I never got to give those a real college try, but I love the loose ones I have. What’s the closest thing we have to them these days? MOD switches? I do like a good bit of tactility, but the binary snaps that a lot of the modern tactiles go for is not a good jam for a daily drive imo.
I have a bag of mod-ms I’ve been meaning to put into a board like forever, just loose they feel similar to zeal V1s, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a lot.
I[quote=“Lesbian, post:1, topic:8294”]
but the binary snaps that a lot of the modern tactiles go for is not a good jam for a daily drive imo.
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I’m right there with you on that one. When the van announced they were closing I picked up a lot of j-spacers so that’s something I’ve been meaning to try play around with.
Yea the new Linus Tech Tips video while cool to finally see some love for our favorite switches, they unfortunately used Zealios V2, so pretty much every switch in their lineup was a super pronounced tactile bump so a large majority of people chose the MX Browns. Although I haven’t experienced them myself as never liked browns, from what I’ve read people consider Zealios V1 to be similar to a Brown but better in every way by being smoother and having a little more noticeable bump.
I think one of the biggest hurdles for us ethusiasts is redefining peoples taste. Most people new to keyboards put way too much value in how easy it is to press a switch. You can’t really tell if you like it until you’ve spent some time getting used to it. I know for me the heavier spring linears are preferable so that I don’t have to worry about accidental misclicks, as well as feeling less mushy.
Close, but Zeal originally made Zealios to be an improved ergo clear. So V1s have more in common with MX clears than MX browns.
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I feel like Kailh Brown (not the BOX variety) comes closest to what you’re seeking. They’re significantly more tactile than other brown clones I’ve tried, but they aren’t in the realm of today’s standard of tactile switches.
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I’m going to rebuild my C225 with MOD-M whenever my foam order from mkultra shows up, it will probably be a few weeks, but I’ll report back then.
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I like 70g Aliaz silents- I currently have one in my v1 zilents board to compare. They are definitely less tactile than V1s when pressing on loose switches, but I find typing on Aliaz at speed gives me greater-than-browns feedback- the bump is brown-amplitude, but I can feel it more than browns because of the reduced scratchiness. I’d like to try the 60g.
I just bought some V1 Zilents on mechmarket for ~0.55 a switch, so it would seem like their value is dropping, if you’re okay with used.
I second this opinion, the Kailh browns are actually a nice switch, and have the possibility to be modded in a manner that would fit a more “modern” zeal v1 if you put the effort in.
Stem swap Halo clears or outemu skies into a Gateron yellow should be decently close in theory. Make old fashioned ergo clears which Zeal v1 are based on. Heck even swapping stem swapping Zeal v2 could possibly work.
Afaik a lot of the current tactility is gained through extra tactile leaves (see Holy Panda).
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My understanding is that Everglide Emeralds/Jade Greens are very similar to Zealio v1s.
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I would just make ergo clears nowadays if I want to recapture that magic;
with improved knowledge in lubing and a larger variety of spring choices, ergo clears are probably going to be better today than they were in the past
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I just got some of these as samples and they’re almost exactly the same as v1 Zealios, if not a little sharper.
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Zealio V1 is back:
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The nylon housing has me curious. The main issue I have with most tactiles recetly is the leaf ping. Maybe I should just use headphones more?
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No, we are too accepting of bad sound in tactiles.
The nylon housing is a step in the right direction, I think. According to discussion, they were aiming for a better-sounding switch material [hence nylon] that’s also somewhat affordable by Zeal standards [i.e. less than $1/switch].
So this latest round/revision is directly aiming for better sound using materials with known and predictable characteristics, as well as not boutique-upselling them by using fancier-looking housings.
We shouldn’t make excuses for bad-sounding tactiles. That shouldn’t be happening on a keyboard. Here, it looks like Zeal is taking some steps to creating a more consistent and desirable sound.
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Same here, hopefully a nylon housing instead of the OG all PC ones will improve the sound of these! The sound has always been the weak point with Zealios to me. On the other hand though an all nylon housing will not be as smooth as the OG PC. If these are made with fresh molds I’d say get them early.
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ngl im surprised theyre selling them for below a dollar a switch O_O
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New molds might mean less wobble though. My OG v1s have a decent amount of stem wobble.
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Lower cost / more affordability was a goal from the start of this new campaign. They consulted with users on Discord.
It’s a pre-order price only, thought. Might go up to $1.00 a switch afterwards.
If past is any indication, then they may have periodic 15-20% off sales.
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Wobble was an issue with the early Zealio V1, even by 2015-2018 standards.
They addressed it somewhat in later revisions.
What I want to know, before spending $90, is how do these compare to Durock Medium Tactile?
I have a lot of experience testing DMT now (heh), so I know what it is like. Some people have compared Durock Medium Tactile to Zealio V1. I have reservations about that comparison, based on my own experience, but what do people think?
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