Different spring weights on the same keyboard

Is anyone using weaker springs in their switches for just part of the board? Example: easier presses for pinky keys. Does this work out in real life the way it sounds in my head or would it just cause unpleasantness to have inconsistent weights?

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Never did it before.
But I have a Topre board with variable weight domes that does just that, maybe do what realforce keyboards are doing in this case could do the trick.

What people often do is put a heavier spring for the space bar key.

With mx style switches, plate mount, and no hotswap, is it possible to change springs later if I tried it and didn’t like it?

It depends on if they’re in a plate or not: if not, you can probably still safely remove the tops and replace the springs or stems to your heart’s content. If so, some plates have cutouts to allow you to open some switch tops, but many do not.

I love variable weight topre, but it has a smooth gradient.

I filled one of the Drop hot swap boards with Gateron clears and reds trying to imitate the Topre variable. It was OK, but I never used it as a daily driver, just ended up buying more Topre and trading domes in the classifieds to build more variable and uniform 30g boards :slight_smile:

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I tried doing this before (did a board with MX Browns for pinkies, MX Clear for ring fingers, MX Tactile Grey for everything else, and did another board with Gateron Clear, Gat Yellow and Gat Black respectively), and it was awful.

Just as I got used to the weighting required for your stronger fingers to actuate the heavier keys, my pinkies would accidentally actuate the lighter keys. Gaming, especially around the WASD or ESDF cluster, would be awful as you’d have to re-learn which keys had what weighting.

I’ve since given up on that idea, and the most I’d do now would be to put a lighter spring into my backspace button.

I’m not gaming, but that’s exactly what I was wondering about. I think since it’s so much work to change them that it’s probably best that I don’t try to outsmart myself right out of the gate.

The most common one that I know of on MX style switches is placing an heavier spring on the spacebar, IIRC cherry years ago did it often in their keyboards (mx red on everything and mx black on the spacebar).

I competitive game on a hotswap board (Valorant, CSGO, Osu). I use a cheap lightweight linear on all pinky keys because I can’t notice a difference in smoothness with my pinky and I enjoy it more because it doesn’t strain the pinky.

To get in the weeds, I’ve got Kailh Burgundys on the pinkies/lesser used keys. Black Inks on my modifier keys/escape/tab/etc, and Light Tangerines on my alphas.

I originally did this to save money on keyswitches. Only buying 30switches of each type. Basically just enough to cover the alphas with whatever switch I prefer, ended up loving the Tangerines for gaming precision, although Black Inks are awesome too, particularly for typing.