machined from aluminum and match the Cherry profile of the base kit. The side walls are 1.4 mm thick, while the top surface measures 2 mm. The legends and decorative elements are first engraved into the aluminum and then hand-filled with black, white, and gold paint.
Manufacturing Quality
Looking closely, I found no noticeable inconsistencies from one keycap to another. The molding quality is good, with smooth surfaces, straight walls, and no visible warping or other manufacturing defects. The color and translucency are also consistent across the set, and there are no noticeable injection marks.
The legends are also well executed, with clean edges, consistent positioning, and no noticeable printing imperfections. The keycaps fit the switches well, sitting securely with no wobble. Overall, the set shows a good level of manufacturing consistency, and I have no complaints about the quality.
Layout Compatibility & Keycap Coverage
The White Tiger Keycap Set includes 127 keycaps, providing coverage for most common ANSI layouts, including 60%, 63%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80% (TKL), 96%, 98%, and 100%. The coverage is fairly broad, although less common layouts such as Alice/Split and HHKB are not supported, and there is no support for ISO layouts either.
One small detail I particularly like is the Super keycap used instead of the usual platform-specific Win keycap. The more universal legend works equally well for Windows and Mac users.
The set also includes 11 novelty keycaps, with options for all four rows from R1 to R4. I really like having so many novelties, as they give me the freedom to create a more unique look for my keyboard. They are also a great option for people like me who often remap certain keys to macros or other functions but get annoyed when the keycap still has a legend that no longer matches its function. Since novelty keycaps don’t have a specific function or key name printed on them, they remain versatile and won’t feel out of place after the remap.
As for the aluminum artisan kit, things are much simpler: it includes WASD keycaps, an R4 keycap for the Esc position, an ANSI Enter key, and standard-size 6.25u spacebar and 2.25u Enter keycaps.
Hands-on Experience
Generally, White Tiger keycaps feel very nice under the fingers. They have a pleasant matte texture that feels comfortable to the touch. The Cherry profile is familiar, so there is nothing unusual to get used to here.
As for the typing sound, fully polycarbonate keycaps generally produce a higher-pitched sound than PBT keycaps. However, the final sound will depend much more on the keyboard and switches you pair them with. That said, the advantage of PC keycaps is that they let RGB lighting pass through exceptionally well.
As for the aluminum artisan keycaps, the first thing you notice is how different they feel from regular plastic keycaps. The cool metal surface under your fingertips is something you simply can’t get with other keycap materials, and I think it’s an experience that many people would really enjoy.
There are a couple of things to keep in mind with the aluminum keycaps. Aluminum is heavier than plastic, and this is especially noticeable with the spacebar because of its size. You may therefore want to use a switch with slightly higher spring force to better compensate for the additional weight.
Another thing to keep in mind is the fit of the aluminum keycaps on switches. The stems on these artisan keycaps are also made from aluminum, and despite the precise machining, they can sometimes fit a little too tightly on certain switches.
This isn’t something you will necessarily run into, and in most cases, the keycaps should fit your switches perfectly well. However, if the fit is too tight, the artisan kit includes a stem adjustment tool. The tool is inserted into the keycap stem to gently widen it, allowing you to fine-tune the fit and make the keycap easier to install.
However, be very careful when using the adjustment tool. Applying too much force or inserting it too deeply can damage the aluminum stem or even cause part of it to break off. I would recommend making only very small adjustments and checking the fit after each one rather than trying to widen the stem too much at once.
Final Thoughts
If you like RGB lighting and enjoy bold, distinctive designs, the White Tiger set should be right up your alley. The aluminum artisan keycaps are a particularly nice addition, both because of how they feel under the fingers and because of the extra character they bring to the overall look. Artisans like these are relatively rare and can often cost more on their own than this entire set, so at $59.99 for the complete set, I don’t think there is much to complain about.
If you don’t need the complete set, there is also the option to purchase the base kit and aluminum artisan kit separately for $28.99 and $39.99, respectively. However, buying the complete set is clearly the better deal, as it saves you $8.99 compared to purchasing both kits separately.
XVX Discount Code: HLPLANET
You can also use coupon code HLPLANET for 10% off your order at the XVX Channel Keyboard store.
Controller and mechanical keyboard enthusiast. Tech reviewer, regularly sharing thoughts about gadgets and computer peripherals.
