I do not use a keycap on my measurements (with the sole exception of the TG3 rubber dome curves, as the keycap is necessary to interface with the dome). Not sure about other peoples’ measurements.
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Hi, I wonder which kind of springs do I get if I prefer light typing without feeling stronger resistance at the end of keystroke before bottoming out.
In the context of linear switches, do I go for Sprit Slow Extreme springs since the initial force and bottom out force difference is much less compared to conventional linear springs? I feel like it’s difficult for me to appreciate linear switches because the bottoming force could be much more than initial force, and since there is no feedback on the actuation point, I feel like bottoming out is the safest choice when typing to prevent missing keystrokes (also for the bottoming out sound, I guess).
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Long springs/slow curve springs are the answer to that. I couldn’t get into linear for the very same reason until I tried light weight long springs.
I haven’t tried sprit slow springs, but the symmetric dual-stage springs from kineticlabs and flashquark are quite nice. They are all longer than TX long spring. The ones from Cannonkey and kineticlabs are around 23mm, flashquark’s springs are slightly shorter around 21mm.
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Would this work on tactiles too? I’m thinking about a 45g 16mm or is that too light? I want a tactitle bump but very fast and responsive.
It will depend on the particular switch. If the bump is big and sharp, 45g may be too light to return the key, although longer springs will certainly help.
I have not tried to use those two-stage symmetric springs(22mm) in tactile, but I suspect they may reduce the bump on the force curve.
@HungerMechanic has more experience with different springs in light to strong tactile. You may want to check out his past comments.
I think we’re talking about it in the other thread.
Generally, my experience is that light tactiles want the spring to be weak at the top.
The reason for this is that higher spring weight reduces tactility. With an already low-tactility, you want the spring to be weaker so that it takes more effort to clear the bump. Otherwise, you can ‘lose’ the bump somewhat in a top-heavy spring.
Further to this, it’s better to have the spring heavier at the bottom. This is for function purposes. The higher the bottom-out weight, the more cushion, and also a stronger return. Both of these things are excellent in light tactiles, IMHO. This means using a slightly progressive spring, which you can get from the shorter springs like 14mm TX.
You can also use actual Progressive springs like Spirit makes, but I find that they can be very light and ‘empty’ feeling at the low weights like 63.5 G P when used in the “Brown-like” switches. For example, they turn TTC Watermelon Milkshake into a very light Brown, ‘floaty’ in feel. As a result, I use nominally-Progressive springs in medium and heavy tactiles instead. They kind of tone them down, somehow.
Alphadecay has pointed out the existence of a 14.5mm spring, which may be highly-desirable for use in light-tactiles. I haven’t experienced it yet, but if it provides greater cushion and return-force at the same weight [say, 58 G for the Meteor Orange], then they could be very useful indeed:
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Yes actually @HungerMechanic gave me the idea about spring swapping so I decided to look for other helpful threads. Thank you!
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I really didnt realize that springs could play a big role with the feel like lubing the switches. Really glad I got sucked into this rabbit hole! haha!
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Finally deciding it is my time to go down the rabbit hole of different springs, yall got any recommendations brand and weight/type wise. Definitely want to try a lot of the diff types of but there are lots of options and idk where to start lol.
Definitely some TX Long springs with whatever weight. I found ThicThock ‘long’ springs which they designate as ‘MP’ a bit crunchy…but that might just be my experience.
I haven’t had any issues with TX springs and can be easily bought nowadays from mekibo.
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Seconded. TX longs are my current favorites.
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Two stage springs 
I actually do use the kineticlab springd in most of my tactiles cuz it makes the return so much more satisfying
Yeah, it’s in the return u feel the difference. Work’s great with a 58g in a linear.
What’s the Kinetic Labs spring for tactiles?
2 stage springs, not necessarily for a certain switch type I just prefer them in tactiles because it makes the return feel better(imo)
Same here, there’s a definite “crunch” despite them being lubed.
Just to be clear, Thic Thock’s MP springs are not long they are simply progressive; they have a differently-shaped force curve than linear springs but are the same length. Thic Thock’s long springs are all denoted with a + at the end of their weighting, and they only carry long springs in their DL line for now.
It’d be nice to see force curve of all the springs being retailed. I’m particularly interested in force curve of extra long springs and multi-stage springs.
Pylon’s force curve measurements are on Github here: Open-Switch-Curve-Meter/Force curve measurements at main · bluepylons/Open-Switch-Curve-Meter · GitHub
Close to the bottom of the page there’s the section for Springs, its really long so I’d suggest using ctrl+f to jump directly to the springs section.
Here’s the curves he has for longer/multi-stage springs.
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