Massdrop x OLKB Preonic Mechanical Keyboard Rev3

Group buys are a hell of a drug.  You see something shiny, something new, something awesome.  You decide, without a doubt, you must have the thing.  You pull out your credit card, ready for the instant satisfaction of online shopping and make the purchase.  Here's the problem, though: the item you just bought won't be shipping for weeks, or maybe even months.  I hope you're ready to wait.

I found myself in just such a situation with the "Massdrop x OLKB Preonoic Rev 3," (henceforth referred to as the Preonic).  I payed for the keyboard back in July of 2018, and it has only now arrived on my doorstep in January of 2019.  My excitement for the drop followed a decidedly non-linear curve, from hype at the beginning, to forgetfulness during the middle (I never completely forgot I bought the keyboard, but there was plenty of time during the buy when it was far from my thoughts), and back to hype as the shipping date (and notification emails) approached.

Was it worth the wait?  Let's find out.

Basic Details and Cost:

• Cost: $210 ($185 for the board, $17 for 60 Cherry MX Clears, and $8 for a carrying case)
• Set Up Time: ~1 hour
• Set Up Difficulty: Easy

Pros:

• The set-up was a breeze.  No soldering was necessary, which was a relief for me, and each of the components arrived in working order.  The fact that the keyboard came with assembly instructions (including two different ways to build the board, depending on how stiff you wanted the typing experience to be) was also noticed and appreciated.
• Other bonuses included: the inclusion of extra hardware, should any go missing or be damaged, a braided USB-C cable, and a hex key to make installing the hex washers easier and more consistent.
• The inclusion of accent keycaps (above and beyond the typical grey) to match the various case colors was a nice touch.  
• Speaking of caps, I find the included PBT caps to be above average.  I like the clean, simple legends and alphas, and the caps themselves seem sturdy.  They are definitely thicker than the "MDA Big Bang" caps I purchased from KBDFans not too long ago.
• The Preonic specifically and the 50 percent form factor generally is small but mighty, packing lots of functionality into a very portable board.  The carrying case seems a bit flimsy, but it was certainly convenient to have one available for purchase with the drop (and it beats carrying around the board by hand).  

Cons:

• The color of the case I received does not match the color in the pictures included in the original drop.  Specifically, the purple I received is considerably more muted, and almost reads as grey to my eyes in certain lighting conditions.
• The caps did not seat easily onto the switches.  I had to push surprisingly hard to get them in place; this has never been a problem with other sets / caps I've used.
• The instructions did not specify that the stabilizers needed to be installed BEFORE attaching the PCB to the plate, meaning that I am now using the board without stabilizers.  Granted, I am typing this review without detriment (and from other reviews I've seen the included stabs are apparently not very good), but it was a surprise omission nonetheless.
• UPDATE (1/30/19): the pamphlet included with the board DO say to install the stabs first, but not in the building section. My score has been updated accordingly.
• The only other complaints I have about this board are more inherent to the form factor than a flaw with the build, fit, finish, etc.  Still, I will list them here for completeness: 
• I miss having two separate thumb clusters like I do on my Ergodox; I feel like my right thumb sees a lot less use with this layout.  I know I could address this in part by having two 2U keys in the bottom center of the board, but that is a lot of real estate to give up in such a small space.
• I miss having a R-Shift (though I'm sure that issue could be solved with a bit of key remapping).  
• Though it likely stems from being so used to having a split keyboard, the Preonic feels cramped to use.  I find this to be especially noticeable in my shoulders, which have to assume a more narrow / inward-facing configuration when using this board.  My Ergodox (and even my XD75) feel much more "open" by comparison.

Conclusion:
The ease and slickness of this board's set-up make it easy to recommend.  I know that ortholinear boards are not for everyone, but my familiarity with the Ergodox makes it an easy switch.  Though I might have some complaints about the board stemming from the form-factor, I'm sure they can be addressed with more practice and a bit of key re-mapping.  Though this is hardly an entry-level board given the cost, it works well enough for my use case: a travel board for when my Ergodox can't come with me.

Final Score (Updated): 
8.5/10